Photo instructors and cadets Borisoglebsky Aviation School. Valery Chkalov (photo from Elena Nikedina’s family album, granddaughter of Nasledukhov Alexey Gavrilovich).
On the photo cadets of the Borisoglebsky Aviation School: Alexey Nasleduhov in the top row, third from the right. Alexander Kumanichkin in the top row, leftmost. Instructor of the group is Senior Lieutenant Ivan Petrovich Karpov in the bottom row behind the table. The rest of the pilots are unknown.
From October 1941, Aleksey Nasleduhov fought in the 605th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 60th Mixed Aviation Division as commander of the wing and deputy commander of the squadron. He piloted the I-5, destroyed a lot of manpower and equipment of the enemy, took part in the Battle of Moscow.
When performing the next task of attacking enemy forces, Alexey Nasleduhov was shot down over enemy territory and captured. Two days later, he fled from captivity and returned to the regiment.
In October 1942, Alexey Nasleduhov was transferred to the 427th IAP of the 292nd Assault Aviation Division, fought on the Kalinin front, piloted the Yak-1 aircraft. For the period November – December 1942, Alexey Nasleduhov personally shot down 4 enemy aircraft (2 of the Junkers Ju-88, 1 of Henkel He-111 and 1 of Messerschmitt Me-109). On January 6, 1943, while performing a “reconnaissance” mission, he was shot down by an Me-109 aircraft. Aleksey Hasleduhov was seriously wounded, left the plane on a parachute, but died the same day from wounds in the 267th separate medical and sanitary battalion of the 249th rifle division of the 8th Estonian rifle corps. He was buried in a mass grave in the village of Lichkovo to the south of the city of Velikie Luki. In 2010, fragments of the aircraft of A.G. Nasleduhov (Yak-1 No. 2495) were lifted from the swamp near the shores of Zadezhinsky Lake.
Alexander Sergeevich Kumanichkin (1920-1983) – the future Hero of the Soviet Union (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 13, 1944). During the war years he made 300 combat sorties, conducted 70 air battles, destroying 31 aircraft in person and 4 in the group.
Source of Borisoglebsky Aviation School photo information:
Location: Borisoglebsk, USSR
Date: 1939