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http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/15/66140233.html
Tula small arms factory: smithy of Russian weapons
Tags: weapons, Russia, Commentary, Society
Oleg Nekhai
Feb 15, 2012 17:56 Moscow Time
Photo: RIA Novosti
300 years ago, on the 15th of February 1712, by order of Emperor Peter the Great a state-run small arms factory was built in Tula. From the first days of its operation, the factory has been producing a full range of small arms and making cold steel for the Russian army. The firearms were made of damask steel.
But the history of weapon-making in Tula goes back further than 1712. In 1595, by order of Czar Fyodor, Ivan the Terrible’s son, the city’s Blacksmiths’ Guild was to establish homemade weapon production, to make sure that all weapon-makers worked for the state. This is how the first gunsmiths appeared and their numbers grew but they initially all worked in their own homes. As time went on, gunsmiths’ workshops grew to factories to meet the mass need for weapons. Historian Alexey Kamolikov says:
“Peter the Great issued a decree to build the Tula State Small Arms Factory in February 1712 and the factory started manufacturing firearms of excellent quality.”
The names of many talented Tula gunsmiths went down in history. For example, Alexey Surnin who was sent to England for training by order of Empress Catherine the Great. Surnin became the prototype for the famous Levsha, the main character of a story by Russian writer Leskov. According to the story, Levsha became famous after he apparently managed to 'shoe' a flea. An English gunsmith, John Johns, came to Tula with his son in 1817. The Englishmen signed a contract with the arms factory where Johns the Senior was appointed the foreman of the mechanical works. Johns modernized what Surnin had introduced the field of standardization. That amounted to a technical revolution at the Tula factory. The factory played a special role during the Patriotic War of 1812 when the country had to repulse the invasion of Napoleon’s troops, Alexey Kamolikov says.
“Ingenious commander Mikhail Kutuzov protected the Tula Region, and first of all its arms factory, from the enemy’s attack using his clever tactics. For three years, between 1812 and1814, Tula gunsmiths made 600,000 guns for the Russian army, which was an enormous number of weapons in those days.”
The factory also played a tremendous role in the war against Nazi Germany. When the Nazi troops conquered Oryol and started encroaching on the borders of the Tula Region, it was decided to immediately evacuate the factory. The evacuation of the factory's equipment to the east was done strictly in accordance with the technological requirements, which meant that the machines could resume production on the new place as soon as possible. The factory did an unprecedented amount of work on the new place and soon weapons made by Tula gunsmiths were delivered to the Soviet troops.
The characteristic feature of Tula-made weapons, their hallmark has always been high quality, editor of the Oruzhenosets portal Stanislav Kravchinsky points out.
“The factory has a long history, it was an Imperial factory for a long time, so its weapons were famous for their reliability and high quality. The Tula factory has made many famous models of Russian weapons, and first of all, the Mosin rifle. The factory has also made western models, such as the Maxim machinegun and the Nagant revolver. The factory's logo is the TT pistol which has been used by many types of troops.”
Today the Tula factory is a recognized world centre of military and double technologies. It makes combat weapons, as well as those for hunting and sports, and also anti-tank missiles, sub-machineguns and silent and underwater pistols.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/15/66140233.html
Tula small arms factory: smithy of Russian weapons
Tags: weapons, Russia, Commentary, Society
Oleg Nekhai
Feb 15, 2012 17:56 Moscow Time
Photo: RIA Novosti
300 years ago, on the 15th of February 1712, by order of Emperor Peter the Great a state-run small arms factory was built in Tula. From the first days of its operation, the factory has been producing a full range of small arms and making cold steel for the Russian army. The firearms were made of damask steel.
But the history of weapon-making in Tula goes back further than 1712. In 1595, by order of Czar Fyodor, Ivan the Terrible’s son, the city’s Blacksmiths’ Guild was to establish homemade weapon production, to make sure that all weapon-makers worked for the state. This is how the first gunsmiths appeared and their numbers grew but they initially all worked in their own homes. As time went on, gunsmiths’ workshops grew to factories to meet the mass need for weapons. Historian Alexey Kamolikov says:
“Peter the Great issued a decree to build the Tula State Small Arms Factory in February 1712 and the factory started manufacturing firearms of excellent quality.”
The names of many talented Tula gunsmiths went down in history. For example, Alexey Surnin who was sent to England for training by order of Empress Catherine the Great. Surnin became the prototype for the famous Levsha, the main character of a story by Russian writer Leskov. According to the story, Levsha became famous after he apparently managed to 'shoe' a flea. An English gunsmith, John Johns, came to Tula with his son in 1817. The Englishmen signed a contract with the arms factory where Johns the Senior was appointed the foreman of the mechanical works. Johns modernized what Surnin had introduced the field of standardization. That amounted to a technical revolution at the Tula factory. The factory played a special role during the Patriotic War of 1812 when the country had to repulse the invasion of Napoleon’s troops, Alexey Kamolikov says.
“Ingenious commander Mikhail Kutuzov protected the Tula Region, and first of all its arms factory, from the enemy’s attack using his clever tactics. For three years, between 1812 and1814, Tula gunsmiths made 600,000 guns for the Russian army, which was an enormous number of weapons in those days.”
The factory also played a tremendous role in the war against Nazi Germany. When the Nazi troops conquered Oryol and started encroaching on the borders of the Tula Region, it was decided to immediately evacuate the factory. The evacuation of the factory's equipment to the east was done strictly in accordance with the technological requirements, which meant that the machines could resume production on the new place as soon as possible. The factory did an unprecedented amount of work on the new place and soon weapons made by Tula gunsmiths were delivered to the Soviet troops.
The characteristic feature of Tula-made weapons, their hallmark has always been high quality, editor of the Oruzhenosets portal Stanislav Kravchinsky points out.
“The factory has a long history, it was an Imperial factory for a long time, so its weapons were famous for their reliability and high quality. The Tula factory has made many famous models of Russian weapons, and first of all, the Mosin rifle. The factory has also made western models, such as the Maxim machinegun and the Nagant revolver. The factory's logo is the TT pistol which has been used by many types of troops.”
Today the Tula factory is a recognized world centre of military and double technologies. It makes combat weapons, as well as those for hunting and sports, and also anti-tank missiles, sub-machineguns and silent and underwater pistols.
