Kamanin Nikolay Petrovich (1908-1982)

Soviet pilot and military leader, colonel-general of aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union. He was born in the town of Melenki, Vladimir province, where he graduated from secondary school. After graduating from the Leningrad Flight Theoretical School he served in military aviation in the Far East (1929-1934), where he became commander of the unit, and then was appointed commander of the detachment. In February 1934, N.P. Kamanin commanded a mixed detachment of airplanes on an expedition to rescue the crew and passengers of the steamship "Chelyuskin", which crashed in the ice of the Kara Sea. For the courage and heroism shown in the salvation of the cheluskians, N.P. Kamanin in April 1934 was one of the first to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and in 1939 he was awarded the Gold Star medal of Hero No. 2. During the Great Patriotic War, N.P. Kamanin commanded an air division, then – the united air corps of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian fronts. He was a participant in the legendary Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow on June 24, 1945. During 1960-1971, N.P. Kamanin supervised the selection and training of the first Soviet cosmonauts. Bust of N.P. Kamanin is located in the center of Melenki, his name is assigned to the school No.1 in Melenki, which he graduated in 1927, and also – to a street in Vladimir.