AMMUNITION DEPOTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00415R012100090006-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 2004
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: January 9, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION S
'0
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N71 AL INT I?UGENCE I N-QY 25X1R 'QRT
.
N FO M AT1c)N ETA CD NO.
COUNTRY Germany (Russian Zone) DATE D1_
STR.
9 January 1951
SUBJECT Ammunition Depots NO. OF PAGES
8
PLACE'
25X1 NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
3 (Encl. 1 Army
ACQUIRED
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Only)
DATE OF
INFO,
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS )NFORMATION. AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OPTHE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT SO
j.4;_ C? ST AND 32,A S AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION
OP 1T `CQH'J',FNT,S IN ANY WANNER=TO AN UNAOfiHORITED PERSON IS PRO.
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION.
11 In October 1950, it was learned that Soviet ammunition was being
Aleainl_Ammun
stored in the former German Ar, allegedly depot of ltenhain
~
M 52/E Ll), German ammunition y artillery Y shells of
various calibers, had been destroyed by blasting, The installations
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of the depot were in good condition. (1) The depot was guarded by
Soviet artillerymen who
numbered 300
to'400. A major who was billeted in the depot was said to be the
`a.ng officer. A colonel with his family was billeted in Trebsen
(N 2/E 51). (2) Since 1 October only about 60 Germans, most of them
women, have been employed in the dot. About 160 Germans were
previously employed there.
CLASSIFII,QAT'ION SECRET
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ARMY
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antitank, and rocket projectiles, (6)
.w__imnun.tion Depot.
b. On 18 September a convoy of ten empty trucks
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CENTRAL INTE,LIGE tCL AGEY
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Dingelstaedt Ammunition Depot.
the manufacture of ammunition in the
tmdeWoubd anima nition depot at Dingelsta edt (M 52/D 27) was resumed in
September. The monthly output` allegedly , unted to about 500,000 tank,
of the Berlin-SteIIin autobahn-and south o the 'Waster users- Snow ur
hii.ghway.. The convoy subsequently left toward Eberswalde. (7)
r} busses I loccupied by soldiers, picked
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uo armriunition at an ammunition depot which was located about 200 meters west
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OENTRAL NIB ILLI E AGENCY
On 2 and 3 October it was obswrjred that ammunition boxes
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6, On 22 October a 120-a ct train wit' i about 100 guns and 10 -AT o Or
o d of r ,v~ d,.? ~'r nkf r Oder, from
the,; irection rof Brest-z tovsk? The train ,teats redispatched
'uerstentae (N ~53/V 33 ), where the artillery. pieces were
loaded and shipped to the Falkenhagen ordnance depot The
ammunition continued by..' rail to .an underground ammunition
depot on the Fuerstenwalde-Beeskow line; and . we g . unloade there.
The am a ition depot is said to be a large and heavily guarded
installation, Railroad engineers: of trains passing by were ordered
to avoid any discharge of sparks, (9)
Kirchhan Ammunition Depot,
79 In September it was learned that Soviet ammunition was bein
8. an 21 October it was learned that the former Io gi ehna . (N 52/E 53)
were stored in several u ngS of the a 1es ust ammunition
kepi-f, near inow (N 53)V 08). Soviet fatigue details arrived
to load amm n tion. The daily guard relief detail of one
officer and 20 EM came from the direction of Eberswalde. (8)
stored in the Igant mine, about 7.km south of Kirchhaan (N 52/A 05).
The ammunition, which arrived by truck from an undetermined
shipping point, allegedly consisted of light artillery, infantry,
and rocket ammunition of various calibers. (10)
tockrehna Ammunition Depot,.,
riition depot was bein `heavzi guarded by Volkspolizei personnel
who numbered about 300 men, It w as
said t that stocks of German ammunition were stored in the depot,
Ammunition was no longer being manufactured there. The only Soviet
soldier seen on 21 October ,vas an artillery lieutenant who went to
the depot. (11)
fathenow A ni- on Depot.
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25X1 10* a new type of ammunition wqs being shipped
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of powerful arc lamps and four searchlights were installed throughI
9.. Between 20 September and 1 October a new lighting system consisting
_ i?r 1 ?..-+. .+~+ a j. ' ~+ u v iv%.u varw .a.aa J LY C41 uaC1 aLYVL J._1 ~U 4.4,,PY CL1 4A
ave n Li l/J 53) on the railrDad line to . ,rnstad and detail
o, the depot for storage. They described the ammunition as''Hoil_
bombs' having abomb- shaped designs 150 cm high and 30 cm in diameter,
. - with four trapezoid fins at the upper end, The bombs were allegedly
fared Irom a special launching frame. (l3}
Snhwarza.. Ammunition De t.
11,
19 October it was learned that th_e amrmunit on depot of the Saalfeld
there, which consisted of 1 officer and 10 EM, was
frog Saa1.fold, No construction or shipments either1
going were observed.
o
% the area of the storage depot at the Rathenow-Nord (N 3/Z 15)
railroad station, The guard detail on duty in the depot area was
l ed by"L.ieutenant Proshenko (fnu), and was recently brought
up to a strength of 40 :men. Since 29 September all streets in the
vicinity of the depot have been restricted to civilian traffic after
dark.. (12)
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Schwerin-Sternbuchholz Ammunition Depot.
12. During the nights from 12 to 16 October truck convoys were
observed hauling ammunition to the.Sternbuchholz (M 54/T 46)
depot. No details on the origin, type, quantity, or caliber
of the ammunition and no truck numbers could be secured, (15)
Toepchin j.,.tton Depot.
13. Between 21, and 23 September it was
N _53/Z 91) ammunition deppot, which i
v:- wl,_ contains anut rraxiean and 10
ice storage bunkers each with a capacity of 2 or 3 railroad
carloads of ammunition, The surface bunkers were round jreinforced
concrete structures, about 20 meters in diameter and ab
ut 3
5
o
.
meters high, topped by an arched concrete roof, They have double
iron doors, large enough to allow ;~ truck to pass through. The
-nut were s1rrouaded by sodded mounds of earth, with ap
The military per onnel were. organized into two units, one commanded
rtb Colonel Panin (fnu), including about 36 officers,, and the other
by Lieutenant Colonel .Yarenko (fnu) ,, including 4 majors 6 captains
and 4 senior lieutenants one f v
w
m
11.x. At the depot, about 50 officers and 300 EM, who wore red-bordered
black epaulets, were engaged in the maintenance of ammunition.
They were assisted by 98 German civilians whose activities had been
restricted to cleaning and, other minor work about six weeks before,.
through for the doors, (l6)
,
Lo
was named Ouuayov (fnu).
There was only one political officer, a major, for both units, The
two commanding officers left Toepchin some time ago, but were ex-
pected to return soon, ColonelPanints unit furnished guard personnel
for the main approach road from the north and Lieutenant Colonel
Marenko's unit furnished personnel for the approach road from the
southeast. All officers were billeted outside the depot area in houses
along the T?epchin-Vluensdorf highway. With the exception of two
officer wives, all officer dependents had returned to the U.843 ;n, two
or three months ago.
15. A, special guard detail of 20 to 25 men was stationed in the Sputenberge
forosterts house on the eastern shore of Toepchin Lake. The soldiers
of the detail wore red-bordered black epaulets with artillery insignia
and yellow-bordered black epaulets.'They were brought to and from this
post by truck. The enlisted personnel stationed at the depot proper
were accommodated in wooden barracks and were restricted to quarters,
j rus was Wing removed from stocks and incoming shipments of Soviet
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l6. No new ammunition was being manufactured or filled at the depot, The
{ t
ar a ery annuw,ti.on. The ammunition was also being reconditioned.:
sue. __ .,
en.stored. The 122-mm rocket projectiles-were
de
ot
l
...
p
was on
y
oiled and sprayed with powdered soapstone, Some shipments of British,
ammunition,, bearing the inscription "140-mm shell" on the boxes
, were
observed to arrive at the depot, The last shipment of this kind, about
five.boxcarloads, arrived about three weeks prior to 21-23 September,
This ammunition was also reconditioned. The 28 to 30 surface and sub-
terranean bunkers were allegedly filled at the time of observation, the
shells stored there being without fuzes.
17. A Soviet laboratory was being established in a former inn and its annex
buildings, about 250 meters east o f t he driveway to the ammunition
depot, on the southern edge of the highway leading to Toepchin. It was
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CENTRAL DUEL ,IC IOo AEC?
said that work with highly explosive ma eria
ducted in the heavily E-uarded laboratory. (16) Trucks)
,
by artillerymen an soldiers witli yellow-bordered. black epaulets
were identified at the depot. (17)
18. Outgoing shipments of ammunition amounted to 1,254 tons in 85
bo p.4rs, in . ar r 1950; 510 tons in 34 boxcars in February;
5 tons in one ,boxcar in March; 950 tors in 53 boxcars in April;
3.40 tons in 2Ii., boxcars in May; 56$ torts in its boxcars in July;
and 215 tons. in 25 boxcars. in August 1:950. No ammunition left
Toepchinin June 1950..
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Rail shipments which were dispatched from the Toepchin depot between
3 September and 20 October included: 25X1
Frankfurt/Oder
Soviet soldiers 3 September
who had escorted
sour shipments to
Toepchin
Shipment
Two.boxcars with
Twenty-six
boxcars with
630 tons of
ammunition;
allegedly the
only outgoing
munition
shipment in
7Septembber
Fourteen
boxcars with
ammunition;
ammunition;
Fifteen
boxcars with
Ten boxcars
with ammunition
Ten boxcars
with ammunition
F7
Seven boxcars
with ammunition,;
.Fifteen boxcars;
Kapen
20 September
Dannenwalde
(N Sit/u 61)
4 October
2:32 p.m.
Dannenwalde
4 October
2 p.m.
Roederau
(N 52/E 81)
11 October
1:20 p.m.
Dannenwalde
11 October
1:20 p.m.
Altengrabow
(M 53/z 00)
11 October
1:32 pun..
Roederau
17 October
6:35 p.m.
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Date
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Fourteen boxcar ? Roederau
17 October
6:35 p.m.
Four boxcars;
Altengrabow
20 October
6:20 p.m.
Finow
20 October
6:23 p.m.
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20. Incoming shipments of ammunition amounted to 1480 tons in 30 boxcars
in January 19,0; x.52 tons in 29 boxcars in February; 719 tons in 5L.
boxcars in March; 516 tons in 33 boxcars in April; 52)4 tons in 30 boxcars
in May; 2,201 tons in 187 boxcars in tune; 486 tons in 31 boxcars in
July; and 1.,304 tons in 67 boxcars in August 1950.
21. Rail shipments which arrived at the Toepchin depot between 3 September
and 21 October included:?
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Ste'
Thirty-six boxcars;
S,hiing Station and Date
Frankfurt/Od+er
3 September
Six boxcars Mockrehna
8 September
Fourteen boxcars which Fuerstenwalde
were redispatched to 9 September
Neubuckow
Three. boxcars Wulkow
20 September
Nine boxcars
Eight boxcars;
Two boxcars
Three boxcars
One boxcar
Hohenleipisch
27 September
Hohenleipisch
2 October
Wulkow
3 October
Wulkow
11 October
Wulkow.
13 October
Two boxcars wutkow
21 October
Wilmersdorf i ti on Depot,
22< On 28 OctQlzp ' t Wil ersdor (N 53/V 32) ammunition depot dispatched'
452 tons of highly to Kapen.
t
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which is sometimes referred to as Amelshain depot. It is a former
German Army installation located in the wooded area east of
Altenhain on theme le ding to Trebsen. To date, incoming ship-
25X1 2L. Truck arrived at thedepot from wittenberg. Truck
25X1 I larrived at the depot fr >m the direction of Mockrehna
and left toward Torgau. Sedan _________heft the depot toward
25X1 Zinna,. (20)
25. Local residents said that German civilians were employed at the
Zinna ammunition depot. Artillery, ammunition was allegedly stored
in the large earth bunkers, which can be recognized from outside
the depot area. The railroad spur of the installation was apparently
not used since it wqs completely covered with rust,
25X1 Comments.
The information confirms the Eighth Gds Army ammunition depot,
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na Ammunition ,Depot.
23, On '25 and 26 October the former German Army ammunition depot
of Zi_nna (N 52/E 64) near Torgau was guarded by Volkspolizei
personnel. About 30 Soviet soldie:?s wearing red epaulets and
red bordered black epaulets and armed with submachine guns,
were observed at field training in terrain between the ammunition
depot and the Torgau-Mock:rehna road. (19)
(3) Guard an y intensified.
The official bulletin of re s ;wuna, issue o . October 950,
published a warning that entering a 200-meter zone from the depot
fence,was at the risk of:life,
(1i) Five trucks and one sedan belonged to the 8th Gds kecz Div of the
Tulkow and Juet
(2) Accordin
officers
(5)
depot in the potash mine of was abandoned by the Soviets
First Gds Mecz Army; one truck to a headquarters unit of, the First
Gds Mecz Army; one truck to a headquarters unit of the Eighth Gds
Army; and one truck to the. MVI). regiment in Leipzig.
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(6) According to reliable information the former German ammunition
in October 1948 to allow for the resumption of potash mining. The
resumption of production by the Soviets is reported for the first
time. and requires confirmation Since the
depot had been used only for the ; e o German ammunition prior
to 1918, it is doubted that' ammun,tion should now be manufactured
there. It is possible,. however, that ammunition may again be stored
there,
(7) Possibly an ammunition supply =tepii on the grounds of the former
autobahn rest camp, about 1,200 meters west of Finowfurt. The depot
was observed as early as February 1950, bu .was not identified as
an ammunition depot. It probably belongs to the Fourth Gds.Mecz
SECF:ET)
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CEi RAL 1 L16ENC E AGENCY
t A Depot on the Berlin-Stettin .Autobahn, West of Pinow urt
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25X1 Legend to Annex 3
1 Main guardhouse
2 Guardhouse at a rpAd barrier
3 Guardhouse at a road barrier
4 Checkpoint
5 Ammunition maintenance houses, greet-painted solid brick structures,
about 10xL.0x6 meters, with flat, rel,;nforced concrete roofs. The
houses had iron doors, about 3 deters wide and 4 meters high,
and two jI'4hkr: on each long side. Trucks entered the houses through
the doors.
6 Ammunition packing houses, solid brjek structures which can hardly
be distinguished from the maintenance houses.
7 Printing shop for nomenclature labels
8 Underground gasoline storage
9 Gasoline storage shed
10 Tool storage shed
11 Administration building
12 Soldering shop with packing- shed
13 Shed ' melting pitch
11 Solid structures resembling the ammunition maintenance houses
15 About 15: wooden barracks quartering, the Soviet depot personnel
16 PX building
17 Guard quarters
18 Laboratory in a former inn, heavily guarded and surrounded by a
board fence about 3.5 meters high
19 Six two-story officers' houses, with, about 50 apartments and an
officerst mess
20 Twenty-eight surface and subterranean ammunition bunkers.
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Legends See 6: i `est.
--t'I~arLroad Sf atior~
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SECR T~
not fo Sca/c
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