M. Gromov; Soviet Long-Distance Flier

Test pilot Mikhail Gromov, who in 1937 set a long-distance record when he flew from Moscow across the North Pole and landed in the San Jacinto Valley of Southern California, has died at age 85.

The Soviet news agency Tass reported that Gromov died Tuesday but did not disclose the cause of death. His obituary was signed by President Konstantin Chernenko.

Gromov was a star test pilot between 1924 and 1942 and set several world duration and distance records. His best known flight was as the pilot of a three-man crew that traversed the North Pole setting a nonstop distance record of 6,262 miles.

The 62-hour, 17-minute flight was made in an experimental ANT-25 monoplane with a wingspan of 125 feet.

The fliers had been aiming for San Diego but a gasoline leak forced them to land on a dairy farm near Riverside. The owner roped off his pasture and charged a 25-cent admission fee to view the plane, reportedly collecting $1,000 in a single day.

Gromov and his compatriots were treated as heroes at parades in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego and their feat was hailed in telegrams from Joseph Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

After World War II, Gromov was in charge of testing the first Soviet jet planes, Tass said.