Sigizmund Levanevsky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sigizmund Levanevsky
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| Native name | |
| Born | 15 May [O.S. 2 May] 1902 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | 13 August 1937 (aged 35) Arctic Ocean |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Service/ |
Soviet Army before 1925 Soviet Air Force since 1925 |
| Years of service | 1917–1930 |
| Battles/wars | October Revolution Russian Civil War |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Sigizmund Aleksandrovich Levanevsky was a brave Soviet pilot known for his amazing long-distance flights. He was born on May 15, 1902, and sadly disappeared during a flight on August 13, 1937. He became a "Hero of the Soviet Union" in 1934 for helping rescue people from a ship called the Chelyuskin.
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Early Life and Military Service
Sigizmund Levanevsky was born in Saint Petersburg, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time. His family was Polish. Sigizmund had a brother, Józef Lewoniewski, who was also a pilot in Poland.
When he was young, Sigizmund took part in the October Revolution. This was a big event where the Bolsheviks (a group of revolutionaries) took power in Russia. After that, he fought in the Russian Civil War as part of the Red Army.
In 1925, Sigizmund finished his studies at the Sevastopol Naval Aviation School. He became a military pilot. Later, in 1930, he moved to the reserve forces. From 1932 to 1933, he was in charge of training pilots at the All-Ukraine Pilot School.
Famous Rescue Missions
In 1933, Levanevsky became a pilot for the main office that managed the Northern Sea Route. His job was to fly over the ice and look for safe paths for ships. This helped ships travel through the icy waters of the Arctic.
He became famous on July 20, 1933. He flew to Anadyr to rescue an American pilot named Jimmie Mattern. Mattern's plane had crashed nearby while he was trying to fly around the world alone. Levanevsky flew Mattern to Nome, Alaska, to get help.
The next year, Levanevsky and another pilot, Mavriky Slepnyov, went to Alaska. They needed to get special transport planes to help rescue people from a ship called the Chelyuskin. This ship was trapped and crushed by ice.
On March 24, Levanevsky's plane had to land in Kolyuchin Bay on the coast of Chukotka. During the landing, the skis on his plane broke off. Slepnyov helped him get to a safe base. Even though his plane was broken, Levanevsky still helped. He flew a doctor to help a sick expedition leader who had appendicitis. For his brave actions, he was given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1934, he also joined the Communist Party.
Flights Over the North Pole
On August 3, 1935, Levanevsky tried to fly from Moscow to San Francisco, California. He had a co-pilot, Georgy Baydukov, and a navigator, Viktor Levchenko. They were flying a special long-range plane called the Tupolev ANT-25. Their plan was to fly over the North Pole.
About a thousand miles into the flight, they had a problem. The plane's oil tank started leaking because it was too full. Levanevsky decided it was too risky to continue, so they turned back.
In the summer of 1936, Levanevsky and Viktor Levchenko tried another long flight. They flew from Santa Monica, California, to Moscow. This 10,000-mile flight went through Alaska and Siberia. They used a Vultee V-1AS plane, but they changed its floats to wheels for landing. For this successful flight, Levanevsky received the Order of Red Banner of Labour.
The Final Flight
On August 12, 1937, Levanevsky began another very long flight. He was the captain of a plane called the Bolkhovitinov DB-A, with a crew of six men. They were flying from Moscow to Fairbanks, Alaska, again planning to go over the North Pole.
The next day, August 13, radio contact with the plane was lost. This happened after they had passed the North Pole. The plane ran into bad weather, and one of its engines stopped working.
The Soviet government organized two big searches for the missing plane. They even bought planes from the United States to help. A Canadian pilot named Herbert Hollick-Kenyon led these searches in 1937 and 1938. Jimmie Mattern, the pilot Levanevsky had rescued earlier, also flew a plane to help search for his former rescuer.
Sadly, after many attempts, the plane and its crew were never found. Everyone on board was presumed to have died.
In 1999, some wreckage was found in the shallow waters of Camden Bay in Alaska. People thought it might be Levanevsky's plane. However, later attempts to find the object again were not successful. The mystery of what happened to Sigizmund Levanevsky and his crew remains unsolved.
See also
- List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
Images for kids
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Sigizmund Levanevsky
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Postage stamp, USSR, 1935: Sigizmund Levanevsky stamp with commemorative red overprint for "Moscow - San Francisco flight via the North Pole", August 1935.
