Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University (Magnitogorsk, Russia):

V. M. Kolokoltsev, Dr. Eng., Prof.
V. A. Bigeev, Dr. Eng., Prof., e-mail: v.bigeev11@yandex.ru

With the outbreak of the World War II, the production of tanks and other military equipment required large volumes of armoured steel. One of its fi rst orders at the end of June 1941, the State Defense Committee demanded that metallurgists of the Urals and Siberia organize the production of armoured metal for the tank-building industry. The metallurgical enterprises of the center of the country and the Volga region for production of armored metal were not considered because of the potential danger of approaching the front line. From the military point of view, armour is a strong protective lining or a one-piece body made of steel with high strength and impact strength. Such properties of armour steels are ensured, fi rstly, by the optimal contents of carbon, chromium, nickel and molybdenum, and secondly, by special modes of rolling and heat treatment of armor plates. Armour is used on tanks, armored vehicles, military vessels and other types of military equipment. The most important role in fulfi lling this task was assigned to the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. This enterprise had the best iron ore base in the country (Magnitnaya deposit), and new production facilities were built and launched thereon. In addition, in the 30ies of the XX century. the Yuzhuralnickel plant (based on local nickel ore deposits) in the South Urals in Orsk, and the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant (based on the group of rich Khromtau deposits) in northwestern Kazakhstan were commissioned. This solved the task of alloying armoured steel. Relatively close to Magnitogorsk, in Chelyabinsk and Nizhnyi Tagil, was decided to create the main production of armoured vehicles.

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