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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0979.PDF
486 FLIGH East German Engine Industry A VISIT TO THE PIRNA WORKS By Cdr. Edgar P. Young, R.N. Retd.) The VEB Entwicklungsbau; administrative offices can be seen under construction FOUNDED in the winter of 1954-55, and as yet by no meanscompleted, VEB Entwicklungsbau, at Pirna, near Dresden,today employs some 3,000 people. It manufactures only turbojets, piston engines being the responsibility of VEB Indus-triewerk, of Karl-Marx-Stadt (formerly Chemnitz). The initials VEB stand for Volkseigener Betrieb, or publicly owned enterprise.Development as rapid as that of the Pirna works has been made possible only by the fact that the Government of the GermanDemocratic Republic, haying decided that the development of an aircraft industry was desirable, made adequate capital availablefor its speedy and unhampered expansion. Even so, in the circum- stances obtaining in Germany after the war this developmentwould have been difficult if a core of skilled workers had not been available from the outset. This consisted of former workers forJunkers and B.M.W., who had been captured by the Russians and put to work on aircraft production in the U.S.S.R. Round thiscore of key personnel has been built up the large body mentioned above, consisting of young men and women (in almost equalproportions) who have been trained in the numerous technical schools and colleges established by the Government of the GermanDemocratic Republic in anticipation of the growing demands from fast-expanding industry of all kinds. Senior staff comelargely from the Technische Hochschule (Technical High-school) at Dresden, which has now some 10,000 full-time students in itsvarious' faculties (which include aerodynamics and mechanical engineering), plus a further 15,000 or so doing correspondencecourses for what is equivalent to our Diploma in Engineering. As a result of conversations with representatives of the aircraftindustry at the Leipzig Spring Fair, where that industry was exhibiting prominendy, I was afforded every facility for a visit to the Pirna establishment. There were no restrictions, apparently,as to what I might see (though I was not allowed to take photo- graphs) and all my questions were fully and frankly answered.Work proceeding at the present time is the development of a turbojet unit based on a Soviet design, but improved on by theGerman designers. This is being tried out in the BB. 152 airliner [described in Flight for March 27] which is being developed asfast as possible. It has a 12-burner combustion chamber and 12-stage compressor, with steel blades in the early and late stagesmade and ground on the premises. [The engine is designated Type 014. Rated at 6,950 lb dry thrust at sea level, it wasdescribed in our special Engines of the World issue of March 20. It is pertinent to record that last month D. Napier & Son wereawarded a contract, worth over £100,000, for turbine blades for East Germany.—Ed.] Three test stands are apparently in steady use and two moreare under construction, the latter being designed for use with larger units than are at present under development. In additionto these, there is a double compressor tester. Water-brakes are apparently used in testing turbojet units, but no details wereavailable. Sound-damping arrangements are being installed. An unusual and interesting feature which I observed by chanceduring my visit was the organization of conducted tours of the establishment for groups of 'teen-age schoolchildren of both sexes—who, judging by the explanations which were being given to them and by the questions which they were asking, appeared toknow a good deal about the subject! The object of these visits, I was told, was to secure the best possible recruits for the industryand give members of the future public an introduction to jet propulsion and technical subjects generally. On the left, below, is seen a Type 014 turbojet, of the type installed, in paired pods, in the BB.152 airliner, on the test-bed. The other picture shows a compressor casing being indexed on a horizontal borer; the peripheral slots at about the sixth stage appear to have replaced -•: the blow-off valves fitted to early engines and are doubtless used to improve handling and ease starting
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