In October 2022, the legendary Alaska-Siberia Air Route turned 80 years old. Photo: Aleksandr Bormotin
On December 3, the exhibition «Restoring the Memory of War Heroes» will open at the Russian Cultural Center in Washington, which will show the history of joint military operations between America and Russia on land and at sea. The blades of the C-47 aircraft, the «Ventura» radio receiver, and a 3D model of the «Wahoo» submarine that sank during combat — we’ll tell you what visitors to the exhibition will see.
The exhibition highlights three key subjects: the ferrying of aircraft along the Alaska-Siberia Air Route, the military operations of the US army against Japan in Kamchatka, as well as naval battles.
«It was logical to organize this exhibition in 2025, when we celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory, the Year of Defender of the Fatherland, and the 180th anniversary of the Russian Geographical Society,» said Ilya Gurov, First Deputy Executive Director of the RGS. «For five years now, we have been actively working to preserve our common historical heritage with America. From 2021 to 2023, the Alaska-Siberia Air Route was studied, and since 2021, scientists and search specialists have been examining the crash sites of American aircraft during the US Army’s military operations against Japan in Kamchatka. The results of the lifting of US aircraft in Kamchatka were planned to be included in the program of the official visit of the president of America in 2020. The pandemic restrictions made adjustments, the visit did not take place, but the idea was developed. Today, partnership should stand above the political situation. This is a reminder that Russia and the United States can be allies, preserving peace for the future.»
3D model of the submarine «Wahoo», lost in La Perouse Strait
In 1943, Captain Dudley Morton took command of the submarine «Wahoo» (SS-238). He used daring tactics: he attacked from short range, observing the target through a periscope. Morton assigned supervision and calculations to his senior assistant, Lieutenant Richard O’Kane. During the year, the submarine destroyed 20 ships, but sank at the end of 1943.
The place where it sank was discovered by chance in 2006 by the marine exploration and research center of the Pacific Fleet «Iskra». In 2023, specialists from the Ludi Morya Foundation (eng. People of the Sea Foundation) performed photogrammetry of the submarine’s hull and created a 3D model of it, which will be demonstrated on interactive panels in Washington.
Archive footage of the "Wahoo". Photo: press service of the People of the Sea Foundation
«A significant part of the exhibition will be the history of the 'Wahoo’ submarine, which we examined during the 'Russians Remember’ complex expedition,» said Artyom Melnikov, president of the People of the Sea Foundation. «Based on the data obtained, the foundation has created a detailed three-dimensional model, which is publicly available on the portal about the maritime heritage 'Russia: From Sea to Sea’. Such projects are important not only for science and museum work, but also at the geopolitical level.»
Blades of World War II Aircraft
Since 2021, the RGS and the Russian Ministry of Defense have been conducting a search expedition in the Far East to explore the crash sites of World War II aircraft. These machines witnessed the battles between the US and Japanese aviation in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Five American bombers have been discovered and partially identified in Kamchatka: the «Liberator», two «Venturas», the «Mitchell», and the «Boston». In 2023, a Soviet P-63 «Kingcobra» fighter made in the USA was discovered at the bottom of Vitaminnoye Lake. Under the Lend-Lease program, the USSR received 2,397 such fighters — 72% of the total production. Soviet pilots appreciated the «Kingcobra» for its warm cabin, excellent radio station, and phenomenal survivability. In 2025, the plane was lifted from Vitaminnoye Lake and transported to Moscow. The exhibition features artifacts that experts found in airplanes: a radio receiver and an oxygen tank from the «Ventura».
Fragments of airplanes found along the Alaska-Siberia Air Route
The Alaska-Siberia Air Route was used to transport Lend-Lease aircraft. The heroic pilots and local residents who built and maintained the ALSIB airfields worked in the most difficult conditions. In Soviet times, the history of the air route was classified. Post-Soviet studies were mostly desk-based. As a result, almost 80 years after the route was opened, the historical airfields have not been studied, and the exact coordinates of the crash sites are still unknown.
From 2021 to 2023, the RGS, moving from east to west, surveyed 20 airfields. Field work began at the Chukotka airfields, then continued in the Magadan Region, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Irkutsk Region. The specialists studied the technical condition of the airfields, analyzed the prospects for their further use for their intended purpose, as well as open-air museums. Near the historic runways, search specialists found fragments of airplanes, cars, tractors, searchlights, and other objects. The memory of the fallen pilots was perpetuated: commemorative signs were erected at the places of their deaths, military honors were given, and wreaths were laid.
The exhibition «Restoring the Memory of War Heroes» presents replicas of fragments of aircraft that were found along the ALSIB Air Route. This is the C-47 «Douglas» aircraft of Senior Lieutenant Evgeny Gerasimov, tail number 25644. On August 28, 1943, a disaster occurred 50 km from the village of Egvekinot (foothills of the Golden Ridge): when breaking through the clouds on descent, the plane crashed into a hill. This led to a collision with a hill and the death of all four crew members: the ship’s commander, co-pilot, second Lieutenant Nikolai Petukhov, junior military technician Nikodim Kutilin, and Sergeant Pyotr Okonechnikov. The dead were buried in the village of Egvekinot.
Preparation for the exhibition. Photo provided by the organizers
«The exhibition represents only a small part of the extensive research work that has been done and will continue,» said Ivan Anokhin, director of the Center for Contemporary History. «Every year we find new archival documents and identify promising locations for field research. The history of the Second World War, including its common pages for Russia and the United States, is still full of blank spots, which we are filling in step by step together.»
Another artifact is a fragment of the tail fin of a C-47 «Douglas» aircraft, tail number 22398, which crashed on November 25, 1943. The pilot was Fyodor Ponomarenko. All the crew members died and were buried in Yakutsk. «Douglas”-class aircraft carried diplomatic mail, government delegations, aircraft spare parts, and strategic cargo. They were the leaders, leading groups of fighters and plotting a route for them.
The blade of the «Douglas» C-47 transport aircraft will also be shown at the exhibition. It crashed in May 1943, a little short of Uelkal Airfield. The crew of the C-47 consisted of three pilots, commanded by Lieutenant Evgeny Spiridonov. The plane was discovered immediately after the crash. All crew members were killed: the ship’s commander, Senior Lieutenant Spiridonov, on-board aircraft technician Konstantin Kozhukhov, and on-board radio operator Aleksandr Pekhota. They were buried in the village of Uelkal.
Monument to the ALSIB pilots in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo: Anatoly Kochnev
The exhibition is organized by the RGS, the People of the Sea Foundation, and the Center for Contemporary History with the support of the Russian Embassy in the United States, and will run for three days.