Tupolev ANT - 25 The Tupolev ANT - 25 was a Soviet long - range experimental aircraft which was also tried as a bomber . First constructed in 1933 , it was used by the Soviet Union for a number of record - breaking flights . History and records . The ANT - 25 was designed as the result of a recommendation by Kliment Voroshilov to the Revolutionary Military Council " Revvoyensovyet " on 7 December 1931 , to build an aircraft for long range flights . The aircraft was designed by the brigade of the Experimental Aircraft Design Department of TsAGI led by Pavel Sukhoi under the overall supervision of Andrei Tupolev . The first prototype , designated Experimental airplane RD - 1 , ( also designated TsAGI - 25 , ANT - 25 ) , RD standing for " Rekord Dalnosty " , i . e . " Range Record " ) made its maiden flight on 22 June 1933 , piloted by Mikhail Gromov and used a direct drive M - 34 engine . The first crew , Gromov , Filin and Spirin , began with a long range test flight in September 1934 on the second prototype , the RD - 2 . The RD - 2 used a geared M - 34R engine , which substantially increased its range . They spent 75 hours in the air , covering in a single trip , ( Moscow — Ryazan — Tula — Dnepropetrovsk — Kharkov ) . The aircraft was unable to return to Moscow due to a fuel shortage . Gromov was made a Hero of the Soviet Union . The flight was not recognised as a world record as it could not complete the circuit to Moscow , so could not claim the closed circuit record , while the direct distance between Moscow and Kharkov was too short for the distance in a straight line record . Gromov and Yumashev decided to make their next long - range flight an attempt at the straight - line record . They wanted to fly the traditional long - range route via Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to South America . A crewman , Sigizmund Levanevsky , on studying some maps , suggested they fly in a completely different direction – to the north . Polar aviator s were extremely popular at that time , his plan was considered plausible . The flight was cancelled in the spring of 1935 when he fell seriously ill . The next long range flight planned , was from Moscow to the USA via the North Pole . A sloping concrete runway in length , was built at Schelkovo air - base near Moscow . In the early morning of 3 August 1935 , Levanevsky , Baydukov and Levchenko climbed aboard their RD and took to the air . For the first , the aircraft ascended to only . They then steadily increased their altitude to , maintaining an average speed of . After approximately , an oil leak was discovered but the aircraft was able to make an emergency landing at Krechevits near Novgorod . Levanevsky was called to a Politburo meeting , where he blamed Tupolev , declaring that his single - engined ANT - 25 was under - powered . It seemed to be the end for the aircraft . His second pilot Georgy Baydukov , who was also an aviation engineer , disagreed and proposed Valery Chkalov for a second attempt . Chkalov was at first sceptical about his selection , as he was a fighter pilot with little navigational knowledge . Baydukov briefed Chkalov on the finer points of flying the ANT - 25 and proposed Alexander Belyakov , who was the chief instructor of their flight academy , as their third crewman . Chkalov ' s authority was enough to convince Joseph Stalin . In July 1936 , the record was broken by Chkalov , Georgy Baydukov and Belyakov flying the same aircraft from Moscow to the Far East ( " Stalin ' s Route " ) in 56 hours 20 minutes ; a distance of . They passed Franz Josef Land — Severnaya Zemlya — Tiksi — Yakutia — Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky — Khabarovsk — Okhotsk Sea and landed on a beach at Udd Island ( now called Chkalov Island ) , near the Amur River . The next day , Pravda newspaper published a leading article " Glory to Stalin ' s Sokols ! " ( « Слава сталинским соколам ! » ) . A wooden runway was constructed on Udd island and on 2 August , the ANT - 25 departed for Moscow . The trip back lasted a week with stops at Khabarovsk , Chita , Krasnoyarsk and Omsk with a grand welcome at each . Chkalov ' s trio became Heroes of the Soviet Union . Two islands nearby were renamed after Baydukov and Belyakov . Chkalov ' s achievement became world - famous , however , the Politburo still wanted the publicity of a direct flight . Gromov was ordered to fly to Brazil on 14 August 1936 in a second ANT - 25 , but as he prepared for the start on 25 September , Brazilian officials denied access to the Soviet plane and the flight was cancelled . Both Chkalov ' s and Gromov ' s crews were now destined to fly north from Moscow to San Francisco . Over 18 – 20 June 1937 – the same crew of Valery Chkalov , co - pilot Georgy Baydukov and navigator A . Belyakov made a non - stop flight from Moscow to Portland , United States , in bad weather . At the 60 hour point they passed Seattle , after two more hours they passed Portland lighthouse on the Columbia River and headed deeper into US territory . Over the city of Eugene they found they were short of fuel and turned back for the military airbase at Vancouver , landing at Pearson Airfield . ( by the other sources – Barak Airfield ) . The trip took 63 hours and 25 minutes . In 1975 , an obelisk was erected on the airfield to commemorate this event . Another widely publicized feat was the Moscow – San Jacinto non - stop flight in a backup aircraft just three weeks after Chkalov ' s . This jourmey , via the North Pole , covered and ended in a dairy pasture outside of San Jacinto , California after they had encountered fog conditions in San Diego and as far inland as March Air Force base in Riverside . The landing site is marked by California State Historical Landmark Number 989 . The crew , still composed of Gromov , Yumashev , and Danilin , flew for 62 hours and 17 minutes between 12 and 14 July 1937 . After landing , the aircraft still had sufficient fuel for approximately , enough to reach Panama . This would have involved crossing the Mexican border without the permission of FAI sporting officials . Gromov became an unofficial " Soviet Pilot No . 1 " , though Chkalov remained the favourite pilot of the Soviet people . Joy at the achievements were tempered by Levanevsky crashing on the same route in a brand - new 4 - engined DB - A . The record set by the Soviets was broken by two British Vickers Wellesley bombers which flew from Egypt to Australia in November 1938 ; a distance of . The USSR did not continue the race as aviation design bureau work stalled due to repression : Tupolev was jailed , and Gromov was also on the brink of arrest . Chkalov mysteriously crashed while testing a new fighter on 15 December 1938 . After Chkalov ' s death , Usachoyv , the Chief of the Aviation Industry Directorate , Belyaikin , the director of the plant where Chkalov ' s machine had been built , and Tomashevich , the designer , all came under suspicion due to sabotage . Nikolai Polikarpov escaped arrest . Technology . The main reason for the aircraft ' s success was due to the wing design . The wide - span wings gave the aircraft good range and fuel - efficiency , they could also house large fuel tanks . The proportion of the wingspan to the chord was more than a factor of 13 . Fuel was 52 % of the take - off weight , the tanks had been moved from the fuselage – this allowed the wings to tension as fuel weight opposed the aerodynamics forces . Research was conducted into special forms of vibration of the aircraft because of the longer wings and at a speed greater than some critical point – the so - called flutter effect . To stay afloat after ditching , the ANT - 25 used air - filled bags made of rubberised fabric . According to the archives , the idea of a military variant of the RD first came to the engineer Zhemchuzhin of the 7th sector of the Soviet Air Force Scientific Research Institute . Its slow speed , low altitude , poor maneuverability and large wingspan made it a perfect target for fighters and anti - aircraft guns . Only two aircraft were manufactured , which were followed by the Tupolev DB - 1 . In 1934 the aviation plant in Voronezh received an order to construct 50 ANT - 36s for the Air Force . The Tupolev design bureau built an exact copy of an ANT - 25 in 1989 for Monino aviation museum .