Page "IMZ-Ural" Paragraph 9

According to official accounts, after lengthy discussion, the BMW R 71 motorcycle was found to most closely match the Red Army's requirements.

Five units were covertly purchased through some Swedish intermediaries.

Soviet engineers in Moscow dismantled the five BMWs, reverse engineered the BMW design in every detail and making molds and dies to produce their own engines and gearboxes in Moscow.

Early in 1941, the first prototypes of the M-72 motorcycle were shown to Stalin who made the decision to enter mass production.

( One of the original BMWs purchased through the Swedish intermediaries still survives and is on display in the IMZ-Ural factory museum.