The plant “Arsenal” was the leading state enterprise of the optical-mechanical and optical-electronic industry of Ukraine. It was included in the list of enterprises of strategic importance for the economy and security of the country. And the plant appeared during the reign of Catherine II in 1764, when the “Regulations on the Kyiv Arsenal Team” was published – various types of weapons, including artillery, were repaired and manufactured here.
During the Great Patriotic War, the plant increased the output of military products. In July 1941, in connection with the approach of the front line and air raids on Kiev, it was decided to evacuate the enterprise to the east – 36 echelons (1100 wagons) were used to move all factory equipment and 2,500 workers. At the new location, he began work 3 days after the installation of the equipment. After the end of the war, the plant “Arsenal” was redesigned for the production of optical, opto-mechanical and opto-electronic devices, mainly for the needs of the military industry.
That’s interesting!
1. Aviation helmet-mounted target designation systems, which were developed and manufactured at the plant, are used on MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft in combination with homing heads for air-to-air missiles also created at Arsenal.
2. Special cameras manufactured at the Arsenal plant were used for photographing from the spacecraft of the Vostok and Soyuz series, the Luna and Zond interplanetary stations, the Salyut orbital stations, and were also used when astronauts went out into the open space.
3. The well-known in the USSR cameras “Kyiv” were also made at this enterprise. The high quality of the produced optics for these cameras was achieved due to the reliability of work and the accuracy of processing on the machines “Carl Zeiss Jena” of the 1890s and “Carl Zeiss AG” of the 1970s.
Since the mid-1990s, the management of the enterprise has taken a course towards the gradual closure of the plant, by reducing government orders, closing workshops, leasing buildings and premises, and laying off employees. In July 2009, the Economic Court of Kyiv opened proceedings on the bankruptcy of the state-owned enterprise plant “Arsenal”, and in December its liquidation was completed – it was excluded from the state register. It is planned to build office and bank buildings, an entertainment center and residential buildings on the former territory of the plant. Only a small part of the legendary enterprise remained in the form of the Arsenal central design bureau, which huddles in one building.
Where is the Arsenal factory located?
Moscow street, 8