Soviet Lieutenant-General of Air Force Blagoveshenski M1954 parade uniform


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Blagovesheski
1970s | 1950s | Tombstone | Plaque |

Includes
Tunic
Added:
(Trousers)
(Visor cap)
Awards
N/A
Condition
Very good
Price
SOLD

 
 

Lieutenant-General of Soviet Air Force
Aleksei Blagoveshenski M1954 parade uniform

Beautiful M/1954 parade uniform tunic from the estate of Soviet air force lieutnant general and Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksei Sergeevitj Blagoveshenski. The uniform tunic is made from highest quality dark blue wool gabardine with sky blue piping and the trousers are a later version, yet high quality gabardine. The shoulder boards have rich golden embroidery with oxidized silver stars, correct for the M1954 uniform. The set was obtained from Russia in autumn of 2015.

Blagovesheski was born in the city of Brest, Litovsk - now Brest in Belars - in 1909. From 1914 he lived in the city of Kursk and graduated from the Kursk Industrial and Economic College in 1927 after which he joined the army. In 1928 he graduated from the Leningrad military-theoretical Pilot School and in 1929 from the Borisoglebsk military pilot school. He served as a fighter pilot squadron commander in the Pacific air Force branch 1933-1937.

In September-December 1937 he served as test pilot in the Research and Testing Institute of the Air Force. He participated in the testing of the fighter "I-15" and "I-16" and participated in the war in China in December 1937 - August 1938 as commander of a fighter squadron commander and fighter pilots of the Soviet Air Group. He flew 117 combat missions in fighter planes "I-15" and "I-16" (combat plaque - 125 hours) and spent about 40 air battles (including 2 - Night) where he personally shot down 7 aircrafts from a force of 16 planes. For courage and heroism in battle with Japanese troops, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 14 November 1938 awarded Blagoveshenski, at the time rank captain, the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin. In October 1938 - January 1939 - he was once again test pilot at the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force. He took part in working out the elements of air combat fighter planes in view of his combat experience. In 1939 he graduated from the higher officer academy and from April 1939 he commanded a fighter aviation brigade in the Leningrad Military District.

Blagovesheski participated in the Soviet-Finnish War in November 1939 - March 1940 as the commander of the 54th Fighter Aviation Brigade. He flew 39 missions with the "I-16" and took part in three aerial combat. Since April 1940 he went on as the commander of the 60th Fighter Aviation Brigade in the air defenses of Baku abd in August 1940 to January 1941 he was the commander of the 27th Air Division in the Transcaucasian Military District. In January 1941 - October 1942 he was Deputy Commander of the Air Forces of the Far Eastern Front (December 1941 - May 1942 he was acting Commander of the Air Force of the front). Furhter he became the commander of the 2nd Fighter Corps and saw action on different fronts during the war, including also the breaking the siege of Leningrad, in the Rzhev-Vyazma, Orel, Nevel, Gorodok, Vitebsk, Orsha, Minsk, Vilnius, Kaunas, Sandomierz-Silesian and Lower Silesian operations. In February 9, 1945 he was injured at the airport of the city Lubin in Lower Silesia, Poland and was treated at a Moscow hopostal until may 1945. From September 1945 to July 1947 he was the Head of the Higher Officers' School of the Air Force Air Combat in Lyubertsy, Moscow.

In post-war time, Blagovesheski participated in the test and development of new aircraft including "MiG-15", "MiG-17", "MiG-19". From March 1952 to July 1959 he was the Head of the State Red Banner Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force. He worked at the Tupolev Design Bureau in various leading positions in the design and development crew until he retired in 1985. He died in May 25, 1994 and was buried at the cemetery of Troekurov in Moscow. Promoted to Lieutenant General of Aviation in 1943, he was titled Hero of the Soviet Union in 1938, Merited Test pilot 1st Class in 1950 and awarded two Orders of Lenin (14 November 1938; April 20, 1953), the Order of the October Revolution (April 26 1971), 3 orders of the Red Banner (March 8, 1938; March 21, 1940; April 30, 1947), Order of Suvorov 2nd class (30 August 1943), Kutuzov 2nd class (July 22 1944), Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd Class (April 6 1945), 2 orders of the Patriotic War, 1 st class (February 22, 1943; March 11, 1985), two Orders of the Red Star (25 May 1936, November 3 1944) medals, the Order of the Cloud and Banner 4th class (China, 1938) and numerous medals during the lapse of his career. In the village Chkalovsky, Moscow region, a memorial plaque is mounted on the house in which he lived.

Military rank history: Captain (March 19, 1936); Colonel (26 September 1938); Brigade Commander (May 4, 1940); Major General Aviation (5 June 1940); Lieutenant General Aviation (April 30 1943).

The buttons have no date, instead they all have the *** marking on back, indicating 1950s manufacture with 16 republic scrolls used 1946-1956. An interesting feature of the set is that the internal pockets have zippers rather than the usual buttons. The embroideries on the sleeves and around the collar are in decent condition given their age, there are some loose threads though, as can be seen in the photos, and the golden thread has darkened. The silver stars on the shoulder boards are somewhat oxidized. On both the left and the right chest are numerous traces from the awards mentioned earlier.

Overall, the uniform set is in very good condition with some wear. The size for the tunic is a generous 56 (44-46, XL). The uniform comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from D.A. Drabik Russian Militaria. Correct trousers and a 1980s visor cap are also part of the set.

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