Old-timers of Samara still call this former city outskirts as a ' village Mosstroy". The current generation hardly knows something about the history of this name. Meanwhile, in the first months of the great Patriotic war on this dull the edge was in full swing the construction of a large number of the plant.

The terrible summer of 1941

The history of the enterprise began in March 1941, when the decision was made of people's Commissars of the construction around the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara) machine-building plant. It was he at that time and was popularly called "Mosstroy".

In 1941 districts of the regional center was located approximately in the same range in which the city of Samara was by the time of the October revolution of 1917. From the North-West and South of its borders were the banks of the rivers Volga and Samara, and from East and South-East-the streets of the Field and the railway (now the street Agibalova).

Immediately outside the city prewar Kuibyshev began outlying villages. These villages, between the railway line and the river Samara, towards the station Bez-Manka was a solid wall of thick forest, only occasionally interrupted by small lots of meadows and steppes. Then there was not a dacha, or any other buildings or large buildings and industrial enterprises. Only close to the station bezumyanka, with the railway line, in the period between 1912 and 1914 was built Samara railway repair plant, or, as it is at that time was called, plant Saurez".

Otherwise, this huge area was then developed very poorly. But since it was located in the immediate vicinity of the railway Kuibyshev - Orenburg, then this is the place was very convenient for accommodation of large enterprises.

And therefore, in the vicinity of the station bezumyanka in 1940, began construction of a group of aircraft factories, and closer to the regional center - the construction of auxiliary facilities aviation areas.

Plant "Mosstroy" on the initial project was to produce a variety of aviation units, airfield equipment, components, engines and so on.

By the beginning of the summer of 1941 on the building site has already launched a concrete works, however, the war forced the workers to change their plans. According to the decree of the State Defense Committee (GKO),. in place of Mosstroy" it was decided to erect a plant for production of aviation armaments. The base of it was the factory №525, evacuated to Kuibyshev of Donbass Artemovsk town.

However, in early 1941 arms plant in the Ukrainian town was not yet at that time he began to be erected. Builders brought under the roof of four buildings, suppliers had brought machines, but then the war began. New, not yet unpacked equipment urgently were loaded into troop trains and accompanied by plant personnel sent to Kuibyshev, on the ground of " Mosstroy".

The order on the beginning of work of a factory №525 in the Volga city was released on July 10, 1941. Its present the history of the company OJSC "Metallist-Samara" counts from this date.

In the name of Victory

At the new location arrived workers and employees saw only a few huts, unfinished houses and laid for future production building foundations. However, all they had to blow up, because the Foundation does not match the new project.

Soon in their place were laid others. People working for 10-12 hours and slept in tents right on the construction site. Days off at this time even thought of. On the most urgent objects generally worked around the clock. No one complained about difficulties people understand that they work for the Victory.

In addition to the weapons company of Artyomovsk, the plant №525 on the disposal of t-bills were included also the equipment and personnel of several defense objects, evacuated to Kuibyshev from Tula, carpet and the suburban village of venukovo, and a separate workshop and production - and also from Moscow. With their placement there were a huge number of difficulties, however, in the end, all problems were solved.

In November 1941 the factory has already worked all major industrial areas, and in the middle of December the enterprise produced its first military production aircraft machine guns brand DShK (Degtyarev - Shpagin heavy).

However, already in 1942 the main products of the plant № 525 steel machine guns ShKAS (Shpytal - komaritskiy aviation rapid-fire, and then SCASM (upgraded), which were installed on the Il-2 manufactured by plants №1 and 18.

This weapon was different unprecedented destructive power: from the barrel of this gun for only one second (!) flew 30 bullets, and modernized - even up to 50.

The German designers throughout the war and could not even repeat creation Shpitalnaya and Americkeho, not to mention the fact to him to beat. In confirmation of this one amazing historical fact.

According to the published memoirs of a number of veterans of war, in the days when the Soviet troops took by storm in Berlin, broke into the office of the Third Reich, among many trophies, captured our soldiers showed unusual type of gun, standing in the Cabinet of Hitler and covered with a glass cover.

Arrived for inspection of the sample Soviet specialists armourers were surprised at the exhibit stored under glass, not that other, as-aircraft machine gun ShKAS 7.62 mm. Nearby was a personal order of Hitler, stating that the Soviet machine gun will be in his office up until the German designers will not create a similar weapon for aircraft Luftwaffe - with the same reliability and rate of fire. As is known, the German authorities to do this and failed.

On the cosmic orbit

Selfless work of the plant №525 in wartime has received a high estimation of the government. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 16, 1945 the plant was awarded the order of Lenin.

During the first post-war years the company continued production of ShKAS machine guns, which were still required by our air forces.

In the 1960-ies the company has got an open name of "Production Association "Metalist". At the same time by the decision of the government it was included into the sphere of space-rocket production - the plant produced combustion chamber for liquid rocket engines. Since then there has been mastered the production of many types of such products, including the combustion chamber engines lunar launch vehicle H-1, "Zenit"rocket-space complex "Energia-Buran".

In 1992 the plant from the state enterprise was reorganized into joint stock company.