Personnel Work with the Commanders of the Red Army Air Force who were Captured, Encircled, in Enemyoccupied Territory, in Penal Units and Convicted by Military Tribunals during the Great Patriotic War

Based on the study of little-known archival documents, the article examines the procedure for organizing personnel work with officers of the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics who were captured, encircled, or in the occupied territory during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), made it to their troops' position, and rejoined the ranks. Special attention is paid to the activities of personnel bodies for the registration of servicemen convicted by military tribunals and held in penitentiary units. The officers of the Air Force of the Red Army are considered as an example. Using a wide range of documents from both the main personnel body of Soviet military aviation in the form of the Air Force Personnel Directorate and subordinate personnel bodies of the air armies, the aviation reserve corps of the Supreme High Command, and the Air Force of military districts, an attempt is being made to objectively and comprehensively establish criteria and approaches to classifying these categories of military personnel, determine the goals, objectives, and procedure for their verification and also the organization of further service and combat activities. New digital data is being introduced into scientific circulation, reflecting the quantitative indicators of the issue under study