The Soviet Transpolar Flight of June 1937 was the first non-stop flight between the U.S.S.R (Russia) and the United States. Charles Lindbergh's solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927 inspired others to set inter-continental flight records, and a transpolar flight goal was held by many. Soviet aviator Sigismund Levanevsky was determined to beat American aviator Wiley Post to the record of a flight between Soviet Russia and the United States over the Arctic. Post's dream was cut short when he died in a crash in Alaska in August, 1935. Levanevsky made an attempt in July of that year in a Tupolev ANT-25 but had to turn back after 300 miles due to an oil leak and determined a four-engine plane would be required for the flight.

Later, another Russian aviator, Valeri Chkalov, determined he could make the flight in the Tupolev ANT-25 along with Georgi Baidukov as co-pilot and Vassilyevich Belyakov as navigator. It took him two years and a record-setting flight across Siberia to convince Soviet government officials that he could make the transpolar flight. The ANT-25 had been specially designed by Andrei N. Tupolev for setting a distance record. With a short fuselage and 110-foot long, thin and narrow wings, it was designed like a sailplane to reduce drag. It was meant to fly at slow speeds, about 120 miles an hour, to conserve fuel and had of ceiling of about 18,000 feet. The plane used for the the record-setting flight was fitted with a sun compass since a magnetic one would be useless at the pole, and all unnecessary weight was removed from the plane, including the brakes.

The flight departed at 5:04 a.m. from Moscow on June 17, 1937 with a destination of Oakland, California. Belyakov reported that they were over the North Pole at 9:10 p.m. on June 18th. After that they hit massive storms but couldn't rise above the clouds. Baidukov took over the controls. The crew needed oxygen, but their tanks were low. They continued to encounter problems--winds forced them to change course, the engine overheated, their drinking water froze, their radios became inoperable, the crew got nosebleeds from the high altitude.

At 7:30 a.m. on June 20th they passed over Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. They headed further south but when they were near Eugene, Oregon they realized they were running low on fuel and needed to land. They turned back toward Portland and decided to land at Pearson Field in Vancouver. After 63 hours and 16 minutes flying they had completed their transpolar flight. Immediately they were dubbed the "Lindberghs of the North." The next day the three men received a 19-gun salute and a parade and luncheon in Portland for their accomplishment. The city's Meier & Frank department store fitted the men with new suits, and put their fur coats on display. Then the men continued on a triumphal tour of the country, including a stop in San Francisco, a ticker tape parade in New York and a visit to the White House to meet President Franklin Roosevelt, before heading back home via France where they received more accolades.

Chkalov died in a test flight accident in 1938. Belyakov later worked as a professor in the Soviet Air Force Academy, retiring in 1960. He died in 1982. Baidukov continued to serve in the Soviet Air Force, retiring in 1988 at the rank of General Colonel. He died in 1994.

A monument was erected at Pearson Field to commemorate the first non-stop flight between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. on June 20, 1975. Baidukov and Balyakov both attended the event. That year was also the City of Vancouver's sesquicentennial.

Just a short time after, on July 14, 1937, another trio of Russian aviators, pilot Mikhail Gromov, co-pilot Andrei Yumashev, and navigator Sergei Danilin, made the second successful transpolar flight from Moscow, Russia by landing in a farmer's field in what is now San Jacinto, California. The aviators also flew in a Tupolev ANT-25 and had intended to land in San Diego, but redirected due to fog conditions.

Sources:

Historical information derived from collection materials and various online sources.

Mary Kline Rose is a historian and writer from Vancouver, Washington. Rose has been associated with many museums and non-profits groups, including the Chkalov Cultural Exchange Committee and Pearson Air Museum.

No further information is known.

Source:

Biography derived from collection materials.