Organizational In 1930 the
Bolshevik Factory No. 232 became home to the AVO-5 tank design bureau, soon renamed OKMO. In 1932, the tank department of the Bolshevik factory, became the new
Factory No. 174 (K.E. Voroshilov). under the direction of N. Barykov and
Semyon Alexandrovich Ginzburg. The OKMO, for a few months a part of Factory No. 174, moved at the same time to Factory No. 185. and works of Steven Zaloga. They were independent factories; the Factory No. 185 was a home of OKMO bureau (Ginzburg), while the larger Factory No. 100 was a home of SKB-2 (
Kotin, known for
KV line of heavy tanks). In 1941, because of
German threat, parts of both factories were moved to
Chelyabinsk, where the large complex was given the name
Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant No. 100 (unofficially named "Tankograd"), and continued the production of Kotin's design line.
Design In 1930, bureau oversaw design changes to the British
Vickers E tank for construction as the
T-26 light infantry tank, and later improvements to the T-26. In 1930 OKMO also began design studies for heavy tanks. A team led by German engineer Eduard Grote worked on a 100-ton design with 107 mm gun, four sub-turrets, and pneumatic suspension and servo-controls, called the T-41 or . A slightly more practical "land battleship" was the
T-35 heavy tank, designed by N. Tseits's team and inspired by the British
Vickers Independent. In 1934, OKMO designed the T-43-2, a design for an amphibious tank with convertible drive—being able to run on tracks or wheels—as a possible replacement for the
T-37 amphibious scout tank. It, and
Moscow Factory no. 37's competing T-43-1 were both rejected in favour of continuing T-37 production. Also in 1934, N. Barykov and N. Tseits worked with graduate students from the Leningrad Technical Institute to modernize the multi-turreted
T-28 medium tank by adding a
Christie suspension. The resulting T-29-5 adopted the wheel-and-track running gear from the
BT fast tank. Further T-29-4 and T-29-1 prototypes were built in 1935, but in testing at the NIIBT in
Kubinka none of these were found satisfactory. Following Soviet armoured experience in Spain, another version was built with thicker armour and a better gun—it was considered for the A-20/T-32 competition which led to the famous
T-34 medium tank, but by this time was obviously outdated. (One of the Leningrad engineering students had been
Mikhail Koshkin, the T-34's chief designer) In the 1930s, OKMO also designed a number of self-propelled artillery and antiaircraft guns, and tracked infantry, ammunition and fuel transporters, but only prototypes or trial batches of any were ever built, except for the
T-26-T artillery tractor. In 1936–37 OKMO designed the T-111 (or T-46-5), the first attempt at a Soviet tank with "shell-proof" armour, effective against more than just small arms. The engine and gun were inadequate, and only a prototype was built. The T-100 'Sotka' was a two-turreted heavy tank prototype. It became rejected in favour of the
KV-1 heavy tank. A second prototype was made as a single self-propelled gun T-100Y, later designated
SU-100Y, presently displayed in Kubinka Tank Museum. The bureau started work on the
T-50 infantry tank in 1939, but was gutted during the
Great Purge. The T-50 was handed over to the
Factory No. 174. == See also ==