Monument "To the Aeroclub Graduates Killed in Action for the Motherland 1941-1945"
Dedicated to the graduates of the Rostov Aeroclub who perished during the Great Patriotic War, among them seven Heroes of the Soviet Union.
General Information
Description
The memorial to aeroclub graduates killed in the Great Patriotic War is made of decorative stone. A marble slab with names of fallen pilots forms a semicircular pedestal with a flowerbed at its base on the front side. In the upper part of the memorial plaque is a plaque with the text: “Graduates of the aeroclub who fell in battle for the MOTHERLAND.”
Historical Background
1923 marked the establishment of civil aviation in the young Soviet state. The growing demand for pilots was met by aeroclubs and Osoaviakhim schools.
In Rostov-on-Don, an aviation squadron was based at the Gnilovskaya stanitsa airfield. This site is now known as the helicopter field and has been developed into a residential neighborhood.
The bell tower of the Gnilovskaya stanitsa church was converted into a parachute training tower.
In Bataysk in 1931, the Higher Flight Training Courses were organized at the First Unified School of Pilots and Technicians of the Civil Air Fleet. Later, these were reorganized into the First Red Banner Civil Air Fleet Aviation School named after P.I. Baranov.
The Rostov Aeroclub was formed in November 1933 from the disbanded North Caucasus Regional Osoaviakhim Pilots School. The school’s aircraft (10 U-2 planes registered as of November 1932) were distributed among the newly established Rostov Aeroclub and the newly formed Shakhty, Pyatigorsk, Maykop aeroclubs, as well as the Dagestan ASSR Aeroclub.
By March 1939, the aeroclub had an airfield measuring 600×800 meters, a hangar for 12 aircraft, and 8 training classrooms.
The patriotic slogan of the time, “Youth to the Skies!”, resonated widely among young Rostovites. Many fought bravely in the skies during the Great Patriotic War. 28 Rostov aeroclub graduates became Heroes of the Soviet Union, two of whom received this honor twice. For example, Nikolay Gulayev, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, became a cadet at the Stalingrad Aviation School after graduating from the Rostov Aeroclub in 1938. During the war, he heroically fought in 69 air battles and is considered the 3rd highest-scoring Soviet ace by personal victories. Gulayev flew 240 combat sorties. In terms of efficiency—ratio of enemy aircraft shot down to air battles fought—he was the best among all WWII fighter pilots. He achieved four kills in a single day three times, three kills twice, and two kills seven times.
However, among the 29 fallen graduates of the Rostov Aeroclub listed on the monument, 7 are Heroes of the Soviet Union:
- Nesterenko Grigory Karpovich (27.11.1916–10.1943)
- Chapchakhov Lazar Sergeevich (06.03.1911–04.1942)
- Chagovets Grigory Ivanovich (05.01.1922–09.1944)
- Lomakin Anatoly Ivanovich (09.04.1921–01.1944)
- Evdokimov Viktor Vasilyevich (27.08.1911–09.1945)
- Bykovsky Evgeny Vlasovich (1921–04.1943)
- Kochergin Grigory Klementyevich (1922–28.09.1943)
Two listed HSU graduates died post-WWII:
- Sorokin Zakhar Artyomovich (17.03.1917–19.03.1978)
- Shcherbakov Viktor Ivanovich (01.01.1922–21.05.1947)
Memory preservation
In September 2002, a new monument was erected at the intersection of Aeroklubovsky Lane and 2nd Volodarskaya Street. Its memorial slab bears the inscription: “Graduates of the Aeroclub who died fighting for the MOTHERLAND” and names of the fallen.