Perm Cannon Factory on the Eve of the First World War
Georgy N. Shumkin, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher
Institute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Yekaterinburg, Russia, shumk@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1858-8001
Abstract
The article examines the development of the Perm Cannon Factory before the First World War, analyzes the state of production facilities, as well as the fulfillment of orders from the army and the navy in 1908 — the first half of 1914. In the conclusion of the article an attempt is made to answer the question about the degree of readiness of the factory for the upcoming war conflict. On the one hand, the funds allocated for the modernization of equipment were insufficient. Adopted in the summer of 1913 the reconstruction plan was aimed not so much at expanding productivity (it was supposed to grow by about 20%), but at changing the profile: instead of small and medium-caliber shells, the factory was supposed to produce large-caliber guns for the fleet. The territory of the factory was unsuitable for the expansion of production and vulnerable to floods. On the other hand, since 1908 the factory had been in a phase of unstable growth (the years of recovery were followed by years of stagnation). On average, annual output in 1908—1915 increased by 20—30%. Before the war, a number of serious organizational, technical and technological tasks were solved, due to which, in the first year of the war, production volumes were significantly increased (by 2—2.3 times).
Keywords
Mining industry, military industry, World War I, artillery, Ural, Perm Cannon Factory.
For citation:
Shumkin G. N. Perm Cannon Factory on the Eve of the First World War. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2024, no. 4 (52), pp. 260—280. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2024.52.16.
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