Dranitsyn, German Vasilyevich (1912–1976)

Dranitsyn, German Vasilyevich (1912–1976) – a Soviet Arctic captain and an honorary polar explorer (1938). After the graduation from Arkhangelsk Sea Technical School in 1933, he navigated as a second mate and the executive officer in seal hunting ships, polar supply ships, and icebreakers “Malygin,” “G. Sedov,” “Leningradsovet,” “Joseph Stalin,” etc. He was a participant of hunting trade development in the remote regions of the Arctic. In 1948–1976, he commanded the icebreakers “Ermak,” “Molotov,” “Joseph Stalin,” and “Kapitan Voronin” on the Northern Sea Route. In 1961, he served as a captain-instructor and was the first to conduct a passage of icebreakers and transport ships across the difficult Krasnoy Armii Strait in the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago; he participated in the arrangement of the North Pole 10 expedition landing from the nuclear icebreaker “Lenin” on the drifting ice in the East Siberian Sea. He took part in the improvement of the ice navigation tactics in the Arctic...