The rarities that provided the first salvo of the Katusha were donated to the Victory Museum.

On July 10, the Victory Museum hosted a ceremony to donate wartime rarities from the collection of the Kalibr plant, the first large specialized enterprise in the USSR to produce precision measuring instruments. More than 50 objects have joined the funds of the museum on Poklonnaya Gora and will be used to create new exhibition projects. Among them are devices for the production of unique rockets, which were used to launch the first Katyusha rocket in 1941 and its further successful combat use during the Great Patriotic War, as well as photographs and documents of factory workers who joined the ranks of the Rostokino Division militia in 1941.

"The Kalibr plant sacredly honors the memory of those who defended their Homeland with weapons in their hands during the war, and those who brought Victory closer with their hard work. And today we continue our traditions — as in previous decades, we work for the benefit of our country, providing our platform to educational institutions, manufacturing and IT companies, helping to educate a new generation of engineers," said Andrei Musatov, CEO of Kalibr PJSC.

The event was held as part of the opening of the updated Heroes of the Rear project dedicated to the Kalibr plant. The exhibition tells about the labor feat and the contribution of the home front to the Victory. During the war, the Kalibr plant produced measuring instruments for the production of rockets for the installation of the BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher. The project was presented on the eve of the 84th anniversary of the first salvo of the legendary Katyusha rocket, which was fired on July 14, 1941 near Orsha.

The exhibition is part of the "Feat of the People" exhibition. It includes samples of products manufactured by the plant in the 1930s and 1950s: devices for linear and roughness measurements, indicators, and the K-1 artillery quadrant. The exhibition pays special attention to the biography of one of the outstanding craftsmen of the Kalibr plant, the metalworker Nikolai Kushnikov. Among the exhibits are his lecture notes and photographs.

The exhibition will run until August 3, 2025. You can visit the Heroes of the Rear exhibition project as part of a guided tour of the Feat of the People exhibition (6+).

The Kalibr plant is the first large specialized enterprise in the USSR for the production of precision measuring instruments. During the Great Patriotic War, in accordance with the order of the State Defense Committee, the plant was evacuated to Chelyabinsk. By February 1942, under the most difficult conditions, the production of devices for the front resumed: calibers for creating ammunition and weapons, for checking rifle sights, for fragmentation shells, for mortars and for making shells of the BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher, as well as micrometers, artillery quadrants, calipers and other measuring and component devices.

After the defeat of the enemy army near Moscow, the plant began to be restored. By 1945, production had reached 95% of the pre-war level. In the post-war years, Kalibr became a leader in the creation of control and measuring machines and high–precision instruments, and in 1971 was awarded the Order of the October Revolution, and in 1982 - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his great contribution to the production of modern controls in mechanical engineering.

Today, Kalibr is not just an enterprise with a rich history, but a modern technology park and an innovative platform that contributes to the development of domestic engineering, instrumentation and digital technologies. Continuing the traditions laid down in previous years, Kalibr serves as a reliable support for the domestic industry.