The First Plane To Go Non-Stop From Russia To America - Tupolev ANT-25

Today we're taking a look at the record-setting Tupolev ANT-25.
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Recommended Reading:
The History of Aircraft Construction in the USSR Until 1938 - amzn.to/47x7LDi
OKB Tupolev: A History of the Design Bureau and its aircraft - amzn.to/48MXBj1
Tupolev Aircraft Since 1922 - amzn.to/48u1n0N
Tupolev: The Man and his aircraft - amzn.to/48ql6yy

[@RexsHangar]

F.A.Q Section - Ask your questions here :) Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: How do you decide what aircraft gets covered next? A: Supporters over on Patreon now get to vote on upcoming topics such as overviews, special videos, and deep dives. Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.

[@kirgan1000]

I think SAAB J21 and J21R can be interesting, unconventional from the start, and one of the few reasonably successful conversion from piston to jet power, and probably unknown for most of the viewers.

[@delurkor]

Suggestion: the only aircraft designed and built to carry , launch and recover other aircraft, the airships Akron and Macon.

[@neves5083]

We're going to get videos about piston helicopters? :)

[@RebeccaCampbell1969]

What about telling the history, the story actually, of every bureau/union/corporation designing and building the planes? Grumman, Migoyan, Sukoi, Junkers, Heinkel, Messerschmitt, ... etc. About the engineers, politicians, workers too. The why how and when of such designs. Different that explaining each model fully as you have done, because every design feels as if it was part of an idea or trend. But alas I am happy with your videos, this is just a suggestion 😅

[@baguette2117]

The AM Mauler or the Skyraider could be interesting as the US navy transitions to a single strike aircraft

[@andrewthomson]

Just when i was lamenting that there was nothing to watch Rex saves the day.

[@tomashudacek1791]

Absolutely agreed 👍 😂

[@lucashinch]

Dually noted

[@JohnSmith-yv6eq]

Dooley has noted this... @@lucashinch

[@randomnickify]

"Nothing to watch"...looks at his own Watch Later playlist that is about to reach 1000 videos ;P

[@donaldjmccann]

The First ANT-25 that crossed into North America landed in Vancouver, WA. at what is now Pearson Field, the place where in 1997 I took my first solo flight on my way to getting a pilot's license. The museum there has some photos of the Soviet plane. BTW, Pearson Field is the second oldest continuously operational airport in the USA, and is located directly across the Columbia river from Portland International airport.

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

Second oldest? I always understood that Pearson is the single oldest continuously operated airfield in the world. Which one is older? Orly is 3 years younger, isn't it?

[@drewgehringer7813]

@@104thDIVTimberwolf College Park Airport in Maryland was established in 1909 for Wilbur Wright to train U.S. army guys to fly, and is still operating.

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

@@drewgehringer7813, I've never heard of that one before. Thanks.

[@vicpecka7356]

And there's a street in Vancouver WA named: Chkalov Dr.

[@vicpecka7356]

@@104thDIVTimberwolf I was an instructor in the 104th way back when.

[@furman761]

ANT-25-2 (the Chkalov's one) was exhibited at The World Of Tomorrow in New York in 1939, then shipped to Leningrad and ended up at Chkalov Museum at his birth town, now bearing his name. ANT-25-1 (the Gromov's one) shipped back to Leningrad as well, ended up as a shooting target sometime after 1942. At least two replicas were built. One as a prop for the movie "Poem about wings" was built at glider factory in Prienai, Lithuania in 1979, another one in 1989 at Tupolev Bureau experimental plant. The latter one is now on display at Monino museum.

[@benjaminalmquist1805]

I love this - as a born and bred Vancouver, WA resident, I grew up visiting Pearson Airfield regularly and viewing the monument commemorating the ANT-25's landing, as well as that donated by the Soviet Union to the United States. It's what kickstarted my fascination with and passion for aviation. Glory to Stalin's Falcons, Valery Chkalov (who we named a street after), Georgy Baydukov, and Alexander Belyakov!

[@tarmaque]

Howdy neighbor!

[@alexgallagher4594]

Much cringe.

[@jakekaywell5972]

@@alexgallagher4594 Cringe to pay respect where its due? Nah. What's cringe is diminishing a great accomplishment on the basis of nationality.

[@neilcoligan8621]

That huge wingspan almost makes it a precursor of the U-2.

[@SoloRenegade]

not remotely. The precursor to the U-2 was the F-104. F-104 had famously small wings. The U-2 wasn't just about wings.

[@PrestonGarvey69]

​@@SoloRenegadeHe was making a comparison. Not stating it was a precursor to it. Yes The U-2's precursor was the f-104.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@PrestonGarvey69 except it wasn't a precursor. precursor implies, ancestor. There is not connection between the U-2 and ANT-25, nor any other glider in the 1920s-1940s. The F-104 is the precursor of the U-2.

[@charlesc.9012]

It was common among long-range and record setting aircraft of the time. Fairey and Vickers also built long-range aircraft that looked like that, Martin and Boeing also made the mammoth XB-16 and XB-15, which broke the ground like King Tigers

[@michaelglinski3809]

I'd known about this plane for a while, and had been a fan of it most of my life. Now, I live in Michigan, and rarely get very far from home, but in college I ran Cross Country, and the one year I did well enough to qualify for the National meet. That year, it was held in Washington, but our hotel was in Portland, right on the river. So I run the meet, do all the sports stuff, etc. We head back to the hotel, and we have the rest of the day to ourselves before we fly home. Obviously I don't have a car, but I decide to take a walk- the river is nice, and there's a little airport/museum down the way. It only took about 20 minutes; it had to have been only a mile or two from the hotel. Imagine my surprise when, as I get closer, I see a plaque in a field right out front of the hangar/main building. American airport, American museum, with a commemorative plaque with a SOVIET PLANE on it! The first time I fly across the country, for something completely unrelated, and I end up within walking distance of where this historical event I've know about my whole life actually happened. Still the coolest and most surreal thing that's ever happened to me.

[@Sacto1654]

The ANT-25 flights made what Charles LIndbergh did in 1927 seem like a minor event. The route taken over the North Pole was very dangerous, because it really was a first to try to do navigation over the North Pole. The fact it actually made it to Portland, Oregon was a huge feat in itself.

[@sharzadgabbai4408]

Lindbergh’s flight opened up transatlantic aviation and the Transfer of aviation assets under lend lease and then direct AAC Assets. Had these survived, Putin would be throwing them at Ukraine, loaded with Molotov cocktails and stalked by drones.

[@coreyandnathanielchartier3749]

Lindbergh flew it alone, with no navigator or relief pilot, in a general aviation aircraft. It's not necessary to tear down one accomplishment just to praise another. They were both epic flights

[@stasiekpiekarski]

I'd love to see its comparison with the record breaking Vickers Wellesley! The latter deserves a separate episode with emphasis on its unusual geodetic airframe design.

[@alanrogers7090]

Vancouver is just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, where I live. Every anniversary of the landing is heralded on our news stations and newspapers. It is still a big deal locally.

[@andrewbuckley6571]

Before WWII, polar exploration was something akin to the "space race" of the 1950s and 60s, blending cutting edge technology and unimaginable danger. I'd love to see more videos about the aircraft involved in those adventures.

[@mpersad]

Fascinating video of an episode of flight history that I knew nothing about. Great job, as always, Rex.

[@Tarnfalk]

Hey I've actually visited the airfield in Vancouver several times. There's a nice small museum there and several plaques/monuments which go into the flights along with a hanger which would have been up at the time

[@dmitriybozhanov2636]

Regarding the oil leaks. In both instances it wasn't the mechanical failure, it was due to the mechanics overfilling it for the flight. As for Gromov's attempting to reduce ANT-25's weight by ditching survival gear, there's more to it. Him, his crew and the mechanics actually spent two days cutting off the heads and protruding threads of all the bolts. In the end they had a bucket-full of metal tips, saving them about 15-20 pounds. There's a really good research recently published by Pavel Mashkin about the trans-polar flights and the disappearance of Levanevskiy.

[@sim.frischh9781]

A belated new year to you too, Rex! Those early russian palens certainly are fascinating. However many of them ended in horrifying ways, usually involving politics more so than accidents.

[@johnwiles4391]

I love this plane! I've been asking on various channels for coverage of this aircraft (I haven't here though), but I think you're the first to give it its due. Thank you! Edit: I forgot to mention that a Tupolev aircraft having an "ANT" prefix was very baffling to me!

[@vovanpop]

You can touch and see this aircraft at the Valery Chkalov Museum in the city of Chkalovsk, Nizhny Novgorod region. kzbin.info/www/bejne/in6upXyCbbaVaLs kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJC7pXaki9N8gqs I also recommend that you come to Nizhny Novgorod as a tourist. Only when you come to us will you understand what nonsense your media write about Russia and Russians . Believe me, you will be safe - many foreigners come to us as tourists, and there are even people who have come several times recently kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHfckGZ3f7yYl6s

[@user-jf5kr4qd2o]

ANT is an abbreviation of Tuploev's name, patronymic and surname.

[@johnwiles4391]

@@user-jf5kr4qd2o Good to know!

[@EricCoop]

The first nonstop transpolar flight by fixed-wing airplane. Roald Amundsen's airship Norge actually did the first transpolar nonstop flight in 1926,

[@Dank_Lulu]

Metallurgy was still developing, so materials weren't all that durable I suppose in the early 1900s. That might be why (if I didn't mishear) that airplane's rocking a 46 liter V12. A single one of those cylinders is over 3L in volume, twice the combined engine cylinder volume of most small cars today. They basically strapped wings and a propeller to a combine harvester.

[@CreatureOutOfTime]

There needs to be a short documentary on Chkalov alone. I heard he was the first pilot in USSR to perform "loop the loop", flew under a bridge in Leningrad and died ramming a nazi bomber

[@alterego2421]

sounds bad ass

[@ferrusmanus184]

I just saw this plane built as a model (and history explained) on Instagram by a person named Red the Pilot just a couple days ago. I didn't know it even existed until then.

[@CAP198462]

Albatross! +5 nerd score for niche Monty Python reference.

[@roykliffen9674]

What flavour is it?

[@kidmohair8151]

when you said "the three aviators" all that I could think about for the rest of this quite lovely first video of 2024, was the scene in the Marx Brothers' "Night at the Opera"... (available here on the tube-y'all)

[@rastarn]

Excellent telling of the story of a fascinating, historically significant aircraft. Might have to dig the kit I've got of this out of the stash, for the next project.

[@Echo2-2]

This was a very interesting topic. Excellent work!

[@lenslr]

I'm just reading Vol. 1 of Chertok's Rockets and People and read his section on this just last week. Wonderful to have some more information about it, thank you!

[@RemusKingOfRome]

That aircraft set the record for the longest wing on a single engine aircraft. :D ( plus it needed a turret)...

[@Richman0815]

Thanks for this video! Have a happy new year too.

[@makschorney2514]

Great to have you back again!

[@Dr.K.Wette_BE]

Amazing research work Rex ! 👏

[@drydogg]

You do such great work! Thank you and keep it up!

[@40over86]

It's always a good day that starts with a new Rex's Hanger video. Thanks mate!

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video, Rex...👍

[@chessell256]

Thank you for this content! I never knew about this USSR and Tupolev design or grand ambition! Cheers

[@guillaumerinfret3252]

What a story. Thanks Rex for all that good research :-)

[@stevedalbor1001]

10:49--Wingskin radiators? Looks like 'em.

[@paulhaynes8045]

Good to see you back. Excellent, detailed account of not just a strange plane, but a strange period in world history.

[@olexp9017]

Nothing strange in both the plane and that period of history. Both are excellent, made for the task.

[@paulhaynes8045]

@@olexp9017 I meant 'strange' in the sense of looking back with the perspective of knowing what came afterwards. In many ways, the 30s were almost like the 60s, with changing social attitudes, a more liberal view of the world, post-war optimism, and rapid technological progress. But now we tend to see it more as the decade that led to WW2 etc. Although, admittedly, I am largely ignoring the Great Depression...

[@olexp9017]

@@paulhaynes8045 Well, I would agree with you but from a Soviet point of view (been there and hasn't been in the USA).

[@jakekaywell5972]

Its worth mentioning here that Soviet culture in the 1930s was something largely alien to the West and for good reason. The Soviet citizens allowed into the West were typically repulsed by what they saw as the vices of the West. An example of this is the exploits of the Amtorg Corporation purchasing the entire Dueber-Hampden and Ansonia factories from the U.S. in 1929 so the USSR could build up its own watchmaking industry. The Amtorg agents were particularly surprised by the rampant homelessness and poverty in the U.S., as of course this was the onset of the Great Depression. Something the USSR notably did not suffer. That said, it was also a period of Americans gleaning from the Soviets. For example, many of Konstanin Stanislavski's acting principles (such as The Magic If), were noted and directly imported into Hollywood of the late 20s/early 30s. Much of modern movie production techniques owe their existence directly to the USSR of the 1930s.

[@jasonz7788]

Great video thank you Rex

[@ChildLabourProductions]

Also i just have to say, your videos are amazing and a wonderful way to start the day.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

Hi, Rex. Wonderful video on the ANT-25. For the ANT-36, Paper Skies did a video on it and it has some actual footage of the DB-1 filling in for its civilian - and far more successful - cousin. It's both a hilarious and tetric video. Cheers.

[@mirthenary]

Every time i see the word albatross, i cant help but think of Monty Python

[@hendersonbradshaw3098]

Amazing! I’d never heard of this. So U2 like. Most interesting.

[@StuartWhelan-up8vs]

❤❤❤Brilliant video thanks for sharing it ❤❤

[@JoshuaC923]

Welcome back Rex, wish you and your wife a Happy New Year🎉🎉

[@USAACbrat]

Happy New Year

[@ianbell5611]

Great video👍

[@Cyberleader135]

I guess its ANT-25 season, Paper Skies just made a video about the military version of this plane

[@XXfea]

Luv your work

[@anzaca1]

I love how your sass and sarcasm has gradually increased with each video.

[@lewiswestfall2687]

Thanks Rex

[@woodrowsmith3400]

In 1989, a group I belong to met in Vancouver, WA for their annual convention. On a lark after driving past several times, I did visit Pearson Field where the ANT25 landed after it's record setting flight. Only one of the mechanics on site was aware of the flight. I was saddened by the lack of recognition, and imparted what little I knew of the flight. When I saw the thumbnail of the ANT25, I just had to watch...having been to the end of the flight...so to speak.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

EXCELLENT.....Thanks Rex's Hangar..... Old F-4 2 Shoe🇺🇸

[@Sublette217]

Landed near Riverside, California. When I was a teen, the San Bernardino Sun did a story about the flight with three photos provided by a local who took the pictures.

[@mochabear88]

ty rex

[@chesspiece81]

Good morning Rex, how's it hangering? Always enjoy starting the morning with your uploads. I don't understand why they didn't have a flap to close off and redirect the exhaust from heating the cabin in warmer months.

[@IronSink]

Despite seeing vid on this plane already (at Paper Skies channel) im still somewhat hyped to hear what you will say

[@user-jf5kr4qd2o]

I was at museum of Chkalov and saw ANT-25. It consists at Chkalovsk town in Nizhniy Novgorod region of Russia. Very nice and interesting place. There is other museum near that is dedicated to Rostislav Alexeev -- inventor and creator of hydrofoil boats and ground effect flying vehicles

[@kilcar]

I visit the Pearson aitpark airstrip in Vancouver, Washington often. It is fairly small, but its importance is overshadowed by the FOVA, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, a rebuilt Hudsons Bay Company post established in 1824, hosted by the National Park Service.

[@patjohnson3100]

The flight of the ANT 24 landing in Vancouver WA is still a well-remembered event in that city. I never knew that the original plan was to fly that beast to San Francisco. Too bad an original doesn't survive, but at least there is a replica.

[@shatterquartz]

19:15 "As a result of Stalin's purges, Tupolev was imprisoned, which made working a bit difficult." Not in Stalin's glorious USSR, comrade! prison camps came with special units, informally known as sharashkas, where high-value inmates could continue their work. In fact it was a great motivator--"Develop a new plane to Stalin's satisfaction and we'll let you out of here."

[@RobFeldkamp]

Civil equivalent of an arms race? Like... a race..?

[@finnbradley3230]

Fitting video, since I just started reading a biography on the chief pilot Valery Chkalov. The book is called "Russian Lindbergh" and is published by the Smithsonian press. This video is no doubt a great way to start a Friday morning!

[@davefellhoelter1343]

as a Pre WWII Californian family member with Pre WWI family who settled from Coastal Long Beach shipyards to Tippecanoe Riverside, hearing the Ship landed in "San Jacinto Ca" I would Bet You! they LANDED at "March Field" later a SAC and Chrome Doom Base, today an Air Lift Command, Basically Next to San Jacinto Ca. I did NOT Know of this History! Thank You! I wish I had ASKED more Questions of my elders! Gramma may have stood next to this Ship or sat with the Crew? as G ma Honey was inside the Aviation Industry? I have pics of her post war landed for a short hop Lunch's in the Salton Sea, Palm Springs, and March areas with her pilot husband Jim Turpin, and ground his crews.

[@RebeccaCampbell1969]

9:03 “... exhaust gases...”???? Hmm, that’s wrong in so many ways.... the obvious one, and the more obvious one because the exhaust was open along side each cylinder head between propeller and cabin, so the gases were free into the atmosphere outside. I haven’t seen any specs or manuals or blueprints but I believe the metal which made the exhaust might have a long extension which went inside the cabin... something like that, and I remember there was a European brand (Renault?) which pulled a trick like that 50 years ago or so, with catastrophic results. Anything done to use exhaust gases other than let them straight out to atmosphere results in power loss, you choose one hell of a subject to talk about for 3 seconds!! 😂 Good video, thanks

[@jimjamauto]

It sounds crazy but it was probably effective. I lived in a house that had a tiny diesel engine for central heating. The exhaust warmed air in the duct and the engine powered a mechanical fan. I don't know if it used a heat exchanger or the pipe itself ran through the duct, but I do know it worked really well. The stupid part is the above ground tank would gel up when it was cold so we had to put an electric blanket on it

[@mikearmstrong8483]

You were good, up to that last paragraph. Look up turbo compound engines, which use exhaust gas to increase power and fuel economy.

[@xzqzq]

Fascinating aircraft....

[@drstevenrey]

I like the landing gear. It has a wing span like a motorglider, but hey, if it works, let it work.

[@xgford94]

1:17 come on Rex you’re an Aussie…where is Southern Cross?

[@joshiksr3595]

Reminds me a bit of the BV 155 B-1

[@alterego2421]

different reason for high aspect doe

[@camrsr5463]

4:14 I wonder if that style of hat and the lack of smiles are linked somehow? lol This plane can be seen flying around one of the low tier arctic maps on WOWS legends.

[@Mephistopholies]

Dear Rex's hangar. I love the show pretty sure I've seen every episode. Would you know what is up with Dornier's Sea Star? It's been a couple years sense I've seen anything on it. Dornier was up to alot at the time, they were showing that repowered 3 engine seaplane that was fly as F.

[@olegs2195]

Also I remember was a book, biography of Valeriy Chkalov. There weree some info about that record flight

[@orangelion03]

Excellent video Rex! There is a plaque commemorating the landing in San Jacinto, at Hoffman Park. It states the the landing was approximately three miles to the west, near what is now the intersection of Cottonwood and Sanderson Aves If any aviation enthusiasts are in or visiting Southern California, it is not too far from March Field and its excellent museum.

[@WilliamCollins-sh6lm]

Now I understand a bit more on the milk cow diesel concept float plane ... A bomber an the cow ... Wave goppers ... Hopping in over or through waves... Rember early speed racers ???

[@onieyoh9478]

I love its big albatross wings.

[@emjackson2289]

Thing is though, I can imagine Stalin actually have a pet albatross that, rather like Gwihir the Windlord, seeks out those political enemies and neutralises them.

[@dufus7396]

Ive always thought this one of the most elegant pure to purpose plane of the times..no other nation had anything close to this.

[@warhawk4494]

Cool

[@emjackson2289]

Leveneski complained about the ANT-25, So packed his gear in his DBA and kissed his kids good-bye He waited his whole damn career to take that flight, And as the multi-engined-plane crashed down he thought "Well isn't this nice"

[@georgecastiblanco2978]

Fue uno de los vuelos trasatlánticos mas raros del mundo y realmente epicos . nunca fue detectado y obligo a la usaf desarrollar el b17; creo que ese avión fue un tbm de la compañía tupolev propulsado por un motor Diesel mikulin de 850Hp. Pero no se mas

[@jakekaywell5972]

In many ways, the 1930s were almost like the 1960s, with changing social attitudes, a more liberal view of the world, post-war optimism, and rapid technological progress. The ANT-25 is one such example of this rapid technological and social change. The lessons learned in this aircraft in streamlining and maximizing fuel economy would be very useful for the Soviet air industry just a few short years later. A true, but brief period, of genuine openness between East and West before the Iron Curtain changed all of that.

[@grundergesellscahftmkii6196]

I wonder what's the glider names behind the plane in 15:00

[@nemo6686]

Being the first to fly from Russia to America is a bit less impressive when you know they're less than three miles apart at their closest - about 1/10th the distance Bleriot flew in 1909, and it was swum by Lynne Cox in 1987.

[@ralphe5842]

Apparently one is in the Chkalov Museum

[@strakhovandrri]

Glad to say that i've seen the machine. Chkalov's statue stands on a high bank of the river on which stands the town he was born in, the pedestal of it shows the map of this flight. Some days when the weather is right you can see how Chkalov stands before mountains of clouds.

[@tombogan03884]

20:00 Vodka and cavier might be a better bribe for your translator. LOL

[@strat57wg]

What is the plane at 3:44?

[@lorenzosguaitamatti]

3:43 which plane it is?

[@scpgaming-452]

tupolev founder : fly by wire in aviation history

[@alancranford3398]

I was given a copy of Life Magazine (1940?) back in the early Seventies that had a photo story of this plane. "Everything was invented in Russia"

[@truckerallikatuk]

Wasn't the bomber version planned as a chemical bomber? IE, used to spray chemical warfare agents from the skies?

[@sergeychmelev5270]

Making chemtrails before it became the mainstream? :) On a serious note though, while there was a bomber version, it was never meant to use chemical weapons. No more than any other long-range bomber at the time. That's as much of an urban legend as chemtrails themselves, popularized by the lame channels with no actual knowledge in aviation like Dark Skies

[@anzaca1]

Specifically, the Soviets wanted it to spray chemical weapons over enemy cities. Paper Skies has a video all about this.

[@sergeireischel1610]

Wish I`ve had a friend to bribe me with beer and pizza)

[@dufus7396]

Single engine ,long wing...streamlining...what winner

[@sseim5654]

Remember please, the second flight was intended to run into Mexico. Passport/visa/inter government awkwardness cut the flight short to a landing in the San Diego area. Remember as well, there is a small monument that memorializes the point of landing.

[@ChildLabourProductions]

Why is it that the blueprints dictated it had a triple blades prop, but it only ended up with a double blades prop?

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

2 blades are more efficient, 2/3 of the tip losses.

[@rudysmith1445]

Is this a reupload? I feel like I’ve watched this exact video from you before… hmm 🤔

[@tomov3489]

Why the hell would you wish not to have heating in summer at 7000 m altitude flying at speed?

[@ray.shoesmith]

@11:59 damn this made me laugh sorry

[@Schaneification]

What that 70 miles ?

[@cartmanrlsusall]

This is why I could never be a billionaire i would spend to much money building a replica of planes like this ❤can you imagine the range of a beauty like this with a diesel engine

[@167curly]

What a solemn group in that photo at about 4 minutes of your video! Probably knowing Uncle Joe's expectations, and his impulsive reputation for those who thwarted him!