How did Captain America and Bucky become separated at the end of World War II in the comics?

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Chris Evans as Captain America stands in costume holding his shield, with an American flag and sunlight in the background. — Captain America Chris Evans as the title character in *Captain America: The First Avenger* (2011), directed by Joe Johnston.

In the final days of World War II, Captain America and his sidekick, Bucky Barnes, attempted to defuse a bomb on a drone aircraft. The plane exploded over the frigid North Atlantic, causing the pair to become separated.

For many years, it was believed that Bucky had gone missing and Steve Rogers had perished in the water. However, later stories revealed that Bucky survived the explosion, though he lost an arm and was subsequently recovered and brainwashed by the Soviets to become an assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Meanwhile, Steve Rogers was revealed to have been preserved in a state of suspended animation within the ice of the North Atlantic until he was discovered and revived by the Avengers years later.1