Chkalov, Valery Pavlovich (1904-1938)

Soviet pilot, named a Hero of the Soviet Union in 1936. From 1933 to 1935, Chkalov was a test pilot for the TsKB-19 multi-purpose aircraft and for the I-14, I-15 and I-16 fighter planes, which were the backbone of Soviet military aviation in the late 1930s. He was famous for his 1937 flight from Moscow to the North Pole to Vancouver, British Columbia. He died on December 15, 1938 while testing the I-180-1 fighter.