Molev Aleksandr Osipovich (August 15, 1921 – July 8, 1944) was a ground-attack pilot, squadron commander in the 33rd Guards Assault Aviation Regiment, Guards Senior Lieutenant, and Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). He grew up in Dzerzhinsk, where he finished school and the flying club; he flew 529 combat sorties in the Il-2 and was killed in Volhynia at the age of twenty-two.[2][3] Since 1965, the Dzerzhinsk school has borne his name, and a bust of the Hero stands in front of it.[4]

Early Years

He was born on August 15, 1921, in the village of Istomino, into a working-class family.[2][3] Sources give differing accounts of his birthplace: according to some, it was Istomino in what is now the Balakhninsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region[3]; according to others, it was a village of the same name in the Fominskaya Volost of Murom Uyezd, Vladimir Governorate, now part of the Gorokhovets Okrug of Vladimir Region, from which the family later moved to the selo of Chyornoye, which has since been incorporated into Dzerzhinsk.[2] In Vladimir Region, Molev is regarded as a native son: it has been established there that he was born and lived in Gorokhovets Istomino.[11]

He completed ten grades of school and an aeroclub in Dzerzhinsk.[2][3] In 1940 he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to a flight school; in 1941 he graduated from the Engels Military Aviation School of Pilots and was kept on there as an instructor.[2][3]

At the front

He was at the front from March 1942, in ground-attack aviation.[1][2] He fought in the 33rd Guards Ground-Attack Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Guards Ground-Attack Aviation Division (1st Mixed Aviation Corps, 6th Air Army, 1st Belorussian Front), took part in the battles for the liberation of Pskov Region and Belorussia, and led groups of ground-attack aircraft on missions; he was a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) from 1943.[2]

In December 1942, Molev's aircraft was attacked by enemy fighters, and in that engagement the pilot showed courage, resourcefulness, and composure. Over a year and a half of combat service he rose to squadron commander and flew four hundred combat sorties; to his credit were hundreds of destroyed trucks with cargo and dozens of anti-aircraft and machine-gun emplacements.[1]

In October 1943, ground-attack aircraft under the command of Guards Lieutenant Molev, guided by infantrymen's directions, destroyed a large enemy group that had taken cover in the forest by the Nevel–Velikiye Luki highway: when Soviet units occupied the area, they found six burned-out tanks, twelve trucks, and four wrecked guns there.[2]

In April 1944, returning from aerial reconnaissance, Guards Lieutenants Mosin and Molev encountered a formation of eight Ju-87 bombers: they shot down three and put the rest to flight. One "Junkers" was brought down by the air gunner of Molev's crew, Guards Sergeant V. Kamenev, after which the pilot continued his flight and delivered the reconnaissance information to headquarters.[2]

By July 1944, squadron commander Guards Senior Lieutenant Molev had flown 529 combat sorties to bomb and strafe enemy trains and troop concentrations, and had personally shot down a bomber in aerial combat.[2][3]

Death and the title of Hero

On July 8, 1944, Molev led a group of attack aircraft on a bombing run against an enemy column near Kovel. The mission was accomplished, but on the way back his Il-2 was hit by anti-aircraft artillery two kilometers east of the village of Matseyuv, now the urban-type settlement of Lukov in Turiysk District, Volyn Region, Ukraine; the pilot was killed.[1][2][3] He is buried in a mass grave in Lukov: in 1952 his remains were moved there from the original burial site.[2][3]

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 26, 1944, Guards Senior Lieutenant Molev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for exemplary performance of the command's combat missions and the courage and heroism displayed in doing so.[1][2] He was awarded the Order of Lenin (October 26, 1944, posthumously), two Orders of the Red Banner (October 2, 1943, and April 2, 1944), the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class (January 30, 1943), and the Order of the Red Star (May 23, 1943), as well as medals.[2][3]

Commemoration

On May 8, 1965, Molev's name was given to Dzerzhinsk Secondary School No. 10 at 16 Dzerzhinsky Avenue; a memorial plaque was installed on the school building.[3][4] In October 1983, a bust of the Hero by the Gorky sculptor Viktor Bebenin was unveiled in front of the school.[4][5] The institution's full name is the Municipal Budget General Education Institution "Secondary School named after Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Osipovich Molev."[9]

To replace the outdated building on Dzerzhinsky Avenue, a new building for the Molev School was built on Klyukvin Street; it was officially opened on September 1, 2026.[8][7] At the opening, Governor Gleb Nikitin noted that the school had united the traditions of Dzerzhinsk Schools No. 5 and No. 10, whose histories go back to the 1930s, and that the name of the ground-attack pilot "carries many obligations."[7]

During the construction, the bust was handed over for safekeeping to the Dzerzhinsk Museum of Local History, and on September 15, 2026, after restoration, it was returned to the school — for now to the school museum, until a new pedestal is made: the granite facing of the previous base had been deformed and covered with cracks.[4][5][6]

On July 4, 2026, a bust of Molev was also unveiled in the selo of Fominki in the Gorokhovets District of Vladimir Region, in front of the settlement administration building, next to the monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Kuznetsov; the chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma, Evgeniy Chintsov, took part in the ceremony.[10][11][12]

Sources

  1. музей-дзержинск.рф — Dzerzhinsk Museum of Local History — Molev Aleksandr Osipovich (archive)
  2. warheroes.ru — "Heroes of the Country" — Molev Aleksandr Osipovich. Biography prepared by Sergey Kargapoltsev (archive)
  3. names52.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Biographical Encyclopedia — Molev Aleksandr Osipovich (archive)
  4. V gorode N — Bust of Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Molev returned to school in Dzerzhinsk, September 2026 (archive)
  5. prodzer.ru — In Dzerzhinsk, the restored bust of the hero Molev was returned to the new school, September 2026
  6. dzer.ru — "Dzerzhinskoye Vremya" — Molev's bust has returned, but not quite to the right place yet, September 2026
  7. Vremya N — Gleb Nikitin opened a new school building in Dzerzhinsk, September 1, 2026 (archive)
  8. V gorode N — Four new schools will open in Nizhny Novgorod Region on September 1, August 2026 (archive)
  9. rusprofile.ru — Extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities — Municipal Budgetary Educational Institution "Secondary School named after Hero of the Soviet Union Molev Aleksandr Osipovich", TIN 5249054130 (archive)
  10. nn.aif.ru — "AiF — Nizhny Novgorod" — Speaker of the Nizhny Novgorod Duma unveiled a monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Molev, July 2026
  11. vlad.aif.ru — "AiF — Vladimir" — Bust of Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Molev unveiled in the village of Fominki, July 2026 (archive)
  12. newsvladimir.ru — Bust of Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Molev unveiled in Gorokhovets Okrug, July 2026 (archive)