Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant ( Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic) - since 2013, the head company of the Kalashnikov concern. Founded at the beginning of the 19th century, it is the largest manufacturer of military, sports, civilian firearms and pneumatic weapons in the Russian Federation. In different years, motorcycles, automobiles, machine tools, tools, artillery weapons were produced here. Today, the range is supplemented by boats, UAVs (“drones”), combat robots, guided missiles, shells and other high-tech products.
Description
Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant OJSC develops and manufactures a wide range of civil and military weapons. The share in the domestic market is about 95%, which makes it the largest arms manufacturer in Russia. The main products are:
- Rifles (assault, special purpose, sniper).
- Automatic machines of the AK series.
- Pistols
- Hunting rifles, carbines.
- Pneumatic sports guns.
As of 2017, 51% of the shares are owned by Rostec, and 49% are in the hands of private investors. Products of the Kalashnikov concern are produced under the brands Baikal (civilian weapons), Kalashnikov (products for the military) and Izhmash (sports rifles).
Base
Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant was laid down by mining engineer A.F. Deryabin by order of Alexander I on June 10, 1807. Emelyanovich, Dudini and Deryabin himself worked on the architectural project. Arms production is located on the banks of the Izh River. The place was chosen mainly due to the proximity of the ironworks, which allowed us to solve the logistical problems with the supply of raw materials.
Deryabin hired foreign experts to guide Russian craftsmen. The first weapons were muskets No. 15 of a caliber of 17.7 mm, released in the autumn of 1807. The following year, factory workers delivered more than 6,000 flintlocks to the Russian Imperial Army. In 1809, in addition to muskets, rifles and carbines replenished the arsenal. The company also produced pistols, care products and accessories.
Patriotic War
The Napoleonic invasion led to an increase in the capacity of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant. Kutuzov’s army needed a lot of weapons. Flint smoothbore guns were the main ones. Also delivered to the troops:
- musketons charged with buckshot;
- Horse Guards, Lancers, Jaegers;
- screw guns;
- dragoon muskets;
- hussar, cuirassier carbines;
- cold piercing and chopping weapons (peaks, halberds, sabers, hatchets, broadswords).
In the years 1811-1816, ten stone buildings, several wooden structures were built. By 1817, the construction of the main building, towering above the rest, was completed. It had 4 floors and was one of the first multi-story industrial buildings in Russia. The production process was multi-level: it began with rough preparatory work (on the lower floors) and ended with the assembly of weapons (on the upper floors).
Troubled 19th Century
In 1825, a capacious Arsenal was built in which products were stored. Beginning in the 1830s, the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant produced fittings designed by I.V. Gartung, serf guns of Falis, and special boarding guns for the Baltic Fleet. In 1835, the production of sabers and spears was transferred to Zlatoust.
During the Crimean War, Izhevsk delivered 130,000 rifles to Russian troops, a third of them rifled. For half a century of work, gunsmiths fired more than 670,000 muskets and flintlock pistols, 220,000 capsule rifles, 58,000 rifled rifles, and countless edged weapons.
Reorganization
In 1867, the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant was leased to private individuals. One of the managers was Ludwig Nobel. The enterprise was modernized, equipped with steam engines, new machines and an open-hearth furnace. This made it possible to produce more advanced weapons for the Russian Imperial Army: rifles of the Krka and Berdan type.
In 1874, the plant organized its own steel production. The Izhevsk metal was readily purchased by the gunsmiths of Tula, Sestroretsk, Zlatoust and other plants. In 1885, the company launched the production of hunting weapons and tools. In 1891, the mass production of the famous Mosin-Nagan rifle began. Towards the end of the 19th century, electric generators began to be used in production. Until the end of the century, IMZ remained the only Russian enterprise that produced firearms for all the branches of the Russian army. Thanks to the plant, Izhevsk became a major industrial center of Russia.
Time for a change
During the First World War, the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (Izhevsk) delivered more than 1.4 million new rifles and approximately 188,000 shells to the imperial troops. On the eve of the revolution, IMZ held leading positions in the Russian defense industry. By 1917, about 34,000 people worked in the workshops.
After the formation of the Soviet Union in 1922, great changes took place at the enterprise. A legendary design bureau was created, a separate production of hunting rifles was launched, and a machine gun designed by V. G. Fedorov was developed. In 1930, a new open-hearth furnace was commissioned, and its own production of motor equipment and machine tools was launched. Four years later, the Izhevsk CHPP, the first in Udmurtia, started operating.
In the 30s, production began:
- The modified “three-rulers” of Mosin (1891/1930).
- Sniper rifles.
- "Self-loading" F.V. Tokareva.
- Rifle automatic design S. G. Simonov model ABC-36.
- Anti-tank rifles.
- Air guns, air guns.
In 1929, in Izhevsk, under the guidance of a talented engineer P.V. Mozharov, motorcycles were designed and manufactured: Izh-1, Izh-2, Izh-3, Izh-4, Izh-5. They took part in the 2nd All-Union motorcycle race on the route Moscow - Leningrad - Kharkov - Moscow, which started on September 25, 1929, and successfully passed the test. Since that time, in Izhevsk, excluding the years of World War II, the production of motor vehicles began. The successor to the case initiated by P.V. Mozharov was the motorcycle production of Izhmash, which has produced more than 10.7 million motorcycles during its existence.
WWII
During the Second World War, plant number 74 (the designation of the enterprise) became the main producer of firearms for the Soviet Armed Forces. The basis of the products of the Izhevsk Engineering Plant in this desperate period was:
- Anti-tank rifles, both Degtyarev and Simonov systems.
- Rifles, carbines (since 1944).
- Nagan revolvers, TT pistols.
- New machine guns designed by M.E. Berezin.
- Air guns 37-mm model of 1942.
- 120 mm mortar mines.
In addition to finished products, factory workers supplied other weapons enterprises with barrels for various types of weapons. In total, the plant produced 11.45 million rifles and carbines, which exceeded the total production of German firearms (10.3 million). The company also produced more than 15,000 aircraft guns and 130,000 anti-tank weapons.
Guard the world
In 1947, M.T. Kalashnikov, with the assistance of a group of German gunsmiths led by Hugo Schmeiser, created his AK-47 assault rifle. He became the main in the Soviet army and the most popular throughout the world. AK-47 glorified the plant, gave a new impetus to the military industry. Kalashnikov later developed advanced automatic machines (AKMS, AK-74 and others), light machine guns (RPK). Among the master’s later developments is the Bison class submachine gun.
The factory design bureau also designed a whole family of hunting rifles based on the Mosin-Nagan rifle and AK-based carbines. Izhmash’s sports weapons helped the team of the Soviet Union repeatedly win shooting competitions at the European, World and Summer Olympics.
In 1963, E.F.Dragunov designed a very successful model of a semi-automatic sniper rifle called the SVD. Later, she “overgrown” with many modifications and improvements. In 1998, the small-caliber sniper SV-99 was developed for special forces. It should be noted the modern machine gun G. N. Nikonov "Abakan", which has excellent accuracy of fire.
Today, Izhmash continues to be a leading domestic supplier of various types of weapons. After the reorganization of 2013, production received a new impetus in development. Address of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant: 426006, Russian Federation, Udmurtia, Izhevsk, Deryabin 3.