Votkinsk Machine Building Plant
Votkinsk Machine Building Plant (until 2010 incorporated as Федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие «Воткинский завод», "Votkinsk Plant" Federal State Unitary Enterprise, now Open joint-stock company "Votkinsk Plant", акционерное общество «Воткинский завод») is a machine and ballistic missile production enterprise based in Votkinsk, Russia. Its production includes the RT-2UTTH Topol M intercontinental ballistic missile, Russia's most recent ICBM development, as well as the submarine-launched Bulava SLBM.
Contents
History
The plant from its foundation until 1917
Construction of the plant was caused by the depletion of forests near the then existing (mid-XVIII century) mining enterprises in the Urals. Fetching firewood from afar, however, increased the cost of the iron industry. This situation could be tackled by the movement of ore processing to those areas in which forests had not yet been depleted. In addition to the Votkinsk ironworks, an example of the implementation of such a strategy is the nearby Izhevsk ironworks built in the years 1760-63.
A place for construction of Votkinsk and Izhevsk ironworks was selected owing to its vicinity to a major waterway (the Kama River that flows 15-20 kilometers from the present-day city of Votkinsk), the presence of forests, which were the main fuel for the industry then, and also its proximity to the mining companies. Between 1754 and 1763, totally 42 private factories owned by the aristocracy of the Russian Empire (including Count P.I. Shuvalov, Count M.E. Vorontsov) were built.
In 1763, after Shuvalov's death (1762), Votkinsk and Izhevsk plants passed over to the State for repayment of Shuvalovs' debts, and have been state enterprises ever since.
Subsequently, in the XVIII-XX centuries, the plant produced anchors, railway equipment, ships, excavators, gold mining drags, various weapons. For example, starting from 1773, the plant began manufacturing of steel anchors for the domestic Navy, according to the decree of Empress Catherine II. In the first half of the XIX century, the plant accounted for at least 62 percent of the total anchor production in Russia.
The Votkinsk plant was one of the most progressive at that time. Among the events of great importance for the development of the global industry was the launch (in 1811) of cast steel production by the fundamentally new method of Badaev, who was a self-taught talented metallurgist. This high-quality tool steel was used for the manufacturing of various tools (metal cutting, medical, stamps).
A valuable way to acknowledge the professional skills of Votkinsk artisans was a production order issued in 1858 for manufacturing and assembly the spire's frame for the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
In 1871, the plant launched the output of open hearth furnaces, which was the second in Russia and the first in the Urals.
Moreover, the plant produced armor steel for the needs of the domestic Navy.
In the 1840s, under the supervision of Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky, the enterprise was reprofiled from purely metallurgical to machine-building. In 1847, the production of ships was launched, and in 1868, steam locomotives started to be produced at the plant. It is particularly remarkable that the plant located on the shores of a small shallow river, 12 km as the crow flies from the major river Kama, and wasn't connected with the country's railway network. Therefore, steamships and other vessels by all means had to be constructed prior to the spring high waters. A special dam was built on the enterprise territory to set up a small-scale accumulative pond. In the spring, melt waters filled the pond and flooded the shipyard area. This enabled constructed vessels to float to the surface. Then the dam gates were opened and the steamships followed this spring flood of the river Votka to the river Siwa, and from there got to the Kama river. In total, the plant built about 400 vessels of various types.
In the same way, during spring flooding, steam locomotives were sent from the enterprise. At first, they were loaded on a special barge following the rivers Votka, Siwa, Kama to the nearest railway station. This situation lasted until 1916, when the Votkinsk plant connected to the country’s railway system. In total, the enterprise built 631 wide gage steam locomotives of different series.
At the end of the nineteenth century, due to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the plant started the output of new products - steelwork elements for railway bridges. In terms of overall length of the built railway bridges, the Votkinsk plant took the first place in Russia in 1915.
Gradually, steam locomotive building came out on top, among the enterprise’s priority activities, accounting for about 40% of productive capacities.
From 1917 until 1957
During the Russian Civil War, the plant was repeatedly plundered by all the warring parties, as a result of which it essentially ceased to operate and was preserved in 1922.
On 9 September 1925, the plant was re-opened as a manufacturer of agricultural equipment.
From 1930 to 1937, the plant was administered by the All-union association of the heavy industry and started to produce high-performance steam diggers and gold mining drags.
On 1 January 1938, the plant was handed over to the People's Commissariat of Defence Industry of the USSR and became an ordnance factory. On March 11, 1938, it was renamed to the plant № 235.
From the outset of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, the plant started to produce the 45 mm antitank cannon M1937 53-K, and in 1943 launched the manufacture of the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) was mastered.
In the early postwar period and until 1957, the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant produced 100 mm air defense gun KS-19, 57 mm anti-tank gun M1943 (ZiS-2) and other military equipment, as well as deployed civilian production (traction engines for agriculture, narrow-gauge locomotives and tower cranes).
Missile production (from 1957 to the present time)
In 1957, the enterprise was crossed over to release of ballistic missiles by resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1958, the plant delivered first short-range attack missiles 8A61 developed by the Design Bureau-1 with a liquid-fueled engine and with a range of 150 km, adopted in July 1955.
Also, the plant produced a nuclear modification of 8A61 called 8К11, and starting from 1960, its successor was released - tactical missiles 8K14 developed by the Design Bureau-385 with a range of up to 300 km. This rocket was mass-produced for over 25 years and used by the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for more than 30 years.
In 1962, by resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant started to master the production of more powerful tactical missiles 9M76, being a part of the mobile theatre ballistic missile TR-1 Temp. The first serial missiles were launched in 1966.
"TR-1 Temp" became a first missile system with a solid-fuelled piloted ballistic rocket adopted by the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Subsequently, however, those missiles were terminated in accordance to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the USA and the USSR from 8 December 1987.
In 1974, the plant began to produce intercontinental missiles 15ZH42 for the mobile intercontinental ballistic missile complex SS-16 Sinner, in 1975 - the intermediate-range ballistic missiles 15ZH45 for the complex SS-20 Saber, in 1976 - the short-range attack missiles 9M714 for the complex OTR-23 Oka, and in 1989 - the tactical missiles 9M79-1 fot the complex OTR-21 Tochka.
In 1998, the plant launched the production of one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missiles "RT-2PM2 Topol-M".
In 2006, the plant started mass production of the missiles "9K720 Iskander" (its NATO reporting name is SS-26 Stone).
Overview
The company's products include R-11/SS-1B Scud-A and B SRBMs; RT-21M/SS-20 Saber and SS-23 Spider IRBMs; RT-21 (SS-16 Sinner), RT-2PM (SS-25 Sickle) and RT-2UTTH Topol-M (SS-27) ICBMs. It also manufactures oil and gas equipment, refrigeration equipment, metal-cutting equipment, castings, forgings, stampings and domestic electric appliances.[1]
Votkinsk was also responsible for the production of the Cold War era SS-20 intermediate-range ballistic missile and many other well-known designs by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology.
The company has two separate facilities: a final assembly plant located some 12 kilometers outside of Votkinsk where missiles are assembled, and the main plant, located in downtown Votkinsk, where missile components as well as civil and consumer goods are produced.[2]
