Sigizmund Levanevsky
Sigizmund Aleksandrovich Levanevsky (1902–1937) was a Soviet aviation pioneer famous for long‑distance flights. Born in Saint Petersburg to a Polish family, he joined the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution and fought in the Russian Civil War. He trained as a military pilot, graduating from the Sevastopol Naval Aviation School in 1925, and served in the Red Army until 1930. He then led flight training at the All-Ukraine Pilot School and later worked with Glavsevmorput’, helping with ice reconnaissance for Arctic shipping.
Levanevsky first gained international fame in 1933 by evacuating American pilot Jimmie Mattern, who crash‑landed near Anadyr while trying to fly solo around the world. In 1934 he helped with the rescue efforts for the stranded Chelyuskin ship expedition, for which he was named Hero of the Soviet Union. He also joined the Communist Party in 1934.
In 1935–1936 he pursued several daring long‑distance flights. He and co‑pilot Georgy Baydukov attempted a transpolar flight from Moscow to San Francisco in a Tupolev ANT‑25, but had to abort the mission after an oil leak. In 1936 Levanevsky and Viktor Levchenko evaluated a route from Santa Monica to Moscow via Alaska and Siberia, flying about 10,000 miles in a Vultee V‑1AS; for this achievement he received the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.
On August 12, 1937, Levanevsky led a six‑man crew on a long‑distance flight from Moscow to the United States via the North Pole in a Bolkhovitinov DB‑A bomber. After crossing the Pole, the radio contact was lost, and the plane crashed in bad weather near the Arctic, with the right engine failing. The Soviet government financed searches with help from American and Canadian pilots, but the crew was never found. A possible wreckage was spotted in 1999, but it could not be confirmed.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:24 (CET).