PRODUCTION OF SPECIAL PRODUCTS AT IVANOVO FURNITURE FACTORY (PLANT NO. 43) DURING WORLD WAR II

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of Ivanovo furniture factory, which during World War II operated under the provisional name «plant No. 43» of the People’s Commissariat of the forest industry. Fulfi lling the orders of the State Defence Committee of the USSR, it produced landing and sanitary aerial vehicles, special caps for 45 mm shells, cases for anti-tank mines and other special products for the active army. The article refl ects the problems of the development of these types of products by the combine, the organisation of production cooperation for the production of individual components and devices for aerial vehicles, as well as metal fi ttings for special closures and cases for anti-tank mines. Important attention is paid to the specifics of the search for solutions to resolve them, including through appeals to Joseph Stalin, the Chairman of the State Defence Committee. These actions were based on maximum mobilisation of local production resources and on the development of various forms of socialist competition. They were so successful that in August and September 1944, the factory’s labour team twice became the winner of the all-Union socialist competition among the enterprises of the forest industry with the award of the Red Banner of the GKO of the State Defence Committee. In the end, all this worked for the defence of the country and brought the defeat of the enemy closer. The article is based on the materials of the state archive of Ivanovo Region, the Russian state archive of socio-political history, the State archive of the Russian Federation, and the local periodical press. It summarises new information on the topic under study, most of the archival documents are introduced into scientific circulation for the fi rst time, which allows researchers and the public to expand their understanding of the contribution of residents of the region to achieving victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. The results of this research may be of interest to specialists in the fi eld of regional economy and the history of World War II.