The Alaska-Siberia Connection: The World War II Air Route (Volume 48) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)
Brand: Texas A&M University Press
Categories: Books, History, Americas



Dimensions: 6.38 x 0.77 x 9.24 inches
ISBN-13: 978-0890967119
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0890967113
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Print length: 200 pages
Publication date: July 1, 1996
subtitle: Hardcover – July 1, 1996
author: Otis Hays Jr.
review: Editorial Reviews From Library Journal For three years during World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union maintained a difficult air pipeline from the northern states, via Alaska and Siberia, almost to the Urals. The Lend-Lease fighters and bombers that were funneled through this route eventually made up 12 percent of the Red Air Force and devastated Hitler's legions. Hays, a onetime military intelligence officer with the Alaska Defense Command, shows how this joint Allied effort triumphed over deep mutual suspicions, totally different cultures, and some of the world's most savage weather. His workmanlike study is crammed with operational and political details, historical perspective, and personalities. Although the human element is touched upon, the book is curiously light on anecdote; nor does it have many of the technical details that delight the airplane buff. Even so, it is the first book wholly dedicated to this subject. This authoritative account is one of many new history titles benefiting from access to long-closed military sources. Recommended for all academic and military collections.?Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Edwards AFB, Cal. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Back Cover American Lend-Lease generosity helped to join Russia and America in a wartime alliance against Germany. However, Russia, suspicious of American sincerity, delayed the establishment of an Alaska-Siberia delivery route (known throughout the war as ALSIB) to the German war front. Instead, other routes via the North Atlantic and the Persian Gulf were employed for the delivery of urgently needed aircraft in 1941-42. Eventually, recognizing that an ALSIB route would allow the delivery of American-made aircraft in days, not weeks or months, the Russians agreed to the ALSIB route in late 1942. The ALSIB route became the fastest and most productive means of moving combat aircraft to the Russian-German front. Additionally, although it was primitive and dangerous, it established a direct and time-saving artery between Moscow and Washington, and it was heavily used by diplomats, politicians, and countless military officials, both Soviet and American. Declassified official U.S. military records and selected Russian sources, as well as reminiscences from former American liaison officers who were stationed at ALSIB posts in Alaska between 1943 and 1945, serve as the basis for this intriguing story. About the Author Otis Hays, Jr., is the author of Home from Siberia: The Secret Odysseys of Interned American Airmen in World War II, also published by Texas A&M University Press. He served as a senior member of the Alaska Defense Command's military intelligence staff and was the responsible staff supervisor of the command's foreign liaison operation in 1943–44. He lives near Pierce City, Missouri. Read more