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Auction: 21002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 498

An interesting Order of the Red Star awarded to Lieutenant Sergei Sergeyevich Yakovlev, flight instructor in the 5th Training Detachment, Azerbaijani Branch of the Civil Air Fleet for his role in training Pilots on the PS-40 cargo aircraft and P-5 bi-plane night bomber for the Red Army Air Forces; in addition to his role as an Instructor he also undertook other assignments in combat

Russia, U.S.S.R., Order of the Red Star, reverse officially numbered '2139669', good very fine and unusual to a Civilian

Sergei Sergeyevich Yakovlev was born in Leningrad in 1914. Having attained a secondary education, he joined the Civil Air Fleet in 1937 and then the Red Army on 11 June 1943. A Komsomol Member he was working as a flight instructor with the Azerbaijani Branch of the Civil Air Fleet at the time of the award of this Order of the Red Star issued to him on 19 August 1944, with the following citation:

'Comrade S.S. Yakovlev has been serving in the Civil Air Fleet since 1937 as a flight instructor who trains aircrews. During the Patriotic War the chief of the Azerbaijani Branch appointed him detachment commander in a training squadron. Comrade Yakovlev's detachment has not had any accidents, even though it was based in an area with poor weather condition, where sudden winds and mountain wind currents frequently jeopardised the planes and men. Faced with a lack of communications equipment, the detachment commander, comrade Yakovlev, skilfully managed to prevent in-flight incidents.

Thoroughly training each of his subordinates and evaluating the individual abilities of each and every one of them, comrade Yakovlev, the detachment commander in the training squadron, achieved such great successes that after having trained there classes of cadets (180 men) in airmanship, he has not had a single accident. When the detachment's cadets graduated, comrade Yakovlev received a highly positive evaluation from the commission that was responsible for admitting cadets to schools of the Red Army Air Forces.

In August 1942 comrade Yakovlev was appointed as an instructor in the in the 5th Training Detachment, where he from day one applied his vast practical experience and, within a short amount of time and without any in-flight incidents, trained 15 pilots to fly the PS-40 aircraft in a rear-area unit. At night he trained 19 men to fly the P-5 aircraft.

Over the course of 1943 and 1944, comrade Yakovlev trained 25 pilots in air units of the Civil Air Fleet and 15 men in rear-area units.

Comrade Yakovlev has accumulated a total of 2755 flight hours, including 288 nighttime hours. Over the course of 1943 he logged 545 hours, 106 of which were at night.

In addition to his primary duties of training aircrews, comrade Yakovlev was given special separate assignments, which he carried out in combat situations. For accomplishing these tasks in an excellent manner he received a highly positive evaluation.

Comrade Yakovlev's crew serves as an example to the unit's other aircrews and is always ready to carry out any and all assignment.

For training aircrews in an excellent manner and for his exceptional energy and his outstanding airmanship, comrade Yakovlev deserves to be awarded the Order of the Red Star.'

Signed by the Commander of the 5th Training Detachment, Azerbaijani Branch of the Civil Air Fleet, Senior Lieutenant Tynyavsky.

Yakovlev would go on to receive a Medal for Combat Merit on 3 November 1944 and a Medal for the Victory over Germany at the end of the war.

Subsequently he would serve as a Pilot with the Azerbaijani Branch of the Civil Air Fleet, and was living at Apartment 5, block 1, quarter 648, Srednebulvarnaya Street, Baku; sold together with copied citation and research, including english translation.

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Sold for
£100

Starting price
£80