61-K 37 mm anti-aircraft gun
The cataloged 61-K is tied to Plant No. 8 through design-team attribution and early serial-production references.
Sources: Victory Museum 61-K ReferenceBuilt by archive
Plant No. 8 Weapon Systems
Plant No. 8 was the Soviet-era designation for the M.I. Kalinin machine-building plant, an artillery and air-defense manufacturer tied to the 61-K 37 mm anti-aircraft gun and later successor work under MZiK in Yekaterinburg.
1 weapon systemsPlant No. 8 identifies the M.I. Kalinin plant during the Soviet industrial numbering period. The company's own history traces the enterprise from an artillery workshop founded in Saint Petersburg in 1866, through relocation to Podlipki near Moscow, the 1928 designation as Plant No. 8, and wartime evacuation to Sverdlovsk.
For this catalog, the builder matters because Plant No. 8 is directly connected to the design and early production context of the 61-K 37 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun. The later Kalinin Machine-Building Plant shifted from tube artillery to guided air-defense missiles and related launch equipment, making the profile useful context for Soviet and Russian air-defense manufacturing lineage.
Notable Systems
85 mm anti-aircraft gun
MZiK's official history highlights a 1939 85 mm gun development milestone at the Plant No. 8-era enterprise.
Sources: Official MZiK HistoryS-300V and Buk-M1 air-defense equipment
Sanctions-list descriptions of the modern MZiK entity identify combat equipment work for S-300V and Buk-M1 systems.
Sources: OpenSanctions Kalinin Machine Plant JSCBuilder History
Artillery workshop founded
The enterprise traces its origin to an artillery workshop established in Saint Petersburg.
Sources: Official MZiK History
Relocation to Podlipki
The plant was evacuated to Podlipki near Moscow after its Petrograd period.
Sources: Official MZiK History
Plant No. 8 designation
The official history records the name Plant No. 8 named after M.I. Kalinin.
Sources: Official MZiK History
61-K production introduced
The Victory Museum notes that serial production of the 61-K 37 mm anti-aircraft gun was mastered at Plant No. 8 in 1939.
Sources: Victory Museum 61-K Reference
Evacuation to Sverdlovsk
MZiK's history says the plant was evacuated to Sverdlovsk in October 1941 and shipped its first guns from the new site in December.
Sources: Official MZiK History
Shift from tube artillery
The official history says the plant stopped barrel-artillery production and moved into guided anti-aircraft missiles.
Sources: Official MZiK History
Predecessors
Successors
Plant No. 8 is a historical Soviet plant designation, while the public sources available today mostly use the successor Kalinin Machine-Building Plant / MZiK identity. The modern entity is sanctioned in multiple jurisdictions, so this profile separates builder lineage and catalog manufacturing context from any conflict-use claims.
Builder Sources
- Official MZiK HistoryPublisher: M.I. Kalinin Machine-Building Plant | Note: Supports the Plant No. 8 name, official company lineage, relocation history, Yekaterinburg address context, artillery milestones, and later shift into guided anti-aircraft missiles. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
- Official MZiK WebsitePublisher: M.I. Kalinin Machine-Building Plant | Note: Supports the current official website and public name of the successor Kalinin Machine-Building Plant entity. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
- Victory Museum 61-K ReferencePublisher: Victory Museum | Note: Supports Plant No. 8's 1939 61-K serial-production role and the catalog connection between this builder profile and the 61-K anti-aircraft gun. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
- OpenSanctions Kalinin Machine Plant JSCPublisher: OpenSanctions | Note: Supports modern MZiK aliases, public-joint-stock-company identity, Almaz-Antey association, sanctions-list context, and current air-defense equipment descriptions. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
- Commons Kalinin Plant Anti-Aircraft Guns ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and reuse: Commons describes the 1943 Kalininets newspaper image as anti-aircraft guns from the Kalinin plant before shipment to the front and marks it public domain. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
Category
Air Defense
Systems that contest aircraft, missiles, helicopters, and drones.
