Marina Raskova

Marina Raskova (1912-1943) was a Soviet pilot, navigator, and commander who founded 3 famous female air regiments during the Second World War. 

Born to a middle-class Russian family, Raskova initially had aspirations of becoming a musician, but eventually abandoned the idea to study chemistry. While working in a dye factory as a chemist she met Sergei Raskov, an engineer, who she married and had a daughter with. She changed careers in 1931 when she joined the Aerodynamic Navigation Lab of the Soviet Air Force as a draftswoman. Aged 19 in 1933 she became the first female navigator in the Air Force and the following year became the first woman to teach at the Zhukovskii Air Academy.

In 1935 she divorced from her husband and focused on her flying career. She become a famous pilot as well as a navigator, setting a number of long distance records. This included the famous 'Flight of the Rodina' covering 6000km from Moscow to Komsomolsk, which she conducted with two other female pilots, Polina Osipenko and Valentina Grizodubova. However the flight ran into difficulties at the end of its 26 and a half hour journey when poor visibility hampered the landing. As the navigator's pit was vulnerable in crash landings, Raskova bailed out with a parachute while the two pilots completed the landing.  She survived with no water and almost no food for 10 days before she found her way to landing site and reunited with her team. All 3 women were decorated with the ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ award, the first women ever to receive it. 

With the outbreak of World War 2 the Soviet Union was in need of pilots and many women volunteered. However while there were no formal restrictions on Soviet women in the military, many found their applications were denied or mysteriously delayed. Raskova proposed the creation of women's aviation units and used her celebrity status to propose the idea directly to the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Following a speech by Raskova in September 1941 calling for women pilots to be welcomed into the war, Stalin ordered the creation of 3 new air regiments, the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment, and the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, dubbed The Night Witches. These regiments were entirely formed of women, from the pilots to the engineers to the support staff. Each regiment contained around 400 women, most of them in their early twenties, who completed 4 years' worth of training in a matter of months. 

Raskova personally took command of the 125th Bomber Regiment, for which she obtained the very best equipment available, including the state-of-the-art Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers, which caused some resentment from male units. The 125th regiment went on to fly 134 missions over the course of the war, dropping over 980 tons of bombs.

Raskova herself was killed on January 4th 1943, while attempting to lead two other Pe-2's to a safe airfield. She was forced into making a forced landing on the Volga Bank, which resulted in the deaths of the entire bomber crew. Raskova received the first state funeral of the war and her ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall beside those of fellow pilot, Polina Osipenko. She was posthumously awarded the Order of Patriotic War 1st Class and the regiments she created continued to serve for the duration of the war.

Nadezhda Fedutenko

Nadezhda Fedutenko (1915-1978) was a Soviet pilot and squadron commander who served during World War II. 

From a young age Fedutenko had a fascination with planes and was a member of an aircraft modelling club in her teens. In 1935 she qualified as both a pilot and parachute instructor and begun a career as a civil aviation pilot ferrying passengers and cargo. 

With the advent of World War II she continued to serve as a pilot, flying the Polikarpov R-5, a lightweight reconnaissance bomber. She frequently flew at low altitude with no escort, delivering supplies and evacuating wounded from enemy-occupied territory. Having accumulated several thousand flying hours, Fedutenko went on to become a squadron commander in the ‘Borisov Guards’ dive bomber regiment, flying Petlyakov Pe-2 medium range bombers from January 1943 until the end of the war. 

From 1943 to 1945, Fedutenko’s squadron flew more than 500 missions in support of Soviet ground troops, including 56 daylight missions. One of her most significant missions occurred on 2nd September 1943 when her divisional leader was shot down. Taking command, Fedutenko led the 54 aircraft in a successful attack on a fortified enemy position near El'nia, enabling ground troops to launch their offensive.

At the end of the war, Fedutenko’s was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest military decoration available, in addition to several further medals in recognition of her outstanding service.

Liudmyla Pavlychenko

Liudmyla Pavlychenko was a Soviet soldier during World War 2 and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history, with a total record of 309 kills. 

Born in a small village in Ukraine in 1916, Pavlychenko and her family later moved to Kiev when she was 9 years old. When she was 14 she joined a shooting club and became adept at firing rifles. As a young woman she studied history at Kiev university, during which time she also practiced sprinting, pole vaulting, and took classes at a sniper’s school to improve her marksmanship.

When Nazi Germany began its invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Pavlychenko was among the first group of volunteers at the army recruiting office. Despite providing her marksmanship certificate, she was initially laughed at and told she could be a nurse instead. However she went on to prove her worth to the army by shooting two Romanian soldiers near Belyayevka, Odessa, using a Tokarev SVT-40 semi-automatic rifle with 3.5X telescopic sight. Following this demonstration she was accepted into the Red Army’s 25th Rifle Division.

Pavlychenko was initially hesitant about taking human lives, but was shocked into action after witnessing the death of a young soldier next to her. “He was such a nice, happy boy,” she recalled. “And he was killed just next to me. After that, nothing could stop me.” For the next two and half months she spent in Odessa, Pavlychenko racked up a tally of 187 kills.

After Odessa fell to Romanian forces, Pavlychenko’s unit was relocated to fight in the 8-month long Siege of Sevastopol. During the siege she continued to excel, adding a further 257 kills to her record. As her kill count rose she was assigned to increasingly dangerous missions, including countersniping hunts which could last for entire days and nights at a time. By May 1942, Pavlychenko had dispatched 36 enemy snipers in this manner. She became so notorious that the Germans broadcast radio messages trying to bribe her to defect.

Despite being wounded on four separate occasions, Pavlychenko remained in active service until June 1942, when her position was bombed and shrapnel struck her face. Because of her fame she was withdrawn from duty and sent to the United States on a publicity visit, where she became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a US President. Pavlychenko was disappointed by the disparaging comments by the American press about her appearance in uniform, but emboldened by her friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt she lashed out at them at a press event in Chicago, saying "I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist occupants by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”

On returning home, Pavlychenko was promoted to Major and became a sniper instructor. In 1943, she was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union for her heroic service. After the war she went on to complete her education and became a historian attached to the Soviet navy. She died aged 58 and is buried in the Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow.

Mariya Bayda

Mariya Bayda was a Russian scout in the Crimea during World War 2 who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Having dropped out of school at 14, Bayda worked at a hospital before joining the Red Army in 1941 as a nurse. A member of the 172nd Shooting Division, she was deployed to the front lines of the North Caucasian front.

She went on to become a scout with the rank of senior sergeant. Her Hero title was awarded following a mission in 1942 where she became involved in a gun battle against an number of Wehrmacht submachine gunners. She killed several of the Germans (some reports claim as many as 15) before escaping wounded.

In July 1942 she was again wounded and then captured by German forces. She was taken to the Slavuta concentration camp in Ukraine and was later moved to Ravensbruck. She was released by American forces on May 8, 1945.

Following the war she worked as a civil servant in Sevastopol. In 1976, she was again honoured as a Hero and an Honourable Citizen of Sevastopol. She died in 2002, aged 80.

Mariya Dolina

Mariya Dolina was a Soviet pilot who served with the distinguished Borisov Guards dive bomber regiment during the Second World War.

Beginning her military service in July 1941, aged only 18, she initially flew biplanes before moving on to Petlyakov Pe-2 medium range bombers (pictured). Despite describing herself as “impulsive and excessively restless”, she became one of the best pilots of her unit.

During her military career she carried out 72 sorties and dropped a total of 45 tons of bombs on the enemy. On June 2 1943 her plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft guns, disabling an engine and setting the plane on fire. Despite having lost her fighter escort her crew continued to successfully bomb the target and on the way back engaged 6 German fighters, 2 of which they destroyed.

By the end of the war Dolina had advanced to the rank of Guards Captain and was acting squadron commander of the Borisov Guards. She was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in recognition of her accomplishments.