CHEMICAL WARFARE TRAINING, ORGANIZATION, AND ACTIVITY IN THE SOVIET ARMY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400520009-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 19, 2003
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: June 22, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Annrn$~I~12%W1,t-RDP82-00
VT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Chemical Warfare Training, Organization, and
Activity in the Soviet Army
25X1ACQUIIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
DATE (OF TIN
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tNtI I*CNMINT ONNTAIMN INIINMNTINN A!CINTIII* TMI N41T>*NNL 111141410
Or TNC UNITED 11011$. 11TN1$ 7149 NIANINNO?TITL1 111 ^ICT10411 0110
AND 71 N1 Or TNI U.S. COOEI AI AN1N011. ITN TARNSN1SI10N 01 IIVI
LOTION Or ITS CONTENTS TO ON IICEIPT ST AN UNAUTNONIDIO PINION II
PIONIIITIO ST LAW. TNI IIPRODUCTION Or THIN r0 IN 11 TI6NISITIO.
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
jchemical warfare laboratories
The laboratories were in the efor ovo (now aumans 2
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Rayon of Moscow, near the present Military Chemical Defense Academy. The labora-
tories were under the Chief Military Chemical Administration of the Soviet Army
(Glavnoye Voenno-Khimicheskoye Upravlenie RKKA) in Moscow. The VTA (Voenna
Tekhnichiskaya Akademiya - Military Technical Academy) in Leningrad also existed
at that time and offered courses for the chemical, communications, engineering,
and armored services. In 1932, this academy was abolished and separate military
echn ca services./ I
c from a osure to some poison gas, per--ens dying haps yperite mustard gas . T~ I 25X1
SEE LAST PACE FOR SUBJECT & AREA CODE.'
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
I F__
I I __
C S Army E~
DATE DISTR, a a. Jun 1954
NO. OF PAGES 5
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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CONFIDENTIAL
There were about 25 chemists at the installation and t was an
25X1 important activity. Of coursel these laboratories would be old fash-
ioned and the science undeveloped compared to present conditions.
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Dissemination of toxics by.means of aircraft was considered the best method in
theory;,in practice little was done in this field. Only liquid toxics were to
be disseminated from aircraft. As this was considered the most efficient method,
defense against it was stressed.., The liquid gases which were to be disseminated
from aircraft were of two types: a) "stoikiye".(long lasting, ie two or three
days), such as lewisite and yperite; and.b)"ne stoikiye" (temporary, ie about-.
one hour), which would.poieon enemy person el butnot the locality., Considered
?.s methods and equipment, of secondary importance were chemical mortars, chemi-
t
g per ec y
F regard to war gases, i was thou
1A be used
u
w
th
t
a
cal artillery shells to be used primarily by divisional artillery), and me
gas cylinders,
gas
o
a
' ht possible that they ml be used. It was always stated
F~- should not place to
only in retaliation.
much reliance in this statement:. Instruction was given concerning the use of
flame and smoke. There was only one type of flame thrower, a portable unit which
could be carried on a man's back. The same unit was used in tanks. "Neutral"
smoke was used for camouflage purposes and irritating smokes were utilized to.
produce tears and difficulty in breathing.
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4. There were two types of.independent chemical-service units. the.chemical company
and. the chemical.m9rtar.battalion. The Soviet Army T/O. provided in.. thery' for
quite a.few. ,chemical units. Quite. frequently, prior, to mid:1941, the units were
actually to be found-in the army.. Both the chemical companies and the chemical
mortar battalion -were.assigned to army and were to be. attached to divisions as
needed, The battalion .was to, be used only in the offense
chepiral_service.,_ Major General (fau) Vershinin his rank was equivalent-to
25X1 The company. was to. be. used for either offensive or defers-
s..ve. operations.. In,event,of chemical warfare, the company would use metal:.gas
cylinders. and utilize liquid gas to deny. terrain.to. the, enemy.. .. In.. defense., . it
would engage in such activities as a ta.on#, 25X1
25X1 In theory, there was to be- a
chemical platoon in regiment and a chemical-company in, division. In practice,
units such as division and regiment generally had-only an officer with the title
of."nachalnik khimsluzhbi" (chief, chemical.service),,who was assisted by one
other chemical. officer. The "nachala k" was charged with having a pla'k?: ready:,
in case, of need, to form quickly a chemical platoon or company. Some chemical
equipment.;; was available in the "til" (rear area).. Each soldier had a gas mask.
Each.-coapany had an NCO who acted as chemical instructor, teaching the soldiers
use of the gas mask and decontamination procedures. The NCO instructors were.
taught,by the "nachalnik khimeluzhbi." the chemical platoon was 25X1
a defensive unit only, charged with such tasks as decontamination et-dl use of
masks. In areas behind the combat zone, organized chemical units. were available
incase of need. During, World War II., or at least up to mid-1942;: there were no
chemical units on the front; only the."nachalniki khimsluzhbi." At.least:one
reason,fgr this was that; transportation and other facilities were lacking except
for the most yital operations, and the cheical service apparently was, not con-
sidered to be in this category. The military. districts each had one. or:more
indepeTident chemical companies. The one in Central Asia was located in Dzhambul.
l mobilization
In theory, it was to expand into two three h mica c
anal. e,attached to army, However, the chemical .units 25X1
were, left behind because of the lack of transportation,and other facilities.
5.
25X1 infotin tiom ,,,on.,:two,;officers rho were conrftsntt V e
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6. Chemical.. reserve officers attending the Froliche.camp were given .a four months,
course, from.l June until I October,, About 30% of instruction hours was devoted
to general tactics and tacti.ce of chemical units; this included study of topogra-
-.(primarily organi-
phy. The balance of theoretical instruction dealt with theory
zation) and practical doctrine of the chemical service. Manuals were used as
textbooks, Practical work ,at Frgliche was extensive,. Each officer student
played the role of an enlisted man,__in tliat;he- performed. all. the tasks which a
chemical service soldier was expected to ]snow. No real gases were used at Fro-
liche, except during one or two demonstrations. Practical work consisted of
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that'of,.Brigadie..Central in the US.Arm attained his rank after World War,II.
He .ia ri t the same person as the Marshal of the Air Force of the same name.
In 1939-1941, Vershinin was a colonel in charge. of the chemical troops.of..the
Central Asian military; district., The troops,consisted.of one chemical company,
plus the chemical officers attached to units of the other arms, such as the infan-
try. Vershinin was about 35 years old 25X1
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Major General.. .fnu . Viazanichev reached
this rank prior to World War.II, He was a senior,instructor of tactice,of chemi
gal troops at the._0hemical Academy, On 24 Jul 41 he was,assigned as "Nachalnik
Khimichiski Sluzhbi Severn vo Fronta" (Chief, Chemical Service, Northern; Front).
he was about 42~yee,rs..
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various activities.,. One was.t.he..use of..decontamination equipment. Two-wheeled
carts. and trucks sprinkled "khlornaya izvest", falcium'hypochlorit ;in order
to decontaminate" an..area. ,Decontamination showers were, also.. used. There were
tank trucks designed to sprinkle,liquid poison gas. There were metal gas cylin-
ders. Qas?.masks were of course available... There were "dimovii shashki" (smoke
cans) , which' were. designed to be. ignited. and left; burning in position. There was
.
a tank company, consist.ing:.of. 10,T-26 tanks equipped-with flame throwers,for
use against personnel and .ptl1b~es. ., In addition.,. there was,a chemical mortar
platoon, equipped with 122 mm mortars. ,In.regard to textbooks available for
students and for instructors, they were,the.same. They eon.siste4 - ofmsnuals on
the organization and:funct.ions of the chemical service, of technical booklets
for each type of chemical equipment.and decontamination proc.eddures,,.and of train-
ing booklets prepared.by.the Chemical Academy. The training.booklets.dealt in
detail with such subjects as chemical support for an infantry division in the
attack, in defense, and on the march.. the reserve officer stu-
dents were individuals who had previously already studied chemistry and. related
subjects and were brought. to Proliche?in order to be Oriente(.to the military
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7. The military faculty of. the Military.Chemical De.'~-:nse Academy was attended only
by army. officers. . The two.-technical..facult.ies obtained,their students direct
from high school and appointed them-lieutenants, These students) during their
first. summer at the. Proliche camp, were-taught-basic tactics, The senior.stu-
dents from the technical faculties of the Chemical.Academy.who were attending
25X1 Troliche had, of. course, already been studying science
for fourears:: In re and to their curriculum at Proliche 25X1
25X1 I Iassume they also had practical work. Their stay.,at
Proliche was normally from 15 May until 15 September.
8. Soviet chemical warfare equipment capable.of offensive use included mortars;,
metal gas cylinders,. smoke.. cans, chemical artillery shells,.flame throwers,,.
and any substitutes for VAP (Vilivnii Aviationii Pribori - Airborne Spraying
Equipment). Def ive .e ui nt consisted of gas masks :(basically similar to
25X1 the German rgaaksf"l 1. decontamination equipment.,, and
protective clothing of varirius types.... the
same type of.,.flame thrower. was used whether it was carried by-the tnd v ual
soldier or tank-mounted. In either case)..the ;flame thrower was eonsidered,to
be, a part of the. chemical service.. The., f lame 'thrower was not effective beyond
25 meters,....The,metal.,;gas cylinder was called "gazovi balon.dlia gazo p .ska"
or,simply,:"gazovi balon.". It.could be used when it was either in.an erect
or prone.position. There were different sizes. It was similar,to the cylinders
.used for oxygen in hospitals, but. lighter and shorter, capable of being carried
by one man. It was intended to be opened when the. . wind. was. blowing in the,: desired
direction so that the as would be, carried toward the.enemy. Only non liquid gas_,-
"dephosgen" J_iphosgene ~- as intended to be used in,such an operation.
There were also metal cylinders for liquid gas and these were,used to fill tank
trucks designed-for the gas. In.addition.,.metal gas cylinders were, used in com-.
bination with crop spraying equipment in aircraft,. in place of the non-existent
VAPe
25X1 9. I lchemical warfare demop:atration carried .out by well-trained
25X1 troops at Fro c e The, troops, in protective cloth-
ing and masks, first contaminated an.area by using tank.trucks which.spripkled
real liquid poison. gas.. The. quantity of.. gas= used,. however, was smaller than
under actual combat conditious,::bad chemical warfare been practiced. The area
was then decontaminated. by means of "khlornaya izvest" sprayed from trucks.
Decontamination shower tents were erected_.. Finally, the vehicles were; decor
taminated by means of a chlorine solution.. The use of . tank-mounted flame.
throwers and smoke cans was also demonstrated.
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chemi eal , air traini
LCLII:I - a1G~L-aiaACU V
it waI3 uninhabited and suitable
for that type of training, and indeed probably appropriate for testing of atom.
"bombs. In theory there. were to Y ve been chemical aircraft bomb:s... for. spreading
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of liquid gets, ?buts there were. none. Becauee of the .lack of suitable equipment,
the month's course at.Makat~con.sisted mainly of theoretical.,instruction,..which
couid,have been given as well in Moscow.
11. In, egard to.the,chemical,summer.,traioing camp at Froliche, it was..attende.d.by.
al]. the, students of the Chemical Academy.(except,.as indicated above, by senior
students of the Academy's military. faculty). and by, chemical reserve officers.
,One tank company was permanently .stationed,at,F'roliche. It: consisted 'of-the
16_.T-26 tanks equipped with flame. throwers, which ,were considered to-belong to
theAcademy. There were also one chemical mortar platoon.,...one.signaal company,
and an administrative company., There were.no units engaged.in.exercises at
,Froliche.. Three kilometers south-of Froliche there was a small-depot for poison
rages which might be required. for training purposes,. It was empty. at times.
There was -a small chemical laboratory at Froliche intended for use.only.if.
something unexpected happened, such,as a need-to check whether gas containers.
were properly sealed. The real laboratories were,at the Academy. There were no
.facilities. for the manufacture of chemical agents .at Troliche:
12. In regard to Soviet chemical schools other than the Military Chemical Defense
academy,in? Moscow, there was a military chemical. ?. chool (voenno chirmicheskoye
25X1 uchilishe which graduated lieutenants for the pu emical.service.,
mat .ly.30 or 40 students,. and. lasted about.eight-or nine months.
higher rank... The course was offered about every. two years, had,;only approxi-
-of the Military Chemical Defense Academy,. In the army proper.. there were. from
two thousand,, to three thousand chemical service officers.:. In. peacetime, there
was a -chemical, officer in each infantry . regiment, and artillery .regiment; two
.or three chemical officers on. division staff, plus chemical units,. The Military
Chemical Defense,Academy also,offered "chemical. academic courses" (khimicheskiye
akademichiskiye kursi) for captains and majors, prior to their advancement to
Some of its graduates later attended.the military faculty
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tations, there were chemical. institutes and also universities,had chemical facul-
t'tes There were also military chemical research.laboratories, probab.ly,all in
25X1 Moscow. they ,operated more or less independently ,except that
they were all probably under the.over-all authority of the military.:Qhemi.cal.,
,administration;
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in 1 3 an . 1 :,c emica exper n s. were von uc e
n en ra Asia n ,e,,Qolodnaya Steppe, 120 kilometers southwest. of .Tashkent.
I have no information on,the.ee.experiments., < =.
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