Non-stop flight Moscow - North Pole - Vancouver

After an unsuccessful attempt to fly from the USSR to the United States through the North Pole in August 1935, the crew of S. Levanevsky, G. Baidukov and V. Levchenko (due to a plane malfunction) and a “training” flight from Moscow to Udd Island in July 1936, 4 hours 5 minutes in the morning on June 18, 1937, Soviet pilots Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baidukov and Alexander Belyakov aboard the ANT-25 aircraft left the Schelkovo airfield near Moscow and headed for the North Pole . On June 20, at 19.30 Moscow time, the plane made a safe landing at the Barax military airfield in the suburbs of Portland, the American city of Vancouver ( Washington , USA ). ^[2]

The length of the flight was 9130 km (8504 kilometers - in a straight line), including 5900 km - over the oceans, duration - 63 hours 25 minutes.

The Americans enthusiastically greeted the crew. Among those who met were the Soviet ambassador to the United States, A. A. Troyanovsky, and General J. Marshall , who served in Vancouver in those years, who received the crew at home. The pilots were received in Washington by US President F. D. Roosevelt in the Oval Office of the White House . The crew also met with the famous polar traveler Villalmur Stefanson . ^[3]

The American polar explorer, pilot Richard Byrd , who was the first to reach the North Pole by air, spoke of non-stop flights carried out by the crews of V. P. Chkalov and M. M. Gromov : “These flights will be forever inscribed in golden letters in the annals of history ... They will greatly improve relations between countries and serve as the basis for further fruitful cooperation and mutual understanding ” ^[4] .

The Chkalovsky Committee operates in Vancouver, the efforts of which created and maintained a small museum dedicated to historical flight. At the landing site of the ANT-25, a trapezoidal obelisk was erected with a bronze plate cut into granite, which shows an airplane with its wings spread over the North Pole. In 1997 , in connection with the 60th anniversary of the flight, a memorial complex was opened. The American side (the Russian-American Business Cooperation Fund, the Chkalovsky Committee, and the Washington State Administration), with the assistance of the Russian Foreign Ministry , prepared a program of commemorative events in the United States, for which the US government allocated several million dollars. On the Russian side, more than 20 banks and other companies participated in the implementation of the anniversary events project ^[5] .

• For this flight, the entire crew was awarded the Order of the Red Banner .

• In 2012, festive events were held in Russia on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the non-stop flight of the crew of V.P. Chkalov. ^[6] .
• This flight was displayed in the series Chkalov .

In architecture

On May 18, 2012, portraits of the pilots Valery Chkalov , Georgy Baidukov and Alexander Belyakov took their places on the walls of the passenger hall of the Chkalovskaya metro station under construction in Yekaterinburg ^[7] (architect S. U. Ziganshin). The motif of the whole decoration is also devoted to aviation: a large radius of the gently sloping arch is similar to an airplane wing, the curvature of the traveling walls resembles the fuselage, and on the front wall of the watch dials are in the style of on-board devices indicating the time of Moscow , Arkhangelsk , Vancouver and Washington .
The opening took place on July 28, 2012 ^[8]

In philately

• In 1938, a series of USSR postage stamps dedicated to flight was issued.
• In 1987, a postal envelope was issued with the original stamp of the USSR, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the flight.
• In 1997, an artistic postal envelope was issued with the standard stamp of Russia, dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the flight.

• Postage Stamps and Envelopes
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  Postage stamp (USSR,
  1938 )

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  Postage stamp (USSR,
  1938)

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  Postage stamp (USSR,
  1938)

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  Postage stamp (USSR,
  1938)

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  Envelope of the USSR Post,
  1987 year

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  Envelope Russian Post,
  1997 year

• Polar gambit. Drama in the shadow of a legend . Documentary. LLC "Under the Sign" Pi "" by order of the State TV and Radio Company "Culture". 2012 GTRK "Culture" . 06/10/2019. 39 minutes

• The world's first non-stop flight on the route Moscow - North Pole - Vancouver
• Photos on the website of RGAKFD