"Order of the People's Commissariat of Tank Production
Moscow
February 16th, 1942
#206-ms
Lately there have been cases of individual factories making design and technological changes to components and assemblies of production tanks. Changes are being made without consideration for interchangeability and without preliminary agreements between factories that build tanks of the same type.
This kind of senseless behaviour results in violations of agreed upon blueprints and technical documentation and disrupts the work of repair bases during restoration of vehicles of the same type that are produced by different factories.
I order that:
- Tank, hull, and engine factory directors are prohibited from making any design or technological changes in components or assemblies of mass production tanks that interfere with interchangeability.
- All changes can only be made with my approval, or the approval of my deputy, comrade Kotin.
- Tank factory directors should be warned that changes made to components and assemblies of production tanks that disrupt interchangeability will result in them being tried under wartime laws.
People's Commissar of Tank Production
V. Malyshev"