Klavdia Nechayeva started her career in 586 IAP, but was later transfered to a male squadron, 434 IAP. She served under the ace squadron commander Ivan Ivanovich Klyeshchev, who had a total of 48 kills at the time of his death in a wartime flying accident. Here is an account of her heroic sacrificial death in action while saving Klyeshchev's life, as recounted by 586 IAP's archivist Yekaterina Polunina: "The wingman's duty was to protect the tail of the leader. When one of the girls, Nechayeva, was protecting the squadron commander, who was about to land, 3 Me-109s attacked them. She had no fuel or ammunition left, but she covered his aircraft with hers and everyone there saw her killed."