Cheliuskin
The Cheliuskin was a Soviet steamship ice-bound in Arctic waters during navigation along the Northern Maritime Route. It was named after the 18th century Russian polar explorer Semion Ivanovich Cheliuskin. Its crew members were known as "Cheliuskintsi".The steamship had been drifting with the ice-fields before sinking on February 13 1934, crushed by the icepacks. The crew managed to escape onto the ice and built a makeshift airstrip using a tractor. They were rescued in April of the same year and flown to the town of Uelen.
The aircraft pilots who took part in search and rescue operations were among the first people to receive the newly established highest title of Hero of the Soviet Union.