In 1924, Valery Pavlovich Chkalov joined as a junior pilot the 1st air squadron commanded by Ivan Panfilovich Antoshin — “Dad”, as the pilots nicknamed him for his thick beard.

Once the squadron took part in autumn maneuvers of the Baltic Fleet. Various combat situations were drilled. It was necessary to transmit a report to the flagship of the “red” squadron — the battleship Marat — about the discovery of the “enemy” ships, but the radio communication was lost. The squadron commander was ordered to send the report by plane.

The weather conditions were unfavorable: low dark clouds, heavy rain, and a storm soon began. All aircraft of the squadron were land-based, not suitable for landing on water. Two pilots were sent at once to deliver the message with dispatches — Valery Chkalov and Vasily Leontiev. Leontiev returned two hours later, as he ran out of fuel. He did not complete the task, and he lost sight of Chkalov.

The squadron commander and Chkalov’s mates were already sure of the pilot’s death. But then a telephone rang at the headquarters, and the hero reported,

It turned out that, with visibility that poor, Chkalov had to fly along the sides of the ships at an altitude of 20 meters above the raging sea and read the names. Having found the Marat and dropping a message container with a report on its deck, the pilot, using the last drops of fuel, reached land and landed the plane on the shore, unscathed.

The battleship Marat was built in the early 20th century. It was supposed to replace the ironclad ships that were lost in the Battle of Tsushima. Initially, the ship was named “Petropavlovsk”, and in 1921, it was renamed “Marat”. At the end of 1943, the battleship became Petropavlovsk again.

During the First World War, it cruised between Helsinki and Tallinn, covering the approaches to Saint Petersburg.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Marat became the largest ship that helped defend Leningrad from Nazi invaders. The Germans declared the battleship sunk several times, but it always returned to service.

After the war, it was decided not to completely restore Petropavlovsk but to leave it in the status of a training ship under the name “Volkhov”. In 1953, the battleship was disarmed and sent for scrap.