On This Day In History: Unbelievable Flight Took Place – On Apr 28, 1939

AncientPages.com - Two pilots Vladimir Kokkinaki and Mikhail Gordienko took off on a mission to fly between Moscow and America in the shortest possible time.

The plane developed for the flight was the red bomber, a twin-engined monoplane, the TSKB-30, named Moskva (Russian pronunciation of Moscow). It was decided to take onboard fuel to last 8000 kilometers (5000 miles).

Brig. Gen. Vladimir K. Kokkinaki. Photo credits: History of Aviation and Aeronautics

The plane would not hold more than that amount. Even then, it was necessary to save on other things to reduce the plane's weight.

The Fliers' boots were made out of unique lightweight leather, and liquid oxygen was taken onboard instead of gas oxygen, requiring more heavy steel cylinders.

Emergency rations were cut to a minimum, and no other cargo was allowed on the plane.

At 5500 meters, the plane flew across Helsinki and followed the Arctic Circle over Iceland. On the way to Greenland, Kokkinaki met a powerful cyclone.

To escape it, Kokkinaki raised the plane to seven kilometers, and during many hours, he and Gordienko used their oxygen masks, with its reserve rapidly declining.

They flew over the ocean through cloud-covered skies, and the ever-changing winds slowed down and then suddenly drove the plane to speeds of up to 500 kilometers an hour.

In the final leg of their journey, the plane had to be raised to an altitude of nine kilometers. The oxygen reservoir was running out, weakness and the lack of sleep took their toll, and both pilots were getting dizzy.

Left: The first minutes on the U.S. territory. Kokkinaki and Gordienko are on the wing of their plane. Right: The aircraft CKB-30 "Moscow". Image source

The temperature outside and inside the cockpit was 45 below zero centigrade. Straining every nerve, Kokkinaki flew the plane relying solely on the dashboard indicators, having kept hold of the handwheel for almost the entire day by this time.

Bad weather conditions did not permit a landing in New York. Kokkinaki changed course and landed on Moscou Island off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada.

In less than a day (22 hours and 56 minutes), they had covered 8000 kilometers, with an average speed of 348 km an hour. Previously, in 1937, this trip took another Soviet pilot three days.

For those years of aviation, the pilots' achievement was outstanding. Since 1959, their route was used for the regular flights between New York and Moscow.

In 1965, Kokkinaki was awarded by the International Air Transport Association for finding the shortest flight route between Europe and America.

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