Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau
Encyclopedia
Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau , often simply called Morozov Design Bureau or abbreviated KMDB, is a state-owned company in Kharkiv
, Ukraine
, which designs armoured vehicles, including the T-80UD and T-84
main battle tank
s, as well as military prime movers. It was responsible for many important Soviet AFV
s, including the BT tank series and the T-34
, T-54, and T-64
tanks. It is closely associated with the Malyshev Factory
.
) in 1927, in Kharkiv
, Soviet Ukraine, and was responsible for the T-12 and T-24 light tanks. In the 1930s, the design team was designated as the independent T2K Tank Design Bureau, and began work on the BT tank series. In 1936 the plant was re-designated "Plant No. 183", and the design bureau "KB-190". The plant also produced small quantities of multi-turreted T-35
tanks, and had a separate design bureau (KB-35) to assist in their development.
In 1937, a separate design bureau was established to build a replacement for the BT tank series, under the supervision of Mikhail Koshkin
. Koshkin pushed the boundaries of the specification given to him, and further development led to the T-34
, the most-produced and one of the best tanks of World War II. Series production began in June 1940 in Kharkiv, and later in the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and Sormovo Shipbuilding Plant
. In the same year, Koshkin died and Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Morozov
was appointed Chief Designer of the T-34 Main Design Bureau (GKB T-34), a post he would hold for the remaining thirty-six years of his life.
In 1939, the tank design bureaux of Kharkiv were merged into a single agency called Department 520. In 1941, due to German advances, the factory and design shops were evacuated to the Ural mountains
. The plant was united with Uralvagonzavod
Plant in Nizhny Tagil
into one enterprise called Urals Tank Plant No. 183.
Although design improvements and production continued to concentrate on the T-34 and improved T-34-85, new design work was also continued during the war. The T-44
began production in the recaptured Kharkiv factory in 1945, and the first prototypes of the T-54 were built.
After the war was over, the factory gradually transferred operations back to Ukraine (now as Kharkiv Diesel Factory No. 75). T-54 production was started in the Urals and Kharkiv in 1947–48, and the move ended with the 1951 establishment of the KB-60M Design Bureau in Kharkiv.
During the post-war period, Morozov turned over further development of the T-54/55 to the Kartsev Design Bureau at Uralvagonzavod, and began work on a next-generation main battle tank, which would become the T-64
, for which design Alexander Morozov would receive the Order of Lenin
.
Factory No. 75, renamed Malyshev Plant in 1957, built tank engines, and later took up production of T-54, T-55 (1958, the most-produced tank ever), and T-64 (1967) tanks. The T-64 was also built in the Leningrad Kirov Plant and Uralvagonzavod Plant. In the 1960s the bureau also designed OT-54 and TO-55 flame-thrower tanks, for production at the Omsk Transport Machine Construction Plant.
In 1966, the tank design bureau (Department 60) and experimental tank production shop (Shop 190) were combined into the Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB). In 1979, after the death of Oleksandr O. Morozov, it was renamed in his honor.
KMDB designed the T-80UD, a diesel-engined variant of the gas turbine-powered T-80
, in 1985.
and Pakistan
signed a $650 million contract for delivery of 320 T-80UD tanks. Deliveries were hampered by politically motivated problems with supply of Russian components. Ukraine
was forced to develop new manufacturing capabilities and the contract was concluded in 1999. KMDB then began supplying Pakistan with the 6TD-2 diesel engine for installation on the Al-Khalid main battle tank, and has assisted with Pakistan's Al-Zarrar
tank project.
The T-84
entered service with the Military of Ukraine in 1999, and the more advanced Oplot version in 2001. The tank is actively marketed for export, and can incorporate Russia
n countermeasures systems and a French
fire-control system. The T-84-120 and Yatagan has been developed employing an auto-loaded 120mm tank gun which fires NATO ammunition as well as ATGMs. Versions have seen trials in Greece
, Turkey
, and Malaysia.
KMDB also produces military tractors, trainers and simulators, and upgrade packages for Soviet tanks and APC
s. KMDB's BTR-4 armoured personnel carrier has been supplied to Iraq.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, which designs armoured vehicles, including the T-80UD and T-84
T-84
The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank, a development of the Soviet T-80 main battle tank. It was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. The T-84 is based on the diesel-engined T-80 version, the T-80UD...
main battle tank
Main battle tank
A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
s, as well as military prime movers. It was responsible for many important Soviet AFV
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
s, including the BT tank series and the T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
, T-54, and T-64
T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62...
tanks. It is closely associated with the Malyshev Factory
Malyshev Factory
- External links :* *...
.
History
KMDB started as the Tank Design Team of the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory Komintern (KhPZ, now Malyshev FactoryMalyshev Factory
- External links :* *...
) in 1927, in Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Soviet Ukraine, and was responsible for the T-12 and T-24 light tanks. In the 1930s, the design team was designated as the independent T2K Tank Design Bureau, and began work on the BT tank series. In 1936 the plant was re-designated "Plant No. 183", and the design bureau "KB-190". The plant also produced small quantities of multi-turreted T-35
T-35
The T-35 was a Soviet multi-turreted heavy tank of the interwar period and early Second World War that saw limited production and service with the Red Army. It was the only five-turreted heavy tank in the world to reach production but proved to be slow and mechanically unreliable...
tanks, and had a separate design bureau (KB-35) to assist in their development.
In 1937, a separate design bureau was established to build a replacement for the BT tank series, under the supervision of Mikhail Koshkin
Mikhail Koshkin
Mikhail Ilyich Koshkin was a Soviet tank designer, chief designer of the famous T-34 medium tank. The T-34 was the most effective and most produced tank of World War II. He started out in life as a candy maker, but then studied engineering...
. Koshkin pushed the boundaries of the specification given to him, and further development led to the T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
, the most-produced and one of the best tanks of World War II. Series production began in June 1940 in Kharkiv, and later in the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and Sormovo Shipbuilding Plant
Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112
Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112 named after Andrei Zhdanov was one of the oldest shipbuilding factories in the Soviet Union, located in theSormovsky City District of Nizhny Novgorod .- Early history:...
. In the same year, Koshkin died and Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Morozov
Alexander Alexandrovich Morozov
Olexandr Oleksandrovych Morozov was a Soviet engineer and tank designer.A graduate from the Moscow Mechanical Institute, in 1928 Morozov started work at a new design bureau headed by I. Aleksiyenko, at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Here he contributed to the lacklustre T-12...
was appointed Chief Designer of the T-34 Main Design Bureau (GKB T-34), a post he would hold for the remaining thirty-six years of his life.
In 1939, the tank design bureaux of Kharkiv were merged into a single agency called Department 520. In 1941, due to German advances, the factory and design shops were evacuated to the Ural mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
. The plant was united with Uralvagonzavod
Uralvagonzavod
Uralvagonzavod is a Russian machine building company located in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. It is one of the largest scientific and industrial complexes in Russia and the largest main battle tank manufacturer in the world....
Plant in Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, situated east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia. Population: -History:...
into one enterprise called Urals Tank Plant No. 183.
Although design improvements and production continued to concentrate on the T-34 and improved T-34-85, new design work was also continued during the war. The T-44
T-44
The T-44 was a medium tank first produced towards the end of the Second World War by the Soviet Union. It was the successor to the famous T-34...
began production in the recaptured Kharkiv factory in 1945, and the first prototypes of the T-54 were built.
After the war was over, the factory gradually transferred operations back to Ukraine (now as Kharkiv Diesel Factory No. 75). T-54 production was started in the Urals and Kharkiv in 1947–48, and the move ended with the 1951 establishment of the KB-60M Design Bureau in Kharkiv.
During the post-war period, Morozov turned over further development of the T-54/55 to the Kartsev Design Bureau at Uralvagonzavod, and began work on a next-generation main battle tank, which would become the T-64
T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62...
, for which design Alexander Morozov would receive the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
.
Factory No. 75, renamed Malyshev Plant in 1957, built tank engines, and later took up production of T-54, T-55 (1958, the most-produced tank ever), and T-64 (1967) tanks. The T-64 was also built in the Leningrad Kirov Plant and Uralvagonzavod Plant. In the 1960s the bureau also designed OT-54 and TO-55 flame-thrower tanks, for production at the Omsk Transport Machine Construction Plant.
In 1966, the tank design bureau (Department 60) and experimental tank production shop (Shop 190) were combined into the Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB). In 1979, after the death of Oleksandr O. Morozov, it was renamed in his honor.
KMDB designed the T-80UD, a diesel-engined variant of the gas turbine-powered T-80
T-80
The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...
, in 1985.
Production
After the break-up of the Soviet Union, KMDB and the Malyshev factory became the main tank design and manufacture enterprise in Ukraine. However, they were highly dependent on manufacture of components in Russian facilities, especially the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil. In 1996, UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
signed a $650 million contract for delivery of 320 T-80UD tanks. Deliveries were hampered by politically motivated problems with supply of Russian components. Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
was forced to develop new manufacturing capabilities and the contract was concluded in 1999. KMDB then began supplying Pakistan with the 6TD-2 diesel engine for installation on the Al-Khalid main battle tank, and has assisted with Pakistan's Al-Zarrar
Al-Zarrar
The Al-Zarrar is a modern main battle tank developed and manufactured by Heavy Industries Taxila of Pakistan for the Pakistan Army. The KMDB design bureau of Ukraine also took part in the development project....
tank project.
The T-84
T-84
The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank, a development of the Soviet T-80 main battle tank. It was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. The T-84 is based on the diesel-engined T-80 version, the T-80UD...
entered service with the Military of Ukraine in 1999, and the more advanced Oplot version in 2001. The tank is actively marketed for export, and can incorporate Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n countermeasures systems and a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fire-control system. The T-84-120 and Yatagan has been developed employing an auto-loaded 120mm tank gun which fires NATO ammunition as well as ATGMs. Versions have seen trials in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and Malaysia.
KMDB also produces military tractors, trainers and simulators, and upgrade packages for Soviet tanks and APC
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s. KMDB's BTR-4 armoured personnel carrier has been supplied to Iraq.
Armoured personnel carriers
- BTR-3U - developed in 2000-2001 by a consortium comprising KMDB, State Scientific Technical Centre of Artillery & Rifle Arms (Ukraine) and ADCOM Manufacturing Company Ltd. of the United Arab Emirates.
- BTR-4BTR-4The BTR-4 is a 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in Ukraine by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau as a private venture...
- supplied to Iraq.
Main battle tanks
- T-80UD - supplied to Pakistan.
- T-84T-84The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank, a development of the Soviet T-80 main battle tank. It was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. The T-84 is based on the diesel-engined T-80 version, the T-80UD...
- variants include the Oplot, T-84-120 and the Yatagan.
External links
- KMDB - official site
- История создания первых танков на территории украины (History of the first tanks on Ukrainian territory), Maksym Sayenko, at Vasyl Chobitok's Brone-Site, in Russian