Document created: 15 March 99
Air & S pace Power Journal

The Alaska-Siberia Connection: The World War II Air Route by Otis Hays Jr. Texas A&M University Press, Drawer C, John H. Lindsey Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4354, 1996, 200 pages, $34.95.

The US-Soviet lend-lease program during the Second World War is generally well known, particularly use of the sea route via the North Atlantic Ocean and the sea-land route through the Persian Gulf region. Desperate to acquire military aircraft of all types to make up for heavy losses inflicted by Germany, the Soviet Union reluctantly agreed to accept planes and other critical equipment from its Allies. The Soviets were uneasy about the whole arrangement but had no other choice.

Timeliness of deliveries was a big problem. The approved transportation routes for American-made aircraft often took weeks and even months to complete—if they arrived at all. Early in the war, attrition of transport ships in convoys was high.

So begins, albeit delayed by Red suspicion and red tape, an unusual tale of the war—the “officially secret” establishment and running of an air linkage between Alaska and Siberia for lend-lease aircraft. Otis Hays Jr., author of The Alaska-Siberia Connection, knows the subject well. In 1943–44, Hays served as a senior member of the Alaska Defense Command’s military intelligence staff and foreign liaison operations.

Part of this ferrying operation involved stationing Soviet military personnel for specific purposes at US airfields in the frontier territory of Alaska. For instance, one of the jobs of the Soviets at Ladd Field in Fairbanks was to assume responsibility for the arriving planes by placing their own red-star insignia on the fuselages. They borrowed a Texaco ser-vice station sign to do this.

The entire undertaking was plagued by cultural, language, and political differences. Female Soviet interpreters were insulted at first by the behavior of the American GIs around them. Further, US interpreters, many of whom were servicemen fluent in Russian, caused much uneasiness because they were from families of Soviet expatriates, whose views were anti-USSR. Political matters on both sides experienced many ups and downs, partly caused by a basic mistrust of each other.

Added to this situation was the inherent difficulty of the Alaska-Siberian delivery (known as ALSIB throughout the war). Not an easy operation, the ALSIB run consisted of a series of flight legs flown by American pilots starting in Montana, working their way through western Canada, and finally arriving in Alaska. There, the aircraft were transferred to the Soviets, whose aircrews flew them on through Siberia and Russia to the eastern front. The route covered thousands of miles and was flown all year long, since the war did not take prolonged breaks. Pilots often encountered extremely adverse weather, and many airfields were not always up to par. Several of the air strips in Siberia gave new meaning to the term bare base.

The ALSIB connection was considered a success, since over eight thousand vitally needed aircraft were delivered from 1943 to 1945. For military history buffs, especially those interested in aviation, The Alaska-Siberia Connection helps fill a void in the literature. Do not expect an effortless read, however, unless you are good at keeping track of Russian names and following a detailed, sometimes dry, account of this understudied part of the Second World War.

Dr. Frank Donnini
Newport News, Virginia

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.