This article presents a review of unique documents and exhibition projects reflecting the research activities of the oldest scientific and technical museum in the country.

The purpose of the study is to tell about unknown facts in the military chronicle and the heroism of representatives of the Soviet transport industry through the personal stories of the heroes of the bloodiest war of the 20th century. The painstaking work of the museum’s research staff , focused on human destinies, made it possible to identify the extraordinary events that befell engineer Pavel Alekseevich Tyumenev, who was captured by the Germans on the first day of the war, to rethink documents, rewrite the biography of a legendary figure — Ivan Georgievich Zubkov, whose contribution during the Battle of Leningrad was fateful, and most importantly — to restore the chain of events and preserve the memory of pilot Vladimir Dmitrievich Nikitov. All those in question did not think about honors, did not talk about resounding victories, did not chase titles and awards. These are probably the real heroes. It is important that their stories bring us closer to the general history of the Great Patriotic War, to millions of similar fates of Soviet people who survived a war that must not be forgotten.