Women heroes of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War. All the most interesting things in one magazine

Over the four years of war, the country's highest award was awarded to nine dozen women who defended the Motherland with arms in hand.

Official statistics say that 490 thousand women were drafted into the army and navy. Three aviation regiments were formed entirely from women - the 46th Guards Night Bomber, the 125th Guards Bomber and the 586th Fighter Regiment.

Heroine pilots

Most of the women who earned the country's highest rank on the WWII fronts were among female pilots. This is easily explained: after all, in aviation there were as many as three all-female regiments, while in other branches and types of troops such units were almost never found. In addition, women pilots had one of the most difficult tasks: night bombing on the “heavenly slow-moving vehicle” - the U-2 plywood biplane.
Is it any wonder that out of 32 female pilots who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 23 are “night witches”: this is what the German warriors called the heroines, who suffered serious losses from their night raids. In addition, it was female pilots who were the first to receive the highest rank even before the war. In 1938, the crew of the Rodina plane - Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova - received the highest award for the non-stop flight Moscow - Far East. Of the more than three dozen women holders of the highest rank, seven received it posthumously. And among them is the first pilot to ram a German plane, Su-2 bomber pilot Ekaterina Zelenko. By the way, she was awarded this title many years after the end of the war - in 1990. One of the four women who were full holders of the Order of Glory also served in aviation: air gunner of the reconnaissance air regiment Nadezhda Zhurkina.

Underground heroines

There are slightly fewer female underground fighters and partisans among the Heroes of the Soviet Union than female pilots - 28. But here, unfortunately, there is a much larger number of heroines who received the title posthumously: 23 underground fighters and partisans accomplished feats at the cost of their lives. Among them are the first woman, Hero of the Soviet Union during the war, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, and the pioneer hero Zina Portnova, and members of the “Young Guard” Lyubov Shevtsova and Ulyana Gromova... Alas, the quiet war,” as the German occupiers called it, was almost always carried out to the full destruction, and few managed to survive by actively operating underground.

Medical heroines

Of the nearly 700 thousand doctors in the active army, about 300 thousand were women. And among the 2 million nursing staff, this ratio was even higher: almost 1.3 million! At the same time, many female medical instructors were constantly at the forefront, sharing all the hardships of war with male soldiers.
Therefore, it is natural that in terms of the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union, women doctors are in third place: 15 people. And one of the full holders of the Order of Glory is also a doctor. But the ratio among them who are alive and those who were awarded the highest title posthumously is also indicative: 7 out of 15 heroines did not live to see their moment of glory. Like, for example, the medical instructor of the 355th separate marine battalion of the Pacific Fleet, sailor Maria Tsukanova. One of the “twenty-five thousand” girls who responded to the order to draft 25,000 female volunteers into the navy, she served in the coastal artillery and became a medical instructor shortly before the landing attack on the coast occupied by the Japanese army. Medical instructor Maria Tsukanova managed to save the lives of 52 sailors, but she herself died - this happened on August 15, 1945...

Foot Soldier Heroines

It would seem that even during the war years it was difficult for women and infantry to be compatible. Pilots or medics are one thing, but infantrymen, the workhorses of war, people who, in fact, always and everywhere begin and finish any battle and at the same time endure all the hardships of military life...Nevertheless, women who took risks also served in the infantry not only to share with men the difficulties of infantry life, but also to master hand weapons, which required considerable courage and dexterity from them. Among
female infantrymen - six Heroes of the Soviet Union, five of them received this title posthumously. However, for male infantrymen the ratio will be the same. One of the full holders of the Order of Glory also served in the infantry. What is noteworthy is that among the infantry heroines is the first woman from Kazakhstan to earn such a high rank: machine gunner Manshuk Mametova. During the liberation of Nevel, she alone held the commanding heights with her machine gun and died without letting the Germans through.

Heroine snipers

When they say “female sniper,” the first name that comes to mind is Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko. And deservedly so: after all, she received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, being the most successful female sniper in history! But besides Pavlichenko, five more of her combat friends were awarded the highest award for the art of marksmanship, and three of them posthumously. One of the full holders of the Order of Glory is Sergeant Major Nina Petrova. Her story is unique not only because she killed 122 enemies, but also because of the sniper’s age: she fought when she was already 52 years old! Rarely did any man achieve the right to go to the front at that age, but the instructor of the sniper school, who had the Winter War of 1939–1940 behind her, achieved this. But, alas, she did not live to see the Victory: Nina Petrova died in a car accident a week before, on May 1, 1945.

Tank heroines

You can imagine a woman at the controls of an airplane, but behind the controls of a tank is not easy. And, nevertheless, there were women tankers, and not only were they there, but they achieved great success at the front, receiving high awards. Two female tank crews received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and one of them - Maria Oktyabrskaya - posthumously. Moreover, she died while repairing her own tank under enemy fire. Own in the literal sense of the word: the “Fighting Friend” tank, on which Maria fought as a mechanic-driver, was built with money collected by her and her sister after the woman learned of the death of her husband, regimental commissar Ilya Oktyabrsky. To gain the right to take a place behind the levers of her tank, Maria Oktyabrskaya had to personally turn to Stalin, who helped her get to the front. And the woman tanker fully justified her high trust.

Heroine signalmen

One of the most traditional book and film characters associated with the war is signal girls. Indeed, for delicate work that required perseverance, attentiveness, accuracy and good hearing, they were willingly hired, sending them to the troops as telephone operators, radio operators and other communications specialists. In Moscow, on the basis of one of the oldest units of the signal troops, during the war there was a special school in which female signalmen were trained. And it is quite natural that among the signalmen there were their own Heroes of the Soviet Union. Moreover, both girls who deserved such a high rank received it posthumously - like Elena Stempkovskaya, who, during the battle of her battalion, was surrounded by artillery fire and died during the breakthrough to her own.

Polina Osipenko, Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova, 1938. Photo: Alexey Mezhuev / TASS Photo Chronicle

Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova is the first woman awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, a pilot, a participant in the Great Patriotic War and a Hero of Socialist Labor. The daughter of the inventor and pilot Stepan Vasilyevich Grizodubov, Valentina took to the skies on her father’s airplane at the age of 2.5, and at the age of 14 she made her first glider flight in Koktebel at a glider meeting.

VALENTINA GRIZODUBOVA

Valentina has been fascinated by the sky and flying since childhood. As a student at the Kharkov Institute of Technology, she is enrolled in the first intake of the Kharkov Central Aero Club, which the future pilot successfully completed in three months. Since there were no opportunities to continue her flight training in Kharkov, Grizodubova, having left college, entered the 1st Tula Flight and Sports School of Osoaviakhim, after which she began working as a pilot instructor at the Tula Aviation School, then as an instructor at a flight school near the village of Tushino near Moscow . In 1934 - 1935, Valentina, as a pilot of the propaganda squadron named after Maxim Gorky, flew over almost the entire country on various types of aircraft of that time. Flew over the Pamirs, Kabardino-Balkaria, Fergana Valley. In 1937, Grizodubova set 5 world aviation records for altitude, speed and flight range, and a year later she led the crew of the Rodina aircraft, which made a non-stop flight from Moscow to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, flying 6,450 km in 26 hours 29 minutes, setting world women's aviation flight distance record. For this flight, Grizodubova was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Valentina Grizodubova was appointed commander of the ship of the Moscow Special Purpose Air Group. Since March 1942, she commanded the 101st transport aviation regiment, whose planes flew to the rear of the partisans. By May 1943, she personally flew about 200 combat missions on a Li-2 aircraft, including 132 at night, to bomb enemy targets and deliver ammunition and military cargo beyond the front line.
After the war, Valentina Stepanovna was sent to work in the aviation industry, where she worked for almost 30 years. The division of NII-17 (Institute of Instrument Engineering), headed by Grizodubova, tested electronic equipment for the Air Force and civil aviation. The pilot personally took part in flights to test and refine the radar equipment being developed at NII-17. In 1986, she was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for many years of valiant work. Streets in Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Zhukovsky, Kurgan, Novoaltaisk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Smolensk, Stavropol and Rostov-on-Don are named after the pilot.

POLINA OSIPENKO

The famous Soviet pilot and hero of the Soviet Union was born in 1907 in the village of Novospasovka, which now bears her name, and became addicted to aviation thanks to her first husband, a military pilot. He prepared his wife to enter the Kachin school of military pilots, from which Osipenko graduated in 1933. Having become a flight commander in fighter aviation, in the summer of 1937 the pilot broke three world records for high-altitude flights with and without load. In 1938, she led the non-stop flight Sevastopol - Arkhangelsk, her crew also set an international women's record for flight distance on a closed curve. Osipenko was the second pilot of the Rodina aircraft, on which, on September 24 - 25, 1938, together with V. Grizodubova and M. Raskova, she made a record non-stop flight along the Moscow - Far East route. For this flight, all crew members were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After this record-breaking flight, Osipenko worked as an instructor in aerobatics and trained fighter pilots. The pilot died in a plane crash on May 11, 1939 during a training camp, practicing blind flights. She was buried in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

MARINA RASKOVA

The Soviet pilot-navigator, major, also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, came to aviation in 1932: Raskova worked in the aeronautical laboratory of the Air Force Academy. And in 1934, after graduating from the Leningrad Institute of Civil Air Fleet, she became a navigator. She began working at the Air Force Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky as a flight instructor. In 1937, as a navigator, she participated in setting a world aviation range record on an AIR-12 aircraft, and in 1938, in setting 2 world aviation range records on an MP-1 seaplane. During the famous record flight from Moscow to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, during an emergency landing on the orders of Grizodubova, Raskova parachuted into the taiga with only two chocolate bars in her pocket, and was found only 10 days later. For this flight, in addition to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin, Raskova was given a special distinction - the Gold Star medal.
When the Great Patriotic War began, it was Marina Raskova, using her fame, who sought permission to create female combat units. In October 1941, she formed an air group of three women's air regiments: the 586th Fighter, 587th Bombardment, and 588th Night Bombardment, which received the unofficial name "Night Witches". Raskova herself was appointed commander of the 587th Women's Aviation Bomber Regiment. The pilot died on January 4, 1943 while on duty during a flight to the front in difficult weather conditions after reorganization. She was buried in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

EVDOKIA BERSHANSKAYA

The Soviet pilot and participant in the Great Patriotic War became famous for the fact that during the war, at the age of 28, she led the 588th female night bomber regiment, which under her command fought until the end of the war, took part in the liberation of the North Caucasus, Kuban, Taman, Rostov region, Crimea, Belarus , Poland, participated in the battles near Berlin. The pilots flew 24 thousand combat missions. His attacks were so successful and accurate that the Germans nicknamed the female pilots “night witches.” For courage and bravery in battles for the Motherland, 23 girls were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. More than 250 personnel of the regiment were awarded orders and medals twice and three times. And Bershanskaya herself personally carried out 28 combat missions to destroy enemy manpower and equipment and became the only woman among women awarded the military orders of Suvorov III degree and Alexander Nevsky. Until its disbandment in October 1945, the regiment remained entirely female; only women served in all positions in the unit. After the war, the pilot worked in the Soviet Women's Committee and the War Veterans Committee.

Photo: airaces. ru

IRINA SEBROVA

Flight commander of the famous “Night Witches”, guard senior lieutenant graduated from the Moscow flying club in 1938, and from the Kherson military aviation school of pilots in 1940. She worked as an instructor pilot at the Frunze Aeroclub in Moscow, graduating several groups of cadets over two years of work. In 1942, already a fairly experienced pilot, Sebrova completed courses at the military aviation school of pilots, after which she was sent to the front. In 1944, the pilot became a flight commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, making the most sorties in the regiment - 1004, including 825 night sorties to bomb enemy troops, causing great damage to him in manpower and equipment. She distinguished herself in battles when breaking through enemy defenses on the Pronya River, during the liberation of Mogilev, Minsk, Grodno, for which she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. After the war, the pilot worked at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Photo: airaces. ru

VALERIYA KHOMYAKOVA

Valeria Khomyakova was born and raised in Moscow. Like most female pilots, Khomyakova came to aviation after graduating from a flying club, where she became an instructor pilot. As one of the best students, she was always assigned to air parades and was assigned the most important numbers of the program. After the start of the war, Khomyakova volunteered for the front in the Air Force, and soon she, who had excellent piloting technique, was enrolled in the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Khomyakova was the first female pilot to shoot down an enemy plane in a night battle on September 24, 1942, defending Saratov from bombing. She died near Saratov on October 6, 1942 during a night takeoff from an airfield on a Yak-1 plane.

Photo: airaces. ru

LYDIA LITVYAK

Hero of the Soviet Union, fighter pilot, aviation flight commander, guard junior lieutenant Lydia Litvyak was born in 1921 in Moscow and already at the age of 14 she entered the flying club, and at 15 she made her first independent flight. Then she took geology courses and took part in an expedition to the Far North. After graduating from the Kherson pilot school, she became one of the best instructors at the Kalinin flying club. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, it managed to graduate 45 cadets. At the beginning of the war, having learned that the famous pilot Marina Raskova was recruiting women's air regiments, Litvyak set out to get an appointment to her air group. Having added 100 hours to her flight time, the pilot received her assignment.

Photo: airaces. ru

Litvyak made her first combat missions as part of the 586th Women's Fighter Aviation Regiment in the spring of 1942 in the skies of Saratov, covering the Volga from enemy air raids. From April 15 to September 10, 1942, she carried out 35 combat missions to patrol and escort transport aircraft with important cargo. Litvyak became the most effective female aviator of the Second World War, having completed about 150 combat missions, in air battles she personally shot down 6 aircraft and 1 observation balloon, and destroyed another 6 enemy aircraft in a group with her comrades. In 1943, Litvyak was awarded a new military award - the Order of the Red Star. A little earlier, on December 22, 1942, she was awarded the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad.” During flights over Stalingrad, at her request, a white lily was painted on the hood of Lydia’s plane, and Litvyak received the nickname “White Lily of Stalingrad”; later “Lily” became the pilot’s radio call sign.
In April 1943, the popular magazine Ogonyok placed on the cover a photo of Lydia Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova with the explanation: “12 enemy planes were shot down by these brave girls.”
On August 1, 1943, at the age of less than 22, Litvyak died in a battle over the Mius Front. Her remains were found only in 1979 and buried in a mass grave near the village of Dmitrievka, Shakhtarsky district. By decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, the pilot was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya - Red Army soldier, intelligence officer. The first woman awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). Fragile and courageous, with her life and feat she showed an immortal example of duty and honor. After enduring terrible torture, she was executed. But even at the moment of impending death, he did not lose faith and self-control. She died on this day 75 years ago.

The place of execution was surrounded by ten horsemen with drawn sabers. More than a hundred German soldiers and several officers stood around. Local residents were ordered to gather and be present at the execution, but few of them came, and some, having come and stood, quietly went home so as not to witness the terrible spectacle.

Under a loop lowered from the crossbar, two boxes made of‑ underpastaTatianalifted upputonboxAndthrewonneckloop.Onefromofficersbecamedirectongallowslenshis"kodak":Germans— amateursphotograph executions and executions. The commandant made a sign to the soldiers performing the duty of executioners to wait. Tatyana took advantage of this and, turning to the collective farmers and collective farmers, shouted in a loud and clear voice:

- Hey, comrades! Why are you looking sad? Be brave, fight, beat the Germans, burn them, poison them!

The German standing next to him swung his hand and wanted to either hit her or cover her mouth, but she pushed his hand away and continued:

“I’m not afraid to die, comrades.” It is happiness to die for your people...

The photographer had photographed the gallows from a distance and close up and was now positioning himself to photograph it from the side. The executioners looked restlessly at the commandant, and he shouted to the photographer:

- Hurry up!

Then Tatyana turned towards the commandant and, addressing him and the German soldiers, continued:

“You’re going to hang me now, but I’m not alone, there are two hundred million of us, you can’t hang everyone.” You will be avenged for me...

The Russian people standing in the square were crying. Others turned away so as not to see what was about to happen. The executioner pulled the rope, and the noose squeezed Tanino’s throat. But she spread the noose with both hands, rose up on her toes and shouted, straining her strength:

- Farewell, comrades! Fight, don't be afraid! Stalin is with us! Stalin will come!..

The executioner rested his forged shoe on the box, and the box creaked on the slippery trampled snow. The top drawer fell down and hit the ground loudly. The crowd recoiled. Someone’s scream rang out and died away, and the echo repeated it at the edge of the forest...

During perestroika, she, like many other Soviet heroes, was slandered and slandered by de-Sovietizers. But the wind of great history dispelled the decay they had thrown and affirmed life. The true heroic life of Zoe.


Zoya's grave today

War does not have a woman's face. It’s always hard for men at the front, but it’s much harder for women. However, 75 years ago, Soviet women showed heroic courage by standing up to defend their Motherland. At dawn on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany treacherously invaded the territory of the Soviet Union without declaring war. And the War began. Terrible, cruel, killing over 20 million people.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Scout

The first woman awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously) was a young 18-year-old intelligence officer Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, whose name is still a standard of courage, patriotism and heroism. In November 1941, Zoya carried out a mission in the village of Petrishchevo - together with the other members of the detachment, she burned down populated areas on the orders of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. However, the girl was captured. The Nazis brutally tortured the girl all night: they beat her with rubber truncheons and kicked her, stripped her naked and took her out into the cold for several hours, pulling out her nails. But Zoya did not give out the names of the remaining members of the squad. In the morning, a sign with the inscription House Arsonist was placed around the girl’s neck and she was taken to her execution, which took place in front of almost all the village residents. According to eyewitnesses, Zoya behaved proudly, and her last words were: “ No matter how much you hang us, you can’t hang us all, there are 170 million of us. But our comrades will avenge you for me!" Zoya became the most famous Komsomol heroine. After the war, streets throughout the country were named after her, museums and monuments were opened.

Evgenia Zhigulenko : “The Germans called us night witches, and the witches were only between 15 and 27 years old.”.

The 46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree night bomber aviation regiment has a separate niche in military history. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that the regiment was entirely female. The regiment was jokingly called the “Dunkin Regiment”, and the Germans called the pilots night witches for their fearlessness. The regiment's first combat mission took place on June 12, 1942; on October 15, 1945, the regiment was disbanded. During the hostilities, the pilots flew more than 20 thousand combat missions and dropped more than 2 million kg of bombs. 23 female pilots of the regiment have the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, two navigators of the regiment have the title of Hero of Russia, one girl is the People's Hero of Kazakhstan. Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya (Bocharova), the girl who led the regiment, is the only woman awarded the Order of Suvorov.

Irina Sebrova made the most sorties in the regiment - 1004. She was distinguished by increased discipline, courage and bravery. Hero of the Soviet Union.
Natalya Meklin - 980 combat missions. She became famous for her fearlessness. Fellow soldiers noted her combat prowess as a model for the entire corps. Hero of the Soviet Union.
Evgenia Zhigulenko - 968 combat missions, 10 of which were very dangerous. Hero of the Soviet Union.
Smirnova Marina Vasilievna - 950 combat missions. Hero of the Soviet Union.
Antonina Fedorovna Khudyakova - 926 combat missions. Hero of the Soviet Union.
Many books and films were dedicated to the women's regiment, and museums were opened in Russian cities. The girls themselves published biographies.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko is the best female sniper in history. At the age of 25, she volunteered to go to the front as soon as the war began. Participated in the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Lyudmila spent a year at the front, after being wounded she was evacuated and never returned to the war. However, this year the girl killed 309 fascist invaders - a result that exceeds the achievements of many male snipers. On October 25, 1943, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Smirnova Nina Petrovna is an amazing woman. She volunteered for the front on June 22, 1941 at the age of 48! Considered one of the best snipers of the Leningrad Front. She went through the entire war at the forefront, never getting wounded. Killed 122 fascist invaders, trained more than 500 snipers. The regiment loved her and called her mom. They noted her fearlessness, courage and endurance. She died on May 1, 1945 - the car she was riding in fell into a cliff. She was posthumously awarded the Order of Glory, 1st degree, medals for military merit and for the defense of Leningrad, the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree, as well as an award weapon - a personalized sniper rifle.

Kashcheeva Vera Sergeevna – guard senior sergeant, sanitary instructor of the battalion of the 120th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 39th Guards Rifle Division. With the beginning of the war, she took a nursing course and worked for a year in a hospital in the city of Barnaul. In 1942 she was enlisted at the front, and in April 1942 she found herself in a terrible battle. She courageously carried wounded soldiers from the battlefield under heavy machine-gun fire, when mines and shells exploded. When meeting an enemy, she took up arms. At the same time, she was both a scout and a liaison. She was awarded the medal For Courage, for the courage that the girl showed in the battles of Stalingrad. I reached Berlin. Hero of the Soviet Union.

The military biography of Demina Ekaterina Illarionovna can be enough for several dozen books, and one can only admire her courage. When the war began, the girl was only 15 years old. Having added 2 years to herself, she volunteered for the front. She was wounded in battle, and from 1942 she served on the military ambulance ship Krasnaya Moskva. After the Battle of Stalingrad, she insisted on enlisting in the 369th Separate Marine Battalion, which was formed in February 1943 from volunteers in Baku. The girl fought bravely with the soldiers and also rescued the wounded from the battlefield. She was wounded three times and still, despite serious injuries, Catherine remained in the ranks and saved her fellow soldiers. I went through the whole war. Has many awards. Hero of the Soviet Union.

Much has been written about women in war. According to official data, more than 800 thousand women participated in the War. However, no one can say with certainty how many of them actually happened. The names of some women remain unknown, but their exploits are immortal.
Ninety-five women earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Some received the award posthumously. For exploits, for fearlessness, for courage. The Motherland endlessly thanks and honors the memory of its Heroes. We remember. We are proud.

Over the course of four war years, the country's highest award was awarded to nine dozen women who defended the Motherland with
Women - heroes of the Second World War: who are they? To answer this question, you don't need to guess for a long time. There is no type or type of army in which Soviet women did not fight. And on land, and at sea, and in the air - everywhere one could find female warriors who took up arms to defend their Motherland. Names such as Tatyana Markus, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Marina Raskova, Lyudmila Pavlichenko are known, perhaps, to everyone in our country and the former Soviet republics.

Official statistics say that 490 thousand women were drafted into the army and navy. Three aviation regiments were formed entirely from women - the 46th Guards Night Bomber, the 125th Guards Bomber and the 586th Air Defense Fighter Regiment, as well as a separate women's company of sailors, a separate women's volunteer rifle brigade, a central women's sniper school and a separate women's reserve rifle regiment But in reality, the number of women who fought was, of course, much larger. After all, many of them defended their country in hospitals and evacuation centers, in partisan detachments and underground.

And the Motherland fully appreciated their merits. 90 women earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their exploits during the Second World War, and four more became full holders of the Order of Glory (see list below). And there are hundreds of thousands of women who are holders of other orders and medals.

Heroine pilots

Most of the women who earned the country's highest rank on the WWII fronts were among female pilots. This is easily explained: after all, in aviation there were as many as three all-female regiments, while in other branches and types of troops such units were almost never found. In addition, women pilots had one of the most difficult tasks: night bombing on the “heavenly slow-moving vehicle” - the U-2 plywood biplane. Is it any wonder that out of 32 female pilots who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 23 are “night witches”: this is what the German warriors called the heroines, who suffered serious losses from their night raids. In addition, it was female pilots who were the first to receive the highest rank even before the war. In 1938, the crew of the Rodina plane - Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova - received the highest award for the non-stop flight Moscow - Far East.

Pilots of the women's air regiment. Photo: warmuseum.ca

There are slightly fewer female underground fighters and partisans among the Heroes of the Soviet Union than female pilots - 28. But here, unfortunately, there is a much larger number of heroines who received the title posthumously: 23 underground fighters and partisans accomplished feats at the cost of their lives. Among them are the first woman, Hero of the Soviet Union during the war, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, and pioneer hero Zina Portnova, and members of the “Young Guard” Lyubov Shevtsova and Ulyana Gromova... Alas, the “quiet war,” as the German occupiers called it, was almost always waged until complete destruction, and few managed to survive by actively operating underground.

Three Soviet women partisans, 1943. Photo: waralbum.ru

Of the nearly 700 thousand doctors in the active army, about 300 thousand were women. And among the 2 million nursing staff, this ratio was even higher: almost 1.3 million! At the same time, many female medical instructors were constantly at the forefront, sharing all the hardships of war with male soldiers. Therefore, it is natural that in terms of the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union, women doctors are in third place: 15 people. And one of the full holders of the Order of Glory is also a doctor. But the ratio among them who are alive and those who were awarded the highest title posthumously is also indicative: 7 out of 15 heroines did not live to see their moment of glory. Like, for example, the medical instructor of the 355th separate marine battalion of the Pacific Fleet, sailor Maria Tsukanova. One of the “twenty-five thousand” girls who responded to the order to draft 25,000 female volunteers into the navy, she served in the coastal artillery and became a medical instructor shortly before the landing attack on the coast occupied by the Japanese army. Medical instructor Maria Tsukanova managed to save the lives of 52 sailors, but she herself died - this happened on August 15, 1945...

A nurse bandages a wounded man. Photo: A. Arkhipov / TASS photo chronicle

It would seem that even during the war years it was difficult for women and infantry to be compatible. Pilots or medics are one thing, but infantrymen, the workhorses of war, people who, in fact, always and everywhere begin and finish any battle and at the same time endure all the hardships of military life... Nevertheless, women who took risks also served in the infantry not only to share with men the difficulties of infantry life, but also to master hand weapons, which required considerable courage and dexterity from them. Among the female infantrymen there are six Heroes of the Soviet Union, five of them received this title posthumously. However, for male infantrymen the ratio will be the same. One of the full holders of the Order of Glory also served in the infantry. What is noteworthy is that among the infantry heroines is the first woman from Kazakhstan to earn such a high rank: machine gunner Manshuk Mametova. During the liberation of Nevel, she alone held the commanding heights with her machine gun and died without letting the Germans through.

Heroine snipers

When they say “female sniper,” the first name that comes to mind is Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko. And deservedly so: after all, she received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, being the most productive female sniper in! But besides Pavlichenko, the highest award for the art of marksmanship was awarded to five more of her combat friends, and three of them posthumously.

One of the full holders of the Order of Glory is Sergeant Major Nina Petrova. Her story is unique not only because she killed 122 enemies, but also because of the sniper’s age: she fought when she was already 52 years old! Rarely did any man achieve the right to go to the front at that age, but the instructor of the sniper school, who had the Winter War of 1939–1940 behind her, achieved this. But, alas, she did not live to see the Victory: Nina Petrova died in a car accident a week before, on May 1, 1945.

Tank heroines

Soviet tanker. Photo: militariorgucoz.ru

Heroine signalmen

Women signalmen. Photo: urapobeda.ru