#357 "Progress"

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Progress

In early 1936 the "Progress" factory in Leningrad, which previously manufactured detonators, started to produce optical and mechanical devices. The first product the plant released was the PE scope, 1931 version. In 1937, Progress started commercial production of PE scopes (version 1937 - in the West it is named the PEM sniper scope) without a focusing mechanism. In 1939 the factory was designated a secret military factory and by May 1940 it was renamed Factory Number 357 ("Progress"). In the summer of 1940, the factory started production of PU scopes for semi-automatic Tokarev (SVT-40) sniper rifles.
After the start of World War II in September 1941 the plant was evacuated to Omsk, where it was reestablished at the Omsk Agricultural Institute (OmSHI). In late 1942, after the SVT-40 sniper rifle was discontinued, the factory designed and launched the PU 91/30 scope for the Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 sniper rifle. After the war ended in 1945, the plant returned to Leningrad. Throughout the war years of 1940-45, "Progress" released more than 315 thousand PU scopes in different versions most of which were destroyed during the war. In the middle of the 1960's Progress was folded into the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Factory (LOMO).