2 January 1911 – 28 October 1941

Pavel Rychagov was born in Nizhnie Likhobory on 2 January 1911 (this village now forms part of the city of Moscow).

He joined the army in 1928, graduating two years later from the Leningrad Military College of the Air Forces. He then undertook a further course in 1931 at the 2nd Military College for Pilots, which was later renamed V. P. Chkalov Military Air School for Pilots at Borisoglebsk.

He then served in the 5th Aerobrigada, leading a zveno, and later a detachment.

Rychagov served for five years as a regular fighter pilot, prior to being appointed commander of 109 IAE (Istrebitelniy Aviatsionnaya Eskadrilya - Fighter Aviation Squadron) of the 36 IAB ( Istrebitelniy Aviatsionnaya Brigada - Fighter Aviation Brigade) in the Kiev Military District. This suggests that he was considered to be both an experienced pilot and a promising commander.

In January 1936, Starshiy Leytenant Rychagov was awarded the Order of Lenin Tor exemplary service.

In October 1936 he went to Spain (arriving on 20 October) as a member of the first group of volunteers to fly in the Spanish Civil War, using the nom de guerre Pablo Palancar. His unit was under the command of P. I. Pumpur.
In November of 1936 this unit consisted of about 50 I-15s and I-16s fighters. From October of 1936 till February of 1937 Starshiy Leytenant Rychagov was a commander of an I-15 Fighter Regiment of three I-15 Squadrons in the Madrid sector. Concurrently he flew combat missions as a commander of an I-15 Squadron (the so-called Escuadrilla Palancar).

On 4 November these I-15s were put in their first air-battles. There were four missions during the day.
Commanded by Pumpur and Rychagov, I-15 fighters in squadron strength engaged the enemy planes over Carrabanchel during the day’s first mission. The Soviet pilots claimed four victories in the clash that lasted barely 10 minutes.
The aim of the second mission was to intercept six Ju 52 escorted by fighters. Commanded by Rychagov the squadron shot down one Ju 52.
During the third mission a squadron led by Georgiy Zakharov (in his first mission) fought against two flights of bombers, which were escorted by ten fighters. I-15s claimed one enemy fighter. There were no losses of I-15s.
The last, forth mission at the end of the day was an alert scramble. A squadron led by Rychagov claimed one more enemy fighter.
In all, the I-15s claims five enemy fighters and two Ju 52 bombers in this day - 7 victories without losses. One of the fighters, a He51, was claimed by Rychagov. Two I-15s however became lost and the pilots made forced landing in Segovia.
Sources from the Nationalist side at least partially confirmed this tally. During the day an Italian fighter unit (the Dequal squadron) was engaged in combat and two Italian pilots were shot down. Magistrini (nom de guerre Mainetti) was seriously wounded and later died in hospital, while Dequal was wounded but escaped by parachute and dropped between the lines. Two more Fiat CR.32 suffered damage in landing accidents at Torrijos. Two Nationalist bombers also suffered this day. One German Ju 52 from the Pablos y Pedros squadron, flown by Leutnant Kolbitz, was shot down over Humanes and a Spanish Ju 52 from Luis Padron’s squadron was badly damaged and had to force-land at Esquivias. The observer Captain Aquirre was fatally wounded.

Two air battles took place on 6 November, at 10:00 and 14:00. In the latter, five Fiats led by Ángel Salas attacked seven ”Chatos”. Salas was thought to have destroyed one machine from a patrol of three, this aircraft trailing smoke as it veered into a cloud and disappeared from sight.
Giuseppe Cenni claimed one I-15 destroyed over the Madrid area during the day (probably during the first combat).
The Nationalist bulletin claimed two aircraft destroyed, while the Government bulletin, which referred only to the earlier engagement, claimed the destruction of two Heinkels, these two most probably claimed by Leytenant Rychagov, who claimed two enemy aircraft during the day. Bonomi confirmed that the Fiats had shot down two fighters, and this was also confirmed by the Air Force communiqué, which admitted the loss of a Fiat and a Junkers. This latter machine was probably flown by Captain Larrauri, who managed to reach Talavera with one engine out of action, the other developing only restricted power, and his aircraft riddled with bullet holes. Von Morau, leader of the Pablos y Pedros squadron, also had to force-land near Madrid at this time.

The air-battles for air superiority over Madrid were extremely heavy. Only on 7 November the Soviet fighters flew more than 100 missions altogether.

On 13 November, fourteen Fiat CR.32s escorted five ”Junkers” and three ”Romeos”. Over the Pasco de Rosales (Madrid) they clashed with sixteen I-15s led by Pavel Rychagov.
The Soviet pilots claimed six victories (three of them fell in Republican territory) while two I-15s were lost when Ivan K. Kovtun and Petr A. Purov were shot down by Fiats and killed. Kovtun’s death was witnessed by Georgiy Zakharov, who also took part in this combat. The Nationalist pilots claimed six victories over “Curtisses”. Joaquín García-Morato claimed one, Ángel Salas damaged three and Julio Salvador claimed another. One Fiat was lost when Captain Mosca (’Massa’), who was badly injured, made a crash-landing at Talavera. Captain Mariotti force-landed outside the airfield at Getafe, but without damaging his aircraft.
On their return flight the Nationalist pilots encountered five Katiuskas, bombing Getafe and Cuatro Vientos from a height of 5000m. Salas damaged one so severely that the crew had to take to their parachutes, and Morato damaged three others. On this day, Morato recorded his fifteenth victory, both Salas and Salvador their fifth. Another pilot who claimed a Curtiss (I-15) over Madrid during the day was Corrado Ricci.
In the afternoon nine (or twelve) He51s from the German Legion Condor took off from Avila to provide escort for five Ju52s and three He46s, which were to attack the Republican positions on the west bank of the Manzanares. It seems that at least six CR.32s also were present.
At 15:00, twelve I-16 type 5 “Moscas” and twelve I-15s intercepted them over Madrid. The I-16s were led by the Russian squadron leader Sergeiy Tarchov (’Antonio’) (he was the commander of the first and newly created escadrilla of I-16s) while the I-15s (Escadrilla Rychagova) were again led by Rychagov. All Republican pilots taking part in this combat were Russians.
The Republican fighters dove on the Henrici Kette. Unteroffizier Mratzek was able to claim an I-16 as it dove past. Oberleutnant Oskar Henrici claimed a Russian fighter in the same way as the He51s dove into the clouds. A bitter dogfight raged over Madrid at 1,500 meters. The Knüppe Kette dove into a cloud, reversed course in a steep turn and re-emerged below the Republican aircraft. Oberleutnant Herwig Knüppel and Unteroffizier Sawallisch claimed two I-15s; Sawallisch made his way home with some difficulty with shot-up tail surfaces. The Eberhardt Kette had remained above the bombers as top cover. Oberleutnant Kraft Eberhardt collided with an enemy fighter he had shot down and was killed; the Russian pilot was able to bail out. Oberleutnant Henrici took a bullet through the lung, but was able to land his aircraft in friendly territory. As he left his aircraft, however, he collapsed and died. The German Staffel became completely scattered, each pilot seeking cover in cloud and making his own way back to Avila. Leutnant Hennig “Piefke” Strümpell and Leutnant Dietrich von Bothmer reported the destruction of two further I-15s.
Henrici was probably shot down by Sergiey Chernych, (I-16). It seems that Eberhardt collided with Tarchov since it’s reported that he single-handed fought against a number of He51s before being forced to bail out after a collision. While hanging in his parachute, Republican soldiers mistook him for Nationalist pilot and opened fire, hitting him six times. Tarchov landed in Madrid but was attacked by the public because they thought he was a German. He died of his injuries at Gómes Ulla hospital on 23 November. This led General Miaja to the issue following order the next day:

“Any aviator who jumps from his aircraft using a parachute is out of the battle and, therefore, I order all forces defending Madrid not to shoot at parachutists under any circumstances. They may be our own men, but, if they prove to be enemies they can provide us with valuable information, which will be of great use for our operations.”

Rychagov claimed a Junker Ju 52/3m on 15 November.

On 16 November there was an air battle between a Fiat squadron (including Joaquín García-Morato) and four I-16s escorting nine I-15s over Madrid. Two squadron leaders including Rychagov, were shot down. Although Rychagov was forced to abandon the aircraft on altitude of only 150 metres, he managed to parachute and survive. He landed in the Paseo de la Castellana, near the War Ministry.
The Nationalists claimed two fighters while one Italian pilot was wounded but managed to reach his base. The Republicans claimed five victories, two of them by Rychagov, and one loss (Rychagov).

On 31 December 1936 he was decorated with the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin. At this time he was credited with six victories (totally he claimed six and 14 shared victories in Spain)..

At the end of the winter of 1936-1937, Rychagov’s I-15 group had claimed about 40 victories.

Rychagov left Spain on 6 February 1937 with 105 flying hours recorded in his logbook during his time in Spain.

Returning to the Soviet Union in 1937, he was promoted Mayor, but he remained in this rank only briefly. He had shown considerable competence, and due to shortage of experienced commanders he was promoted to Kombrig (Brigadier General) before the year was out, and while still only 26.

In December 1937 he led the first group of volunteers to China, where he commanded a fighter group until April 1938, adding the Order of the Red Banner to his earlier decorations.

In the summer of 1938 he commanded the group of VVS units during the short border clash with Japanese units over Lake Khasan, on the Mandzukuo and Korea border.
The VVS units consisted of around 180 bombers and 70 fighters. They didn’t met any Japanese opposition in the air since the use of aircraft was not permitted by the Japanese command since they didn’t want to broaden the conflict.

In December 1939 came further promotion to General Major, and he was appointed commander of the Air Force of the 9th Army for operations against Finland during the Winter War.

In May 1940 he received a third Order of the Red Banner and was promoted to General Leytenant on 6 June.
He was appointed Head of Red Army Air Force Administration.

In December 1940, he became a member of the Red Army Chief Military Council.

He became commander of the VVS RKKA on 28 August 1940 after Yakov Shmushkevich and remained in this post until 14 April 1941.

The late 30’s and early 40’s were times of great purges in the Soviet Union. There were two waves of purges in the VVS RKKA. The first was in 1937-1939 and ended when Beria took command of the NKVD after Jezov. 5616 officers from the VVS were purged during this period and of these only 892 returned to service.
The second purge against the VVS RKKA started in April 1941. At least 18 high air force commanders were arrested under false accusations of a conspiracy against Stalin made up by the NKVD. The conspiracy was supposedly led by General Kiril Meretskov (a veteran from Spain), who had been chief of the General Staff (August 1940 – 14 January 1941). Rychagov was arrested on 24 June 1941. Other arrested included the Commander of the PVO General Pulkovnik F. M. Stern (a veteran who had served in Spain, Lake Khasan, Khalkin Gol and Finland - as commander of the Air Force of the 8th Army), the deputy commander of the General Staff Yakov Shmushkevich (arrested on 14 June 1941), the deputy commander of the VVS RKKA Academy Kombrig F. K. Arzenuchin, the chief of Staff VVS P.O P. S. Volodin, the Commander of the VVS Moscow Military District P. I. Pumpura (who had been fighter commander in Spain 1936-1939) and several others. All of them were badly tortured during the NKVD questioning.
When German troops closed in on Moscow during the autumn of 1941, government and political institutions were evacuated. 300 high ranking Soviet officers in prison in Lubjanka were executed by the NKVD due to lack of transportation but the group of 18 high VVS commander were evacuated earlier to Kuybyshev (now Samara). However to order for execution followed them and Rychagov (together with his wife; Mayor Maria Nesteryenko - commander of independent aviation unit) was executed on 28 October 1941. Other executed this day included Shmushkevich, Stern and Laktyonov.

At the time of his death Rychagov was credited with 6 biplane victories.
During the war he had also been decorated with a second Order of Lenin.

After Stalin’s death in 1953, Rychagov was rehabilitated in 1954.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1936
1	04/11/36		1	He51	Destroyed	I-15		Spain	Escuadrilla Palancar
2	06/11/36		1	’Heinkel’	Destroyed	I-15		Spain	Escuadrilla Palancar
3	06/11/36		1	’Heinkel’	Destroyed	I-15		Spain	Escuadrilla Palancar
4	15/11/36		1	Ju52/3m	Destroyed	I-15		Spain	Escuadrilla Palancar
5	16/11/36		1	CR.32 (a)	Destroyed	I-15		Madrid	Escuadrilla Palancar
6	16/11/36		1	CR.32 (a)	Destroyed	I-15		Madrid	Escuadrilla Palancar

Biplane victories: 6 and 14 shared destroyed.
TOTAL: 6 and 14 shared destroyed.
(a) Republican fighters claimed five victories. No Italians losses were suffered but one pilot returned wounded.

Sources:
Air War over Spain - Jesus Salas Larrazabal, 1974 Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Surrey, ISBN 0-7110-0521-4
Giuseppe Cenni, pilota in guerra – Giuseppe Pesce, 2002, USSMA, Rome, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro.
Na pomotsch Respublike - N.Yakuba, 1989 Krylia Rodiny kindly provided by Alexei Stepanov
Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces - Mikhail Maslov, 2010 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-981-2
Skjut de galna hundarna - Arkadij Vaksberg, 1990, kindly provided by Thomas Nilsson
Stalin's Falcons - Tomas Polak and Christhoper Shores, 1999 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-01-2
The first Heroes of Soviet Union - I.M.Dzoga and N.I. Kuznetcov, Irkutsk, 1983 kindly provided by Alexei Stepanov
The Heroes of Soviet Union, Part 2 - Moscow, 1987 kindly provided by Alexei Stepanov
The Legion Condor - Karl Ries and Hans Ring, 1992 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-88740-339-5
The Military-Encyclopaedia Dictionary - Moscow, 1984 kindly provided by Alexei Stepanov
V bo'y vstupa'yut istrebiteli - V.A.Su'yazin, 1986 My – internacionalisty kindly provided by Alexei Stepanov
Additional information kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro, Ondrej Repka, Alexei Stepanov and Mirek Wawrzynski.