On June 18, 1937, Valery Chkalov and his crew onboard a Tupolev ANT-25 flew from Moscow to Vancouver, Washington by way of the North Pole.  The flight took 63 hours to complete, and covered 5475 miles, and proved the viability of flying over the North Pole.

Valery Chkalov became a Hero of the Soviet Union for his accomplishments.

Rare color image of Chkalov's ANT-25 at Pearson Field in Vancouver, Washington.

Chkalov's ANT-25 was nicknamed "Stalin's Route" and was able to fly such long distances, in part, because of its very large wings. 

A month after Chkalov's flight, Mikhail Gromov, in another ANT-25, retraced the polar route flight, this time extending the total distance traveled by almost 1000 miles.  He landed near San Jacinto, California after traveling over 6,302 miles from Moscow. 

This image of Gromov's ANT-25 shows how large the type was. 

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