Colonel Bestuzhev has an assignment to support the Soviet offensive by forming an air regiment equipped with the newest Yak-3 fighter aircrafts.

The hospital staff are unsure of how to treat Zhenya as all her documents were destroyed during the raid; meanwhile, at a training aerodrome located near the aircraft factory, Bestuzhev observes the training of flight cadets and meets an old friend.

Vasilevskaya's unit tracks the Pe-2 bombers during their mission to detect the disguised German air defence batteries; later, Bestuzhev notices the strange behaviour of Vasilevskaya, which he reports to general Makarov.

Another attempt to destroy the German fortifications ends in almost complete defeat after Vadivasov fails to complete Bestuzhev's task of pinpointing the German air defences on the map.

Shugaev teaches Voitik the intricacies of air combat and talks about his argument with Lazurkevich; meanwhile, Bestuzhev sets the regiment the task of intercepting German bombers without getting involved in a battle with their covering fighters.

Scouts are unknowingly sent into a one of the German air defence batteries disguised as a village; meanwhile, Maximov composes a denunciation of Bestuzhev for the death of Shugaev.