MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. Back in 2007, historian Vyacheslav Filippov was shocked to see a picture of an aircraft amid the Taimyr tundra. An aircraft of the kind must be in a museum, not in the tundra, a well-known aviation historian, the Air Forces’ retired Lieutenant Colonel thought. He studied archives to learn both heroic and tragic moments. He learned that after the crash in 1947 the aircraft was decommissioned and left in the tundra. For nearly 70 years.
"When I saw the aircraft on the picture, I was about to get mad. There, a Douglas C-47, safe and sound, amid the tundra, with readable numbers. Two geologists making selfies on the wings," said Vyacheslav Filippov, who had written the history of the Alaska - Siberia air route. Besides, he is a member of the Russian Geographical Society. "It was not a problem to trace the aircraft - it was the plane, which was decommissioned after a crash in 1947 not far from the Volochanka village in the Krasnoyarsk Region."
This is how in 2007 a historian of aviation saw the picture to begin the Douglas’ long trip back to Krasnoyarsk. Filippov’s idea was to take the aircraft from the Taimyr tundra and make of it a unique museum object. Not many thought the idea was realistic, but anyway the work began in 2016.
"Most museums, 99%, expose aircraft, composed of the wreckage of twenty vehicles — just metal with no history behind. As for this aircraft, it has a very transparent story, since we know about it everything, from the moment it left the US plant on February 24, 1943, to the emergency landing in the tundra. It is a monument, though not to "metal," - rather to those who piloted it. Those were Krasnoyarsk pilots, working for the Northern Sea Route polar aviation and for the local civil aviation. So let’s make of it a monument to our pilots, a monument to the Krasnoyarsk air route!" the historian said.
Route from reconnaissance to civil aviation
For 69 years, the aircraft survived in snows, rains, sun heat - the fuselage paint has faded, cracked, exposing all the layers. On the side quite clear can be seen the American star, and the polar aviation aircraft number N-328, and the red Soviet star, and the civil aviation aircraft number L-1204.
Douglas C-47 (serial number - 4232892) was manufactured in the US in February, 1943, and the USSR received it under the Lend-Lease program. The aircraft with another four Douglas arrived in Krasnoyarsk on March 12, 1943 from Fairbanks along the famous Alaska - Siberia air route (ALSIB or the Northern Trace).
"Back then, Lend-Lease aircraft immediately began fighting. Noteworthy, not in transport units, but in management units which every front used to have. Douglas aircrafts were commander aircrafts. They carried Konstantin Rokossovsky, Georgy Zhukov, Alexander Vasilevsky. This very Douglas was among a few Lend-Lease aircraft brought to Krasnoyarsk, that were not sent to the front," he said.
As the war began, practically all civil and polar aircraft were sent to the front. The Northern Sea Route’s Director was Ivan Papanin - a famous Soviet Arctic explorer. He asked the government to buy for the Northern Sea Route three icebreaking steamships, lifters, tugs, nine Catalina seaplanes and four Douglas C-47 aircraft for ice reconnaissance and for escorting caravans of ships in the Northern Sea Route.
This is why the aircraft began working in the Northern Sea Route. Its new registration number was SSSR N-328. Between October 22 and November 10, 1943, it was used for the late autumn ice reconnaissance in the Kara Sea. The pilot was Mikhail Titlov. In November, 1943, the aircraft and the crew were sent to the White See military flotilla to carry out operative tasks to escort caravans and Arctic convoys.
"Though it was not the war area, German submarines anyway continued sailing up into the Kara Sea and even further. The crew of Douglas were great when they escorted AB-55 convoy vessels - that convoy consisted of five icebreakers - the Stalin, the Lenin, the Litke, the Dezhnyov, and the Murman, which were sailing from the Arctic into the White Sea under the command of the White Sea military flotilla. We know the order dated June 20, 1944: "For the excellent performance of combat missions and the valor and courage, the order is to award the Order of the Patriotic War of the second degree to Commander of the USSR S-47 N-328 Mikhail Titlov and the Order of the Red Star to radio operator Alexander Abramchuk," the historian said.
The document accompanying the order read that pilot Titlov in difficult weather conditions had made reconnaissance flights to the Kara Sea thus carrying out the governmental task to escort the AB-55 convoy. Despite difficult weather conditions in the northern latitudes, the pilot always made flights and always brought timely information on the ice situations. At times the pilots had to remain in the air for 16 hours a day.
After the war, the Douglas aircraft served at the Chukchi polar air unit and then in the North’s civil aviation under number L-1204.
"I am Turikov’s craft"
Since childhood, Vyacheslav Filippov’s passion was the sky. "I could not imagine myself without flying, it was the only dream. However, I could not become a pilot due to the health conditions, but my decision was strait - my epaulets would be blue-even if I had to sweep the aerodrome," he said. The dream came true. He became an aviation engineer of the Northern Fleet naval aviation, and when back to Krasnoyarsk, he became a writer and aviation historian and, together with a team of like-minded people, has been investigating flight accidents and conducting searches for aircraft lost during World War II.
In the early 2000s, his love for aviation history brought him to a museum, organized by the KrasAir Company. He got friendly with Director Irina Dvornikova. One day, she showed a picture, which she had got from a geologist. There, to that museum, Avelina, the daughter of pilot Maxim Turikov brought pictures and documents. Maxim Turikov was the last pilot of Douglas C-47. A brown notebook was filled calligraphy-accurate flight schedules.
"When I saw the aircraft from the sky, from a helicopter - it was like a huge silver bird. Then I got inside it, saw the steering wheel and I can remember the feeling dad was somewhere nearby. The times have merged."
The last flight by Douglas C-47 has been dubbed "Turikov’s craft." The captain had made a sign on the side "I am Turikov’s craft." "My dad has encrypted it, I can see his handwriting," Avelina said.
"I am Turikov’s craft on board 3 kids, 5 women. 22.04.47 At 00:30 left Kozhevnikov for Krasnoyarsk, at 5:30 emergency landing. No victims. Until 26 we remain here, no assistance. 26 9 people walk away in search for help," this is what the captain scratched on the aircraft’s side.
Final flight
"On April 23, 1947, some 180 kilometers north-west from Volochanka in the Krasnoyarsk Region, aircraft C-47 "SSSR L-1204" piloted by 2nd class pilot Maxim Turikov crashed," Vyacheslav Filippov quoted an official report.
On April 22, 1947 the aircraft left Krasnoyarsk, heading for Turukhansk - Dudinka - Khatanga - Kosistyi. The task was to take 29 passengers and 852 kilograms of cargo and luggage from Kosistyi to Dudinka.
"Not a single official document quotes additional passengers - prisoners. This information is nowhere in official documents, but witnesses confirm the opposite - at the airport five prisoners without guards were put onboard. In Dudinka they were supposed to be met by law enforcers," the historian said.
The pilot’s daughter also mentions this fact. She has asked everyone who survived in that crash. "Dad did not want to take the passengers, as the payload was almost a tonne, but the police told him - then we take off the civilians. Thus, he had to take onboard those prisoners," Avelina said.
Soon after the takeoff, the pilots saw the engine was acting up - low pressure in the left engine, hot oil. The weather did not allow them to return, and the captain decided to turn off the engine and continue flying on one engine. Quite soon they saw the generator on the right engine was out of order, the accumulators were down, and the aircraft lost communication.
"Despite the most complicated weather conditions - a snowstorm, fog, sleet, the visibility was under one kilometer, the pilot continued flying practically blind for more than five hours. When finally he brought the aircraft to good weather, he found they had deviated from the route. The captain’s decision was to land on the swampy tundra," the historian continued.
The front strut got stuck in the swamp, and the plane nodded when the speed had been extinguished. "In the cases, where a strut goes away or breaks down, the plane usually flies upside down over the cockpit, but here - it hit the cabin, jumped up and stood back upright — a true miracle!" he said.
When the emergency landing was the only option they had, the daughter said, the captain was spreading sacks and luggage along the cabin to keep the center.
"Clearly, the easiest way is to pin the blame for the plane crash on the pilot, especially if the pilot died. After Tyurikov got missing, there were attempts to make him responsible — he got lost in the air, deviated from the route. I, as an aviation engineer with experience in flight accidents investigations, think in this case there is no talking about the commander’s fault. It was rather pure heroism. The fault was of those who had carried out routine maintenance," he said.
His opinion was confirmed, when the aircraft underwent restoration. "When the emergency engine screw was removed, the aircraft mechanics saw a badly worn sealing cuff on the propeller blade. In the late 1940s, no original spare parts were supplied, and many parts were used for two or three terms. So this seal finally failed and the oil was leaking from the engine. Thus, the big accident that killed the plane was caused by a small rubber part. One of the engines has been severely damaged by remaining for a long time in the periodically frozen swamp. The second one is in a better condition, and hopefully we’ll manage to start it," the expert said.
Nobody got injured in the emergency landing. The pilot did everything possible to wait for the rescue. According to the daughter, he collected all the food stuff the passengers had to distribute it among all the people. The prisoners refused to share their food.
A riot began four days later. The prisoners threatened the passengers with guns, demanding they were allowed to walk away in search for people.
"Later on, there were claims dad had left the aircraft, but he never did, he was a very responsible person," the daughter said. "The situation was that they began threatening, and dad decided to take them away."
Four days of waiting go by, and nine people — crew commander Maxim Turikov, radio operator Alexey Smirnov, flight mechanic Viktor Pismarev, four prisoners and two volunteers from the passengers - walk away in search of help. The other passengers remained onboard together with co-pilot Sergei Anoshko and mechanic Nikolai Shekhodanov
The historian agrees with Avelina. "I believe, the prisoners wanted to get lost, and thus they started the riot, insisting to walk away from the aircraft. Among the passengers were women and children, and this explains why the captain decided to walk for assistance - to take the gang away from the aircraft and the passengers."
"Search resumed"
The aircraft’s passengers were waiting for rescue for long 18 days. In search for the missing aircraft were sent another two Douglas and a Lisunov Li-2. People on thirty sleds were searching across the tundra. For quite a long time, the searches continued in a rong direction.
"The history of search is a different story - very sad and shameful to an extent - after a few days of search, head of the Krasnoyarsk civil aviation department ordered to stop the mission," Filippov said.
When the search was terminated, the wife of radio engineer Alexey Smirnov, Tamara, at her own peril telegraphed Joseph Stalin. "The terminated search leaves people to die." The answer arrived two hours later. "Don’t give in. People in this country are above all. Search resumed. Will be done by best polar pilots Shatrov, Fedorenko, others. Hope for the best. Regards, Stalin."
Soon afterwards the local official was replaced with Mark Berezkin from Moscow. Additional pilots from Moscow joined the efforts of the pilots from Krasnoyarsk. Ground teams were searching on skis, deer. Finally, pilot Shatrov found the aircraft.
Several decades later, in the early 2000, Avelina ran into a newspaper article, written by Lidiya Torgashina. In the late 1940s, the 19 year-old was a radio operator at the Krasnoyarsk civil aviation department.
In the article, she wrote how she had received a weird distress signal from near Volochanka. Nobody paid attention to what she said - the searches for the missing aircraft continued in a very different location. Pilot Shatrov from Moscow did not ignore what the girl said, and right there he managed to find the missing Douglas and its passengers.
"We’ve learned that young mechanic Shekhadanov, when the aircraft landed, still managed to transmit the signal. And the operator did receive it," Avelina said.
All the passengers were rescued and brought home, and the aircraft was simply abandoned in the middle of the tundra. The State Archive keeps papers describing the aircraft’s conditions. "Fuselage — crumpled, the forward part of the fuselage is deformed, the frames and the pilot's cabin lamp are deformed. The glazing is broken, the left engine with the frame and hoods is torn off, the propeller blades are bent. The aircraft is subject to major repairs, but it is located on a frozen swamp in the tundra at a distance of 180 kilometers on the watershed of the Yangoda, Luktaka and Garbit rivers north of the village of Volochanka in the Avam district of the Taimyr region. Transportation of the aircraft is not possible (mountains, swamps, rivers)," the historian quoted the document.
"The tundra will keep this secret"
The tundra will keep the mystery of nine men, who walked away from the aircraft in search for assistance. Seven years after the emergency landing, in October 1953, a deer herder found remains of Turikov some 120 kilometers from the landing site. Nearby were documents, but no gun, which, witnesses said, the pilot had taken.
"Reports were that the ground team within two months found remains of two passengers, and the rest were missing. Versions may be numerous… Imagine the snow-covered tundra - millions swamps, lakes. They could’ve got sunken or frozen. One of the versions is the prisoners killed the crew in order to escape. What happened there - the tundra will keep this secret," the historian said.
According to Avelina, polar pilot Nikolay Vakhonin on Polikarpov Po-2 saw four people by the fire. He landed, asked the men whether they were passengers from Turikov’s aircraft, and was told they are just fishers. The four wore blue coats and resembled the descriptions of the missing prisoners.
When the pilot got missing, his daughter Avelina was six, and son Vladislav - two. Six months before the accident, the pilot’s 27 year-old wife passed away. The man brought his aged parents from Murmansk and continued flying.
"I can remember very clearly that time - I could not realize dad was missing, but I do remember the alarm, and some people kept calling on us. I can remember dad very well. He was all to me. His mittens were warm. I always ran to meet him, to check for chocolate in those mittens. His khaki-color uniform, pinkish lambskin insulation, hardtack. One day, he brought for me from Moscow a doll - Katya - as tall as myself, I played with it for long. In fact, I loved dolls," Avelina said.
"My dad was a hunter, a fisher, he drove bikes, piloted greatly, taught piloting and parachuting, had 36 parachute jumps! He played the accordion, was fond of photography. His biggest love was the air, and this explains my name - Avilina (sounding like ‘airline’ in Russian), but later on, there was a mistake in papers, and I became Avelina."
The daughter keeps an autobiography, where her dad wrote: "All my energy, all my knowledge I will give to development of the Soviet aviation."
Taking aircraft from tundra
The work on the "Turikov craft. Returning" expedition has continued for more than ten years: searches for supporters and sponsors, as well as numerous articles, books and television interviews. Head of the Russian Geographical Society Krasnoyarsk Branch Igor Spiridenko, Director of the Military Engineering Institute Col. Evgeny Garin, engineer and teacher of the Siberian Federal University Alexander Matveyev have joined the efforts.
"We were thinking who could do it. Had a brainstorm - transport, logistics, equipment. We haven’t been there, we’ve only seen pictures. The struts were stuck in the swamp, in the peat. The impression was the fuselage was lying on peat. We feared the plane had rotted from below, but it turned out it was standing on the wheels, almost no corrosion on it, and we could unscrew practically all the bolts with regular tools. Despite the fact that the aircraft had remained in the tundra for 69 years," the historian said.
Alexander Matveyev, a member of the "Turikov craft. Returning" expedition stressed bringing the aircraft from the tundra is very complicated technologically, and it is a very costly task.
"We knew we would have only one helicopter, and its capacity can’t be sufficient to grab and carry the aircraft. It would’ve been ideal not to break it into parts, but yet we had to transport it in a few parts," he said.
The transportation from the Taimyr to Krasnoyarsk turned out top fuel-consuming. Hence, the logistics was following - from the site a helicopter carries the aircraft to the berth on the Pyasina River, then a barge takes it to the port on the Valek River, and from there by road to Dudinka and then by the Yenisei River to Krasnoyarsk.
Alexander had prepared detailed technology maps for the aircraft disassembly.
"I am an engineer, and aviation is my hobby. Together with Filippov we have been searching for emergency landing sites in the Krasnoyarsk Region, from World War II. We have prepared detailed disassembly technology maps based on the original US papers. We learn about emergency situations and imagine how they could have been solved in the tundra conditions. 80% of what we have disassembled went smoothly, and we’ve managed to disassemble the aircraft with no problem, as if that had been planned," Matveyev said.
When the expedition organized a camp, a helicopter brought to the site the Krasnoyarsk Region’s Governor Alexander Uss, Avelina, and a relative of radio operator Alexey Smirnov, Dmitry Skobelev.
"Yes, I did, I did fly!" Avelina said. "At first they did not want to take me, I was 77 years old by then. But I wanted it so much! Imagine, all of a sudden, here’s a call and they tell me - We are taking you. I was so happy!"
A young US pilot from Florida Glen Moss has joined the expedition. His experience on Douglas was almost 5,000 hours.
"Interestingly, Glen knew about Douglas aircrafts practically all," Alexander Matveyev said. "He has a company jointly with father, they repair aircraft and transport them. He was a true encyclopedia. In case of any problem - Glen, Help. We had an interpreter, but anyway very soon we started speaking a mixture of English and some mid-Siberian. We could understand each other."
Historical stars
"After the expedition finished successfully, we believed all the rest would be much easier. We’ll invite people and by ‘crowd-building’ within two or three years we’ll do the restauration," Matveyev said.
An aircraft restauration is very complicated, it is a huge work, with necessary highly professional approaches. They’ve found professionals in Novosibirsk. "Having come to a private aerodrome in Mochische, I could see a huge sun-lit hangar, where the Helicopter Company was restoring aircraft."
"Right now you can see what there was first," aviation designer Yuri Averkin pointed to the fuselage side. "Here have been numbers, one above the other, and the identification signs. Now we can watch a reverse picture - we have taken off one paint layer after another. When it landed, there were no stars, just the "USSR" letters. Now, you can see traces of the US star - in a circle, and traces of a red Soviet Star."
Museum on half-abandoned island
While aviation designers in Novosibirsk are restoring the aircraft, Krasnoyarsk is getting ready to welcome it. The Russian president has supported the idea to make a park and a museum of aviation on the Molokov Island.
"It is a half-abandoned island, where in the 1930s-1960s used to be the polar aviation’s hydro air base. A unique building of the hydroairport, built in 1934, has survived there. It is an incredible place of energy. I’ve been there, climbed the stairs which can remember Molokov (Vasiliy Molokov - a polar pilot, one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, Air Force Major General - TASS). That place has welcomed all most prominent pilots in this country. On the island, there is a big natural area, and thus the decision was to make a park and a museum there - to have the three elements of matter - Earth, Water, Air, because the North’s development has progressed in each of those directions. We’ve made a great concept, and, surely, the aircraft will be the central object," the historian said.
Avelina has been waiting anxiously for the Douglas to return home. "I do wait, of course. To me, this aircraft is like a family. I start shivering at the very sight of it. Whenever anyone is talking about it, I can imagine it clearly," the pilot’s daughter said.