Top-secret Project Zebra: One of the greatest untold stories from World War II

Project Zebra was the brainchild of Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. And, it would be the only time in history Soviet airmen were trained in America by Americans to fly American built aircraft.

During the course of the 24-month mission, 185 huge, state-of-the-art amphibious warplanes, hand painted with Red Army stars, were built in a secured sector of the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

Once completed, the planes were ferried to the sleepy, patriotic town of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. There a select group of US Naval officers trained 300+ Soviet airmen during an 18-month period, before dispatching a Soviet squadron at a time to the Atlantic and Pacific battle zones. 

But Project Zebra was far more than just a bold military mission; it was a historic human event.  Despite language barriers, cultural differences and the subsequent Cold War, the Soviet and American Zebras built life-long friendships based on mutual respect and trust—something that might serve us well to remember during today’s turbulent times.