MESM was the first universally programmable electronic computer in the Soviet Union. By some authors it was also depicted as the first one in continental Europe, even though the electromechanical computers Zuse Z4 and the Swedish BARK preceded it.
Overview
MESM was created by a team of scientists under the direction of Sergei Alekseyevich Lebedev from the Kiev Institute of Electrotechnology in the Soviet Union, at Feofaniya. Initially, MESM was conceived as a layout or model of a Large Electronic Calculating Machine and letter "M" in the title meant "model". Work on the machine was research in nature, in order to experimentally test the principles of constructing universal digital computers. After the first successes and in order to meet the extensive governmental needs of computer technology, it was decided to complete the layout of a full-fledged machine capable of "solving real problems". MESM became operational in 1950. It had about 6,000 vacuum tubes and consumed 25 kW of power. It could perform approximately 3,000 operations per minute. It was long and about tall.
Creation and operation history
Principal computer architecture scheme was ready by the end of 1949. As well as a few schematic diagrams of an individual blocks.
In 1950 the computer was mounted in a two-story building of the former hostel of a convent in Feofania, where a psychiatric hospital was located before the second world war.
November 6, 1950 - team performed the first test launch. Test task is:
January 4, 1951. First useful calculations performed. Calculate the factorial of a number, raise number in a power. Computer was shown to special commission of the USSR State Academy of Sciences. Team was led by Mstislav Keldysh
December 25, 1951. Official government testing passed successfully. USSR Academy of Sciences and Mstislav Keldysh began regular operation of the MESM.
“Computer was split into pieces, which were used to build series of stands, after all all of them was thrown away.” recalled :uk:Малиновський Борис Миколайович|Boris Malinovsky. Many of the electron tubes and other components left from MESM are stored in the Foundation for the History and Development of Computer Science and Technology in the Kiev House of Scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Computer was built using 6000 vacuum tubes where about 3500 of triodes and 2500 of diodes. System occupies 60 m² of space and uses about 25 kW of power. Data was read from punched cards or typed using a plug switch. In addition, computer can use a magnetic drum that stores up to 5000 codes of numbers or commands. An electromechanical printer or photo device was used for output.
