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ALSIB

Soviet portion of World War II air route

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
2 min read
Source updated April 20, 2026
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ALSIB (or the Northern Trace) was the Soviet Union portion of the Alaska-Siberian air road receiving Lend-Lease aircraft from the Northwest Staging Route. Aircraft manufactured in the United States were flown over this route for World War II combat service on the Eastern Front.

01Routing

United States ferry pilots delivered aircraft to Ladd Army Airfield in Fairbanks, Alaska. There each aircraft was serviced by USAAF 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. 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 and Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighters flew in groups with a pair of multi-engine North American B-25 Mitchell or Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers. The lead bomber navigated for the flight and the trailing bomber watched for stragglers. Bombers and Douglas C-47 Skytrains 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.

2nd regiment

Second regiment pilots flew from Uelkal to Seymchan.

3rd regiment

Third regiment pilots flew from Seymchan to Yakutsk.

4th regiment

Fourth regiment pilots flew from Yakutsk to Kirensk.

5th regiment

Fifth regiment pilots flew from Kirensk to Krasnoyarsk.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “ALSIB”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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