VICTORIOUS FEBRUARY WORKS (FORMERLY SKODA WORKS) AT HRADEC KRALOVE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006600430005-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 15, 2008
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: June 17, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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CEN;If'lI ML INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
S-E-C-RRE-T
NOFORN
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
Czechoslovakia
Victorious February Works (Formerly
Skoda Works) at Hradec Kralove
ThuI metrelet'Oeatdtne t
nformeao
n eaeetlms the Wa-
e
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0
9 m
an
Wood DowM Of aa.Thdted spates wt$hl*
ing of the s oaw saws, Tltte 13 , 1i Sees. >S
end 794. the kihmawm or re ehla OY hloh In
Any manner to an ** Md ye[pn Is prohlblted
bylaw.
DATE DISTR.
:L7 June 1955
W. Of PAGES
4
25X1
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
RD
THE SOURCE EVAU MTIONS ':IN rMt ROFMRT AN DEFINITIVE
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TIMTATWE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
The main factory of the Victorious February Works ('2avodyVitezneho Unora),
National Enterprise, Hradec Kralove, formerly the Hradec Kralove
Skoda Works, is located in Kukleny, a suburb west ofIradec Kralove. The
west railroad station of. Hradec Kralove-16 located to the east.of the factory..
To the east of the plants about 1,5 kilometers away, flows the Elbe River 25X1
which joins the Orlice River about ) 00 meters southeast of the plant.
Near the plant to the mouth runsltL-Stalin Highway. which, leads from :Hradec
Kralove to Prague. To the north, about 200 meters away. runs the Horice
Road which leads from Hradec Kralove to Horice,and Liberec. To the north,
about four-kilometers away, is located the Plottite nad Labem plant of the
Victorious February Works. About 1,5 kilome.s.nartheast is located the
Iron-Bridge Factory, known as the Lipenka ct' Works.. `. , The perikneter of
the plant area is 900 x 400 x 700 x 700 Miters.."
2. Identifying characteristics of the factory a ;e the' confluence of the 3lbe
and Orlice rivers about 1,800 meters lout} eac" of it; three smokestacks,
about 30 meters high,, near the foundry; one 25-meter smokestack, near
the boiler department;;: and one gas-storage tank near the gas plant, about
20 meters south of the factory.
3. Vulnerable points of the factory are the, gas plant., electric power plant,
the'city power plant about 1.6 kilometers southeast of :the factorys the
transformer, and the,storage depot f'or - m14s and; "p#.stola .
4 The plant was established in 1932,. Th6'fallowing`installations were.
built during World War II: boiler dap ment, foundry, forge, assembly
shed, lathe shed, and main office: Toward the and of..the war, the plant
was bombed and the boiler department, material. depot. apprentices a shop,
lathe department, and the tracks of the plant 'railroad siding were
heavily damaged. The boiler department,..matter44 depot, lathe department,
apprentices' shop, rail facilities, and air sheLcr were rebuilt after the
war.
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The plant produces metal working machines, thes, cutters, locomotive
and factor boilers, cranes, tank armor ra lroad freight cars, anti-
personnel and antitank mines, and Ski ? ,- millimeter pistols.
In additionto tank equipment, tracks7 nes, the plant has been
producing Tiger tanks since 1950 and nks since 1952 on a
continuous basis; 25 Tiger tanks and 4 tanks per month are produced
on orders placed by the Ministry of :Defense and the'Ministry of 3ngineering
(_..5)1. A military commission of the Czechoslovak Army composed of
four officers is permanently stationed at the plant. For the production
of steam boilers the necessary plate is received by the plate department*
which shapes it for further processing before sending it to the boiler
department, which drills the holes for the rivets'. The boiler parts
are put together with screws, which are later replaced by rivets. These
boilers are of very high quality, and thane are no discards. The
boiler department produces 15 small 0 large factory steam boilers
per month; it would be possible to inc "se production to 35 small and
15 large boilers per month. About the end of 1954? the production of
mines in the entire foundry reportedly was to be transferred to the
Plotiste nad Labem plant.
6. The Tiger and T-34 tanks are transported by rail to a?CKD factory in
Prague, from whence they are sent to Olomouc, where their equipment is
installed. (--4). The pistols are sent by rail to the V. 1. Lenin Works
in Pilsen. The steam boilers are sent-1 'rail to Poland and various
places in Czechoslovakia at a ratio of 80to 40, respectively; those
sent to Poland probably are reshipped to the USSR. .Shipments are made
from the Hradec Kralove east railroad station every two weeks.
7.
The equipment of the factory is as follows:
a. The shed for working metal plate for weapons has about 15 new electric
lathes of Czech nuke; about 5 new electric shears of Czech make, and
about 15 new electric drilling machines of Czech make.
b. The plate department for apprentices has 3 old electric shears of German
make for tinplate, about 20 new electric grinders of Czech makes, about
20 new electric drills of Czech make, 3 gas generators. 4 electric welding
machines, and 3 old electric cranes of German make.
c. The dispensary has 2 new X-ray sets. of Czech make.
d, The foundry has 3 gas furnaces, 6 electric cranes, and about 12 old
electric metal-working machines.
e. The copper forge shop has 3 electric shears, 6 electrolytic machines,
5 electric welding machines, about 15 electric drills, about 15 electric
grinders, and about 12 pneumatic hammers.
f. The tool repair shop has about 20 electric grinders, about 8 gas forges.
3 electric cutters and about 10 old electric drills*
g. Stored in the tool warehouse are hammers. tongs, drills, tinplate shears,
grinders, and chisels.
h. The boiler department has 8 old electric cranes, about 18 old electric
welding machines, about 15 gas generators, four large new electric
drills of Czech make, about 40 small new electric drills, about 40
grinders. about 30 new pneumatic hammers, 3 machines for cutting metals
by means of a gas flame. 3-large water presses for-riveting, about 14
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d his forges, 3 electric furnaces, 5 large old;a:I;etric grinders,
about 28 sma11, iew electric grinders, 2 smalltld:air presses, 4
old electric rollers, and. 2 old electric cutters.
i. The plate department has 6 old electric cranes, anew electric welding
machines of Czech make, 12 gas generat'"ld electric shears,
about 30 new air-operated pneumatic ids. b large old electric drills,
5 large old electric grinders, about small old electric grinders,
about 20 smell new electric drills, 4 old electric rollers, and 3 air
presses (two old and one new).
j. The forge shop has 8 gas furnaces, about 16 old gas generators, and
4 old electric cranes.
k. The assembly department has 7 old electric cranes.
1. The lathe department has about 60 elecic lathes (about 20 of them
new), about 20 electric cutters (about 10 of them new); 3 large, old,
electric planing machines, about 30 large, new,, electric drills, 7
old electric cranes, and about 12 large, old, electric grinders.
m. For sawing equipment, the factory has one new electric saw of Czech
make for sawing iron.
8. The factory has the following vehicles: 2 standard-gauge
locomotives, about 40 standard-gdug~ ra -ad cars, 4 Skoda busses for
workers' transportation, 30 Skoda, Canada, and Tatra trucks, 8 Skoda -
Tudor automobiles, 6 Jawa, 250-cubic-centimeter motorcycles, 2
ambulances, and 2 fire engines.
9. The Kukleny factory receives its regular electric power from the city's
main electric-power plant, located about 1.6 kilometers southeast of
the factory. In case of emergency, the factory can obtain power from
its own power plant. Its power plant and forge shop operate on lignite,
bituminous coal, and coke; the necessax' water is obtained from the
Elbe River.
10. Raw and semifinished 'raterials include plate, piped and rods of iron,
copper, brass, steel, zinc and nickel; iron ingots and U-, L-, and
T- shaped iron. The plant also receives finished boiler. bottoms. There
is a great shortage of iron and steel plate, aswell as of pipes of
nonferrous metals. Pig iron and iron and steel plate and pipes come from
the United Steel Works in Kladno; they arrive at the west railroad.
station. in Hradec Kralove and from there are shipped to the plant, The
raw and semifinished materials arrive twice every 14days; each train
is usually made up of 6 cars. Precious metals, pipes, bars, etc., are
stored in the warehouse, which contains about 3* railroad carloads of
such materials. Iron plate, pig iron, and toiler bottoms are placed
in a clearing where about 18 railroad carloads oP these materials are
stocked.
U. During World War II, the plant employed 13,000 persona; as of September
1954 it employed 10.400, with additional personnel' being hired
continually. The personnel breakdown by nationality-,is as follows:
Czechs,70 percent; Slovaks, 20 percent; foreigners, '10 percent (8 per-
cent Greeks, about 300 Poles and about 200 German civilians). Soviet
personnel come to the plant only from time to time. About 30 percent
of the plant's personnel consists of women; about 2,,yOC of the total
personnel are young people. Each day workers cone in. and about 90
percent of them are women.
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12. The plant operates on three daily work shifts of eight hours each: 0600 -
1400; 1400-2200; and 2200-0600 hours. The work norm is high and continues
to increase. As of 1 January 1955? the pk norms of the various departs
wants reportedly were to increase by 25 cent.
13. T..,factory management included: Jan r general manager, Czech.
Communist; Jaroslav Voprsal, head of th planning section, Czech
Communist;, Olga Stranska, head of the payroll section. Czech,
Communist; Kraus ,fnu), head of the boiler department, Czech,
Communist; Jan Vrba, head of the lathe section, Czech, Communist;
Duspiva (fru), head of the models section, Czech, Communist; Nikolaj
Vydasov, security officer, Soviet, Communists Jan Cizek, president of
the factory council, Czech, Communist; Kossa (tnu), engineer, in charge
of gpprentices, Czech. Communist; Kossa riu), head of the tin plate
section, Czech, Communist (the two Kos*~'e brothers).
14. Security measures are as follows: Aro the entire plant there is a
stockade, two meters high, topped by ba [led wire." The entire plant is
watched by about 80 plant policemen who wear blue uniforms and are armed
with pistols. In addition there are 300 plant militiamen who wear
blue uniforms and are armed with rifles and pistol There are also
280 men of the SNB, who are armed with pistols and automatic rifles.
The plant has two entrances and two exits, as well as an entrance and
an exit for the railroad line, each guardl9: by five factory militiamen.
one SNB man, and one gatekeeper. who are relieved. every three hours.
Upon entering the plant, everyone must show a pass 'bearing his photo-
graph. The passes issued to the workers of the various departments are
of different colors* as follows : boiler departmei t f red;' plate depart-
ment. light red; assembly department. blue; pistol-production depart-
ment, green; and apprentices, white. The plant has a-concrete air shelter
built during World War II.
1 Comment; The Tiger is a German tank of `i ch the continued 25X1
production is most unlikely. This plant is known to`be capable of
producing tank hulls. Orders for tanks uld not be placed by the
Ministry o:I Engineering.
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