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LaGG-3 fighter in the Novgorod region
Homeland sky

Search for a LaGG-3 fighter in the Novgorod region

At the end of January 2021, a combined group of search engines (participants of the “Homeland sky” project) from Novgorod (the “Skif” and “Sokol” detachments) and Moscow (specialists of the “Center for Contemporary History”) conducted search operations at the crash site of a LaGG-3 fighter near the village of Preslyanka in the Parfinsky district of the Novgorod Region.

The crash site was discovered seven kilometers from the village thanks to the information received from a resident. During the search, a deep flooded crater from the fall was open and lifting material was collected. That made it possible to establish the type of aircraft – LaGG-3 (fragments of the skin, fragments of the center wing and wing assemblies, the pilot’s armor plate split from the impact, fragments of the engine, technological plates, buckles of the pilot’s seat belt system were found). As it was established, the place was previously subjected to excavations to collect scrap metal. But we found plane number 3121 2219 duplicated three times on the wreckage. Bone remains or personal belongings indicating the death of the pilot in the plane were not found.

According to the found numbers, the CCH specialists have begun archival work, that will help to establish the name of the Hero. According to the archival documents of the People’s Commissariat of the Aviation Industry aircraft factory No. 21 (Gorky), it has already been found out that the LaGG-3 No. 3121 2219 was manufactured and flown at the factory on February 23, 1941, after which it was placed at the disposal of the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. In the database of I. G. Prokofiev’s match, there is information about the presence of aircraft No. 2219 as part of the 259 IAP on March 28, 1942. It has not yet been possible to find the documents of the decommissioning of this aircraft with the pilot’s name.

Today, research of the wreckage of the aircraft, archival research, and development of versions continue.

Search and archival work are carried out within the framework of the project of the Search Movement of Russia “Homeland sky”.