  okolotin-vs-velibekov-es-vestnik-2026-2.pdf |
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- Production of small arms and aviation artillery weapons at Kovrov plant No. 2 in 1944
- Okolotin V.S., Velibekov E.Sh. Production of small arms and aviation artillery weapons at Kovrov plant No. 2 in 1944. Vestnik of Kostroma State University, 2026, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 35–45. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817- 2026-32-2-35-45
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-2-35-45
- УДК: 623.4:94
- EDN: RXDAJW
- Publish date: 2026-03-24
- Annotation: This article examines the activities of Kovrov Plant No. 2 (which became part of the defence industry of the newly formed Vladimir Region as a result of the reorganisation of Ivanovo Region in August 1944) in the production of small arms and aviation artillery weapons in 1944. This was a period during the World War II when the Red Army gained the strategic initiative in battles against the Axis, and effectively liberated the Soviet Union proper from occupation, and proceeded with interfering in the affairs of neighbouring countries. In these conditions, it was important to increase the production of weapons that had proven effective in military conditions, to modernise and develop new arms, and to master their production in a short period of time. Those included mounted machinegun of Goryunov design, Degtyaryov hand-held and tank machine guns, as well as the aircraft artillery guns – Shpitalny-Vladimirov large-calibre and Volkov-Yartsev autocannons. In the second half of 1944, the factory began mass-producing of upgraded Degtyaryov hand-held and tank machine guns, as well as Nudelman-Suranov aircraft cannons. Despite the difficulties of wartime, the plant was continuously supplied with electricity, metal, special packaging, and other important components for successful production activities. The article is based on the resolutions of the State Defence Committee and their annexes, as well as materials from Ivanovo Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) stored in the State archive of Ivanovo Region. These materials have been introduced into scientific circulation for the first time in relation to Plant No. 2. This research is intended for historians of Soviet-Axis War and the scientific community.
- Keywords: State Defence Committee, resolutions, planned tasks, Plant No. 2, Ivanovo Region, Vladimir Region, small arms and aviation artillery weapons, modernisation of machine guns, development of Nudelman-Suranov cannons, spare barrels, group sets, achievements.
- Literature list: Bahirev V.V., Kirillov I.I. Konstruktor V.A. Degtyarev: za strokami biografii [Designer V.A. Degtyarev: Behind the Lines of His Biography], 2nd ed, revised and expanded. Moscow, Voenizdat Publ., 1983, 240 p. (In Russ.) Gorod voinskoj slavy Kovrov: skvoz' veka [The City of Military Glory of Kovrov: Through the Centuries], O.A. Monyakova, I.N. Zudina, V.V. Nikulin, et al.; ed. by O.A. Monyakova. Ivanovo, O.V. Episheva Publ., 2013, 464 р. (In Russ.) Okolotin V.S. Proizvodstvo strelkovogo i aviacionnogo vooruzheniya na zavode № 2 (g. Kovrov) v Ivanovskoj oblasti: khronologiya reshenij i sobytij (1943 g.) [Production of Small Arms and Aircraft Armaments at Factory no. 2 (Kovrov) in the Ivanovo Region: Chronology of Decisions and Events (1943)]. Vestnik Ivanovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ser.: Ekonomikа [Bulletin of Ivanovo State University. Economics Series], 2023, no. 2, pp. 33–46. (In Russ.) Sorokin A.K. V shtabakh Pobedy: ocherki istorii gosudarstvennogo upravleniya v SSSR v gody Velikoj Otechestvennoj vojny 1941–1945 gg. [In the Headquarters of Victory: Essays on the History of State Administration in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945]. Moscow, Politicheskaya ehnciklopediya Publ., 2022, 239 p. (In Russ.) Velikaya Otechestvennaya vojna 1941–1945 gg.: v 12 t. T. 7. Ekonomika i oruzhie vojny [The Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Vol. 7. Economics and weapons of war]. Moscow, Kuchkovo pole Publ., 2013, 864 р. (In Russ.) Vladimirskij kraj v gody Velikoj Otechestvennoj vojny. 1941–1945: sb. arhiv. dokumentov k 75-letiyu Velikoj Pobedy [Vladimir Region During the Great Patriotic War. 1941–1945: A Collection of Archival Documents for the 75th Anniversary of the Great Victory], ed. by N.D. Maksimova, comp. T.A. Lashmanova et al. Vladimir, State Archives of the Vladimir Region Publ., 2020, 504 p. (In Russ.)