TheNorthwest Staging Route was a series of airstrips,airport and radio ranging stations operating inAlberta,British Columbia,Yukon andAlaska duringWorld War II. It extended into the Soviet Union as theALSIB (ALaska-SIBerian air road). The Northwest Staging Route carried warplanes to theSoviet Union, at a time when that country was fighting German invaders along theEastern Front.

The route was developed in 1942 for several reasons. Initially, the7th Ferrying Group, Ferrying Command,United States Army Air Corps (laterAir Transport Command) atGore Field (Great Falls Municipal Airport) was ordered to organize and develop an air route to send assistance to the Soviet Union throughNorthern Canada, acrossAlaska and theBering Sea toSiberia, and eventually over to theEastern Front. The US-CanadianPermanent Joint Board on Defense decided in the autumn of 1940 that a string of airports should be constructed at Canadian expense between the city ofEdmonton in centralAlberta and the Alaska-Yukon border. Late in 1941 the Canadian government reported that rough landing fields had been completed.^[1]

With the outbreak of war, American lines of communication with Alaska by sea were seriously threatened and alternative routes had to be opened. The string of airports through the lonelytundra and forests of northwest Canada provided an air route to Alaska which was practically invulnerable to attack, and it seemed to be in U.S. interests to develop them and open a highway which would at once be a service road for the airports and a means for transporting essential supplies to the Alaskan outposts. In response, theUnited States Army began building theAlaskan Highway.^[1]

Neither theEleventh Air Force, nor the United States Army, nor theLend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union could wait for the Alaska Highway to be completed. The long route through theCaribbean toBrazil,Nigeria,Egypt andIran was unworkable, nor could aircraft be flown viaGreenland orIceland. A huge program of airport construction and road making, therefore, was undertaken.^[1]

The Alaska Highway was but a part of the defenses provided for the Northwest North American frontier. Much less is known about the great air route leading from the United States to Alaska through Canada. Airfields were built or upgraded every 100 mi (160 km) or so fromEdmonton, Alberta toFairbanks, Alaska ("the longest hop being the 140 miles or so betweenFort Nelson and theLiard River flight strip")^[2] The route of theAlaska Highway, which was built to provide a land route to Alaska, basically connected the airfields together. Edmonton became the headquarters of the Alaskan Wing, Air Transport Command.^[1]

Two routes were developed from the United States, which met atEdmonton, Alberta, from which the aircraft were ferried toLadd Field, nearFairbanks, Alaska where the American-built aircraft were to be turned over to Russian flight crews.Marks Army Airfield, nearNome, Alaska was 500 miles closer to Russia, but was ruled out because the United States feared it was too vulnerable to Japanese attack. One route originated atGreat Falls Army Air Base, Montana, where aircraft bound for Russia were ferried from their manufacturing plants inSouthern California.

The other route originated atMinneapolis, Minnesota, whereWold-Chamberlain Airport was used as an aircraft staging point for aircraft manufactured in the Midwest and northeastern United States.^[1] The Minneapolis-Edmonton route, however was turned into a transport route only by the end of 1943, with aircraft ferrying operations being shifted to Great Falls.^[3] In addition to the Lend-Lease aircraft, AlaskanEleventh Air Force aircraft were also ferried up the NSR, with the aircraft being flown toElmendorf Field, near Anchorage fromRCAF Station Whitehorse upon their arrival.^[1]

Three main types of combat aircraft were ferried to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. Fighter aircraft wereBell P-39 Airacobras, and later its successor, theBell P-63 Kingcobra, which were favored by theRed Air Force who used the two types with great success. The majority of the P-39s shipped to the Soviet Union were the definitive Q-models. Bombers included theDouglas A-20 Havoc light attack bomber andNorth American B-25 Mitchellmedium bombers that were also sent to the Red Air Force. Transport aircraft were made up of predominantly, theDouglas C-47 Skytrain, also supplied in great numbers.

The Bell fighters and the B-25 Mitchells were flown up to Ladd via Minneapolis; the C-47s and A-20s came up via Great Falls. A handful of other aircraft types,North American AT-6 Texan trainers, some North AmericanCurtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, threeRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts and oneCurtiss C-46 Commando transport were also ferried to Russia. The aircraft were supplied with Russian language operations and maintenance manuals, as well as painted in Red Air Force camouflage colors and national markings.^[3][4]

The Russians set up a command atLadd Field and Nome where their pilots were trained to take over the aircraft and fly them toKrasnoyarsk in Siberia and on to various fronts in western Russia. The first group of Russian pilots arrived at Nome on 14 August 1942 on their way to Ladd Field. Along with the pilots were civilians from the Soviet Purchasing Commission and a group of Red Air Force mechanics. Most were located at Ladd, with a secondary group at Marks Field. The first Lend-Lease aircraft, a group of twelve A-20 Havocs, arrived at Ladd on 3 September 1942. The first Russian pilots, after five days of training on the aircraft, took off for Nome and the long trip to the Eastern Front.

Initially the USAAF provided the initial training on how to operate and maintain the Lend-Lease aircraft. Later, after an experienced cadre was developed, the Russians assumed the responsibility. The Russians also meticulously inspected each aircraft, and would reject any aircraft that presented the slightest problem. The USAAF was then left with the chore of correcting them. It was sometimes quite exasperating, as the USAAF would work long hours of overtime to get the aircraft into first-class condition so that all the Russians had to do was fly them from Fairbanks to the Eastern Front.^[3]

The ALSIB and Northwest Staging Route also provided a diplomatic route between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. Diplomats, high political figures and countless other government officials shuttled back and forth along it in transports during the war.Wendell Willkie, Vice-PresidentHenry A. Wallace, Soviet Foreign MinisterVyacheslav Molotov, andAndrei Gromyko were but a few who used the route. President Roosevelt considered holding a summit in Fairbanks in 1944 to meet withStalin, however the location was subsequently changed toYalta in the Soviet Union. Also the route provided a means over which the Russians movedintelligence agents and classified information obtained illegally in the United States. The Soviets, claimingdiplomatic immunity, routinely moved large numbers of suitcases in batches of 50 or more, their contents diplomatically sealed.^[3]

The Russians who arrived in Alaska also frequently visited shopping areas in Fairbanks and Nome, and contingents visited the aircraft manufacturing plants in the United States. They maintained a strict decorum and politely paid for their purchases, sometimes in old USgold certificates. Many luxury items were bought and shipped back to the Soviet Union on the Lend-Lease aircraft with the hope that they would reach their final destinations in Russia. Most of the Russian pilots were experienced combat veterans who saw the ferrying mission as a respite from their combat missions. They were generally reserved, andpolitical officers were sent to Alaska to ensure their loyalty.^[3]

As the Pacific War wound down, the wartime marriage of convenience between the capitalistic and communist countries was coming to an end. In 1945, the United States and Soviet Union were about to embark on aCold War and the Russians departed Fairbanks shortly after the Japanese capitulation in September 1945.^[3]

Possibly because of their strict inspection standards, there were remarkably few aircraft accidents. During the 21 months of the program, 7,983 aircraft were delivered to the Russians with only 133 lost to weather or pilot error.^[5] Thirteen Red Air Force pilots were buried in the Fort Richardson cemetery.^[3]

Primary airfields in BOLD^[1][6]

• North Atlantic air ferry route in World War II
• South Atlantic air ferry route in World War II
• South Pacific air ferry route in World War II
• West Coast Wing (Air Transport Command route to Alaska)
• Crimson Route

Notes

Bibliography

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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