Sergey Aleksandrovich Chernykh was born on January 23, 1912, in Nizhny Tagil into a working-class family. A Russian national, he completed seven years of schooling and worked at the railway station’s wagon depot in Nizhny Tagil. He joined the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (RKKA) in 1930.
On December 18, 1930, he was enrolled as a cadet in the 7th Stalingrad Military Pilot School, joining the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1932. He graduated from flight school in 1933.
From 1933, Chernykh served in the 61st Separate Fighter Aviation Squadron, initially as a junior and senior pilot, and later as a flight commander. In 1936, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his achievements in combat, political, and technical training.
Hero of the Spanish Civil War
He participated in the Spanish People’s Revolutionary War from November 1936 to February 6, 1937, completing 115 combat sorties. In aerial battles, he personally shot down 5 aircraft and 2 in a group. Chernykh was the first among Soviet pilots to shoot down a German Messerschmitt Bf.109 fighter.
On December 31, 1936, Senior Lieutenant Chernykh was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Following the establishment of the “Gold Star” medal as a special distinction for Heroes of the Soviet Union, he was presented with medal No. 21. Upon his return from Spain, he was granted the extraordinary military rank of Major.
From 1937, he served as a squadron commander, then commander of the 83rd Fighter Aviation Brigade of the Belarusian Military District. In 1938, he became Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the OKDVA, Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front, and then Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the 2nd Separate Red Banner Army. In 1939, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Odessa Military District.
Chernykh was elected a deputy of the 1st convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. A street in Nizhny Tagil was named after him, and a memorial plaque was installed on the building of School No. 38, where he studied. In 1940, he completed advanced training courses for senior command staff at the Military Academy of the General Staff.
On June 4, 1940, he was promoted to Major General of Aviation. In June 1940, Chernykh was appointed commander of the 9th Mixed Aviation Division of the Western Special Military District.
Tragic Start of World War II
On June 22, 1941, at 3:15 AM, simultaneously with the first artillery salvos, 637 German-fascist bombers and 231 fighters crossed the Soviet-German border. At dawn, a second wave of 400 bombers, covered by a large number of fighters, took to the air.
During raids on Western Special Military District airfields, German aviation concentrated its main strike on destroying the bases of the 9th Mixed Aviation Division, which housed the newest types of aircraft. The success of German bomber strikes was aided by maps compiled from aerial photography, which accurately showed all Soviet border airfields.
Despite these initial strikes, most of the aircraft survived, and the 9th Mixed Aviation Division offered serious resistance to the enemy. The division command, which managed to “re-base” over seven hundred kilometers from Białystok to Bryansk in four days, attributed the loss of equipment to the Luftwaffe. If the special department disagreed with this explanation, it did not show it. It was never difficult for special service officers to find reasons for arrest.
On July 8, 1941, Major General of Aviation Chernykh was arrested in Bryansk on charges of criminal inaction and brought before a military tribunal. On July 28, 1941, he was sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, based on Article 193-21, point “b” of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, to execution by firing squad, deprivation of military rank, and confiscation of property. The sentence was carried out on October 16, 1941, in Moscow.
On August 5, 1958, Major General of Aviation Sergey Aleksandrovich Chernykh was rehabilitated.