Klavdiya Nechaeva
Born9 March 1916
Ryazan Governorate
Died17 September 1942 (aged 26)
Volgograd Oblast
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
RankLieutenant
Unit586th Fighter Aviation Regiment
434th Fighter Aviation Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsOrder of the Patriotic War 2nd class

Klavdiya Andreevna Nechaeva (Russian: Клавдия Андреевна Нечаева; 9 March 1916 – 17 September 1942) was a Soviet fighter pilot during World War II who was killed in action protecting her squadron commander during the battle of Stalingrad.

Biography

Nechaeva was born in Ryazan Governorate on 9 March 1916 in Polyanka. She attended a local comprehensive school. She learned to fly at the Izmailovsky aeroclub in Moscow and later worked as an instructor. Upon the German invasion of the Soviet Union, she was invited to join women's aviation group by Marina Raskova. After joining she and the rest of the women volunteers were sent for training at Engels Military Aviation School, and Nechaeva was underwent training to fly the Yak-1 for the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, an air defense unit and the first of the three women's regiments to be deployed to the front. In September 1942 she and several other women pilots were transferred to the male 434th Fighter Aviation Regiment based in Stalingrad; the reasons for the transfer are disputed among historians, ranging from the need for more pilots in the battle of Stalingrad, to Tamara Kazarinova (commander of the women's 586th Regiment) wanting to get rid of the pilots who complained about her. Upon arrival she flew support for ships and barges transporting cargo around the city.[1][2][3][4][5]

Death

Nechaeva died in aerial combat, protecting her squadron commander from an enemy attack over Stalingrad on 17 September 1942. After a successful mission where four enemy aircraft were shot down the squadron commander's plane was targeted on landing, but the Pe-2s they were escorting were able to reach their target. To save her squadron commander, Nechaeva took the enemy aircraft fire on herself.[6][5][1][7][8]

On 6 April 1985 she was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class. She is honored by a street in Volzhsky, Volgograd Oblast bearing her name as well as a school. Her name is listed in the Hall of Military Glory on Mamayev Kurgan.[9][1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Skovordkin, Ivan (13 February 2018). "Женщины в пламени Сталинградской битвы". Новости Волжского - Волжская правда (in Russian).
  2. ↑ "Нечаева Клавдия Андреевна". Фронтовой альбом (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  3. ↑ Vinogradova, Lyuba (2018). Defending the Motherland: The Soviet Women Who Fought Hitler's Aces. MacLehose Press. ISBN 978-1-68144-010-1.
  4. ↑ Minerva. Vol. 17. L.G. De Pauw. 1999. p. 83.
  5. 1 2 "Stalin's Falcons: the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment". Minerva. L.G. De Pauw. 17: 83. 1999.
  6. ↑ Isaev, S.M. (2006). Страницы истории 32-го гвардейского Виленского орденов Ленина и Кутузова III степени истребительного авиационного полка. Moscow: АРБОР.
  7. ↑ Yenne, Bill (2013). The White Rose of Stalingrad: The Real-Life Adventure of Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyak, the Highest Scoring Female Air Ace of All Time. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-913-9.
  8. ↑ Cottam, Kazimiera Janina (1997). Women in Air War: The Eastern Front of World War II. Legas. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-921252-62-7.
  9. ↑ "Волжский - Город Моей Судьбы". vol34.ru (in Russian).
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