Fighter pilot For five years, Rychagov was an ordinary fighter pilot, building up skills before becoming commander of an aviation squadron in
Kiev Military District. In 1936, he was awarded the
Order of Lenin for exemplary service; he was also amongst the first Soviet volunteers to fight in the
Spanish Civil War. Rychagov's fighter group saw their first action on 4 November. On that day, they shot down two
Junkers Ju 52s and two
Fiat CR.32s over
Madrid, while no losses were reported among the Soviet pilots. During the next two days, Rychagov's pilots claimed 12 more victories, at the cost of two aircraft lost. However, on 16 November, Rychagov was shot down over Madrid by Fiat CR.32s, and four days later the number of combat-ready Soviet aircraft in the area had dropped to 15. Seven had been lost in combat, two had been forced to land, and one was undergoing repair. Rychagov, however, stayed on to fight into the spring of 1937. In December 1936 and January 1937 two more shipments of 30 Polikarpovs I-15s arrived in Spain, allowing the formation of a complete combat unit of four I-15 squadrons. By the end of the war, Rychagov's fighter group claimed 40 victories overall. He returned to the
Soviet Union in 1937 for a short time, where he was promoted to Brigadier General at the young age of 26. In 1938, he led another group of volunteers to
China, where he participated in several skirmishes with the
Japanese.
Commander In December 1939, he was promoted to the rank of Major General; he was also appointed Commander of the 9th Air Force Army. He directed operations in the
Winter War against
Finland. In May 1940, a third
Order of the Red Banner was presented to Rychagov. He was promoted to Lieutenant General several months later. By 1940, Rychagov was a member of the top administration of the Air Force. He was appointed Head of Red Army Air Force Administration and became a member of the Red Army Chief Military Council, a predecessor of the
Stavka. Eventually, he was appointed Commander of the Air Force on 28 August 1940, succeeding
Yakov Smushkevich. ==Death==