Челюскинцы

The SS Cheliuskin was a Soviet steamship reinforced to navigate through polar ice that became ice-bound in Arctic waters during navigation along the Northern martime Route from Murmansk to Vladivostok. The expedition's task was to determine the possibility to travel this route in a single navigation season. The ship was named after the 18th century Russian polar explorer Semen Cheliuskin. After leaving Murmansk in August 1933, the ship was caught in the ice fields and after being crushed in the ice pack, it sank in February 1934. The crew members, know as Cheliuskinsty, managed to escape onto the ice and built a makeshift airstrip. In April 1934 they were rescued and flown to the main land. The aircraft pilots who took part in the search and rescue operations were the first people to receive the newly established highest title of Hero of the Soviet Union. One of the pilots was Anatolii Liapidevskii.

1934-35

1938

1976