ALSIB (or the Northern Trace) was the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

portion of the

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

n air road receiving

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

aircraft from the

Northwest Staging Route The Northwest Staging Route was a series of airstrips, airport and radio ranging stations built in Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska during World War II. It extended into the Soviet Union as the ALSIB (ALaska-SIBerian air road). Ori ...

. Aircraft manufactured in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

were flown over this route for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

combat service on the Eastern Front.Lebedev pp.44-49 A-20s Nome Alaska 1943-44

Routing

United States ferry pilots delivered aircraft to

Ladd Army Airfield Ladd Army Airfield is the military airfield located at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was originally called Fairbanks Air Base, but was renamed Ladd Field on 1 December 1939, in honor of Major Arthur K. Ladd, a pilot in the U.S. A ...

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

. There each aircraft was serviced by

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

personnel in preparation for Soviet inspection. After Soviet inspectors accepted the aircraft, five regiments of ferry pilots conveyed aircraft from Fairbanks to Soviet pilot training facilities near

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

. Each regiment was assigned to a specific segment of the route to become familiar with navigation and weather within that segment. Single-seat

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

and Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighters flew in groups with a pair of multi-engine

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...

bombers. The lead bomber navigated for the flight and the trailing bomber watched for stragglers. Bombers and

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

s might fly independently, and C-47s transported ferry pilots east for new aircraft.

1st regiment

Soviet First regiment pilots accepted the planes at Fairbanks and flew over the Bering Strait via

St. Lawrence Island St. Lawrence Island ( ess, Sivuqaq, russian: Остров Святого Лаврентия, Ostrov Svyatogo Lavrentiya) is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait. The village of Gambell, located on t ...

. * Ladd Army Airfield *

Galena Airport Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

* Marks Army Airfield * Gambell Army Airfield *

Uelkal Uelkal (russian: Уэлькаль; Yupik: Валъӄалыӄ, lit. ''Whale Jaw''; Chukchi: , ''Valḳalḷʼan'') is a village ('' selo'') in Iultinsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Population: a slight reduction on a 2003 estim ...

2nd regiment

Second regiment pilots flew from Uelkal to Seymchan. * Uelkal *

Anadyr Anadyr may refer to: *Anadyr (town), a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia *Anadyr District *Anadyr Estuary *Anadyr (river), a river in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia *Anadyr Highlands *Anadyr Lowlands *Operati ...

* Markovo *

Seymchan Airport Seymchan Airport (russian: Аэропорт Сеймчан) is an airport in Magadan Oblast, Russia located two kilometers southeast of Seymchan. The runway is well-maintained. The facility is marked as military on some US DoD charts. Airlin ...

3rd regiment

Third regiment pilots flew from Seymchan to

Yakutsk Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of ...

. * Seymchan *

Zyryanka West Airport Zyryanka West Airport is an airport in Russia, located west of Zyryanka, Verkhnekolymsky District in the Sakha Republic of Russia. It was built during World War II for the Alaska-Siberian (ALSIB ALSIB (or the Northern Trace) was the Soviet U ...

* Susuman Airport *

Oymyakon Oymyakon, ; sah, Өймөкөөн, ''Öymököön'', is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, along the Indigirka River, northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma ...

Khandyga Khandyga (russian: Хандыга; sah, Хаандыга) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Tomponsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, northeast of Yakutsk, the capital of the republic. As o ...

* Ust-Maya *

Yakutsk Airport Platon Oyunsky Yakutsk International Airport ( sah, Платон Ойуунускай аатынан аан дойдутааҕы Дьокуускай аэропорт, ''Platon Ojuunuskaj aatynan aan dojdutaaghy'' ''Coquusqay Aeroport'' ; russian ...

4th regiment

Fourth regiment pilots flew from Yakutsk to

Kirensk Kirensk ( rus, Киренск, p=ˈkʲirʲɪnsk) is a town and the administrative center of Kirensky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kirenga and Lena Rivers, north of Irkutsk, the administrative center of the ...

. * Yakutsk *

Aldan Aldan may refer to: ;People *Gille Aldan, the first bishop of Galloway, Scotland * Andrey Aldan-Semenov (1908–1985), Russian writer *Duke Aldan, a fictional character in '' Langrisser IV'' video game ;Places *Aldan, Russia, a town in the Sakha R ...

Olyokminsk Olyokminsk ( rus, Олёкминск, p=ɐˈlʲɵkmʲɪnsk; sah, Өлүөхүмэ, ''Ölüökhüme'') is a town and the administrative center of Olyokminsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, southwest of Yakutsk, the capital of the rep ...

Bodaybo Airport Bodaybo Airport is a regional airport built in Bodaybo, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, during World War II for the Alaska-Siberian (ALSIB) air route used to ferry American Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Ac ...

* Vitim Airport *

Kirensk Airport Kirensk Airport () is an airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia located 3 km west of Kirensk. It handles small transport aircraft. This airfield was part of the Yakutsk-Kirensk-Krasnoyarsk leg of the World War II Lend-Lease program Alaska-Sib ...

5th regiment

Fifth regiment pilots flew from Kirensk to Krasnoyarsk. * Kirensk * Ust-Kut Airport * Krasnoyarsk Northeast

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

"ALSIB – The Route of Courage: Voice of Russia."
''Ruvr.ru.'' Retrieved 19 July 2012
Map of the route from gcmap.com
{{Authority control Aircraft ferrying Soviet Union–United States relations Aviation in Alaska World War II sites of the Soviet Union Soviet Air Forces in World War II