Girls heroes of the wwii. The first women - Heroes of the Soviet Union (5 photos). See you in the ussr

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

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

VALENTINA GRIZODUBOVA

Since childhood, Valentina has been fascinated by the sky and flying. As a student of the Kharkov Technological Institute, she is enrolled in the first enrollment of the Kharkov Central Aero Club, which the future pilot successfully completed in three months. Since there were no opportunities to continue training in flight in Kharkov, Grizodubova, leaving the institute, 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 of a flight school near the village of Tushino near Moscow ... In 1934 - 1935, Valentina, as a pilot of the Maxim Gorky propaganda squadron, flew around almost the entire country on various types of aircraft of that time. She flew over the Pamir, Kabardino-Balkaria, Fergana Valley. In 1937, Grizodubova set 5 world aviation records for altitude, speed and range, and a year later she headed the crew of the Rodina aircraft, which made a non-stop flight from Moscow to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, having flown 6,450 km in 26 hours 29 minutes, setting world female aviation range record. For this flight, Grizodubova was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

With the beginning of World War II, Valentina Grizodubova was appointed commander of a ship of the Moscow Special Air Group. Since March 1942, she commanded the 101st Transport Aviation Regiment, whose planes flew to the rear of the partisans. By May 1943, on a Li-2 plane, she personally flew about 200 sorties, including 132 night missions, to bombard 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. A subdivision of NII-17 (Institute of Instrumentation), headed by Grizodubova, tested electronic equipment for the Air Force and civil aviation. The pilot personally took part in flights to test and fine-tune 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 labor. 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, which Osipenko graduated from in 1933. Becoming 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 headed the non-stop flight from Sevastopol to Arkhangelsk, and her crew also set the international female record for closed-curve flight range. Osipenko was the co-pilot of the Rodina plane, on which on September 24-25, 1938, together with V. Grizodubova and M. Raskova, she made a record non-stop flight on the Moscow-Far East route. For this flight, all crew members were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After this record flight, Osipenko worked as an aerobatics instructor, trained fighter pilots. The pilot died in a plane crash on May 11, 1939 during a training camp, practicing blind flights. Buried in Moscow at 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 Zhukovsky Air Force Academy as an instructor-letnab. In 1937, as a navigator, she participated in setting the world aviation range record on the AIR-12 aircraft, and in 1938 - in setting 2 world aviation range records on the MP-1 seaplane. During the famous record flight from Moscow to Komsomolsk-on-Amur during an emergency landing on the orders of Grizodubova, Raskova jumped with a parachute into the taiga, having 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 award of the Order of Lenin, Raskova was given a special distinction - the Gold Star medal.
When the Great Patriotic War began, it was Marina Raskova who, using her fame, sought permission to create female combat units. In October 1941, she formed an air group of three female air regiments: the 586th fighter, 587th bomber, and 588th night bomber, 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 bad weather after being reorganized. She was buried in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

EVDOCIA BERSHANSKAYA

The Soviet pilot and participant of the Great Patriotic War became famous for the fact that during the war at the age of 28 she headed the 588th women's 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 sorties. His attacks were so successful and accurate that the Germans called 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 made 28 sorties to destroy the enemy's manpower and equipment and became the only woman among women who was awarded the military leadership 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 Committee of Soviet Women and the Committee of War Veterans.

Photo: airaces. ru

IRINA SEBROVA

The commander of the flight of the famous "Night Witches", the 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 Frunzensky Aero Club in Moscow, having graduated several groups of cadets in two years of work. In 1942, already a fairly experienced pilot, Sebrova graduated from courses at the military aviation school of pilots, after which she was sent to the front. In 1944, the pilot became the flight commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, having made the largest number of sorties in the regiment - 1004, including 825 night combat missions to bombard enemy forces, inflicting great damage on him in manpower and equipment. She distinguished herself in battles during the breakthrough of the enemy's 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 award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. After the war, the pilot worked at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Photo: airaces. ru

VALERY KHOMYAKOVA

Valeria Khomyakova was born and raised in Moscow. Like most female pilots, Khomyakova came to aviation after graduating from the flying club, where she became an instructor pilot. As one of the best students she was always singled out for air parades and assigned to her the most important program numbers. After the start of the war, Khomyakova volunteered for the front in the Air Force, and soon she, who had excellent piloting technique, was enlisted in the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Khomyakova was the first female pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft 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 aircraft.

Photo: airaces. ru

LYDIA LITVYAK

Hero of the Soviet Union, fighter pilot, air flight commander, guard junior lieutenant Lydia Litvyak was born in 1921 in Moscow and at the age of 14 she entered the flying club, and at the age of 15 she performed her first independent flight. Then she studied at the courses of geologists, participated in the expedition to the Far North. After graduating from the Kherson pilot school, she became one of the best instructors of the Kalinin flying club. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she managed to graduate 45 cadets. At the beginning of the war, having learned that the famous pilot Marina Raskova was recruiting female air regiments, Litvyak set out to get an appointment to her air group. Having ascribed 100 hours to the available flight time, the pilot was assigned.

Photo: airaces. ru

Litvyak made her first sorties as part of the 586th Women's Fighter Aviation Regiment in the spring of 1942 in the sky of Saratov, covering the Volga from enemy air raids. From April 15 to September 10, 1942, she flew 35 sorties to patrol and escort transport aircraft with important cargo. Litvyak became the most productive female aviator of the Second World War, having made about 150 sorties, personally shot down 6 aircraft and 1 observation balloon in air battles, and destroyed 6 more enemy aircraft in a group with comrades. In 1943, Litvyak was presented with 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, a white lily was painted on the hood of Lydia's plane at her request, and Litvyak received the nickname “The White Lily of Stalingrad”, later “Lilia” became the pilot's radio call sign.
In April 1943, the popular Ogonyok magazine placed on the cover a photo of Lydia Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova with the explanation: “These brave girls shot down 12 enemy aircraft.”
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, Shakhtyorsky district. By the decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, the pilot was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The first of the women - Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years was the 18-year-old partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. She was awarded the highest degree of distinction by a decree of February 16, 1942 (posthumously). And in total for their exploits during the Great Patriotic War, 90 women became Heroes of the Soviet Union, more than half of them were awarded the title posthumously.
Sad statistics: out of 27 partisans and underground fighters, 22 were awarded posthumously, out of 16 representatives of the ground forces - 13 were awarded posthumously. It is worth noting that 30 people found awards after the war. So, by a decree of May 15, 1946, six female pilots of the 46th Guards Taman Aviation Regiment received the "Golden Stars" of Heroes, and by the 20th anniversary of the Victory, 14 women were awarded at once, however, 12 of them were posthumous.

The only foreigner among the Heroes is a rifleman of a company of submachine gunners of the 1st Polish Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko - Anela Kzhivon died on October 12, 1943, rescuing wounded soldiers. She died in the fire. On November 11, 1943, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero.
Among the Heroes - Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The most productive female sniper - 309 killed (including 36 snipers).
For the last time in the history of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to women on May 5, 1990. Ekaterina Demina (Mikhailova), a former medical instructor of the 369th separate battalion of the Marine Corps, was awarded the Golden Star. Heroes (posthumously) were two pilots - Ekaterina Zelenko and Lydia Litvyak. Senior Lieutenant Zelenko on September 12, 1941 on his Su-2 bomber rammed a German Me-109 fighter. Zelenko died, destroying an enemy plane. It was the only female ram in aviation history. Junior Lieutenant Litvyak is the most productive female fighter who personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft and died in an air battle on August 1, 1943.

Hero of the Soviet Union Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak. The most productive female fighter of the Second World War. On account of her 11 shot down enemy aircraft.

Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The most productive female sniper - 309 killed (including 36 snipers).

Saved by

For the first time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to women by a decree of November 2, 1938. The pilots Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova were awarded for a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East on a Rodina plane.

On the morning of September 24, 1938, the country's famous pilots Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova took off on a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East on a twin-engined plane "Rodina". From the first hours of the flight, the plane began to struggle with the elements: after takeoff, the car entered the cloud, on the way to Novosibirsk, icing began at the plane, at an altitude of 6500 meters, the turbulence that began forced the plane to be raised even higher, to an altitude of 7450 meters. The crew had to work in oxygen masks and in severe frost.

Outside Krasnoyarsk, the Rodina radio station fell silent. According to the flight schedule over Baikal, the course had to be changed in order to reach the Trans-Siberian Railway. But, not seeing the terrain and not hearing the radio beacons, the plane's crew risked crossing the Chinese border. The commander makes a decision - only forward! The clouds have moved apart only over the Sea of Okhotsk in the region of the Shantar Islands. Further "Rodina" followed to the south, to the nearest airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. At 10 o'clock Moscow time on September 25, the lakes of the Amgun River appeared below, and immediately a red light flashed on the dashboard - fuel was running out, and in the breaking of the clouds - taiga. Soon the motors began to stall. The plane had to land, we were able to land in the swamp. He stayed in the air for 26 hours and 29 minutes. The search route for the pilots was determined by the last direction finding of Raskova, taken by the Chita radio station.

A rescue operation immediately began, over 50 aircraft, hundreds of foot detachments, pathfinders on horses and deer, fishermen on boats and boats were mobilized for the search. The plane was found on October 3 by the crew of the R-5 reconnaissance biplane, headed by Commander M. Sakharov. On October 6, at about 11 o'clock in the morning, a detachment of rescuers and pilots, leaving the plane until frost in the swamp, moved to the Amgun River, through the village of Kerb to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and then to Khabarovsk. From Khabarovsk to Moscow followed a special train, entwined with flowers, accompanied by the thunder of orchestras. For the performance of this flight and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on November 2, 1938, with the award of the Order of Lenin.

Unfortunately, two of them soon died in plane crashes. Polina Osipenko - a year later, and Marina Raskova in 1943, during a flight to the front at the head of the world's first female aviation regiment formed by her. During the war, Valentina Grizodubova commanded the 101st Long-Range Aviation Regiment. On January 16, 1986, the only female Hero of the Soviet Union, she was also awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War

The first of the women - Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years was the 18-year-old partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. She was awarded the highest degree of distinction by a decree of February 16, 1942 (posthumously). And in total for their exploits during the Great Patriotic War, 90 women became Heroes of the Soviet Union, more than half of them were awarded the title posthumously.

Sad statistics: out of 27 partisans and underground fighters, 22 were awarded posthumously, out of 16 representatives of the ground forces - 13 were awarded posthumously. It is worth noting that 30 people found awards after the war. So, by a decree of May 15, 1946, six female pilots of the 46th Guards Taman Aviation Regiment received the "Golden Stars" of Heroes, and by the 20th anniversary of the Victory, 14 women were awarded at once, however, 12 of them were posthumous.

The only foreigner among the Heroes is a rifleman of a company of submachine gunners of the 1st Polish Infantry Division. T. Kosciuszko - Anela Kzhivon died on October 12, 1943, saving wounded soldiers. On November 11, 1943, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero.

Among the Heroes - Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The most productive female sniper - 309 killed (including 36 snipers).

For the last time in the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to women on May 5, 1990. Ekaterina Demina (Mikhailova), a former medical instructor of the 369th separate battalion of the Marine Corps, was awarded the Golden Star. Heroes (posthumously) were two pilots - Ekaterina Zelenko and Lydia Litvyak. Senior Lieutenant Zelenko on September 12, 1941 on his Su-2 bomber rammed a German Me-109 fighter. Zelenko died, destroying an enemy plane. It was the only female ram in aviation history. Junior Lieutenant Litvyak is the most productive female fighter who personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft and died in an air battle on August 1, 1943.

Hero of the Soviet Union Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak. The most productive female fighter of the Second World War. On account of her 11 shot down enemy aircraft.

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya, a monument near the Moscow school number 201.

Women Heroes of the Soviet Union and Cavaliers of the Order of Glory

Alexandrova Z.
Anderman L.
Andrianova M.
Aronova R.E.
Bazhenova L.
Baida. M.K.
Baramzina T.N.
Batrakova (Demidova) M.S.
Belik V.L.
Belkina N.
Biseniek. A.A.
Bogomolova M.
Bondarenko O.
Borovichenko M.
Bredikhina L.
K.
Vasina S.
Volkova N.T.
Volkova-Muzyleva M.
Ganieva Z.
Gasheva R.S.
Gelman P.V.
Gnarovskaya V.O.
Gnilitskaya N.T.
Golubeva O.
Grechishkina M.
Grizodubova V.S.
Gromova U.M.
Dzhunkovskaya G.I.
Dobroselskaya V.
Dolina M.I.
Dyachenko D.G.
Erofeeva N.
Zhigulenko E.A.
Zenkova E.S.
A. L. Zubkova
Zubkova L.
Kabanova E.
Kamenskikh M.
Kashcheeva V.S.
A.
Kislyak M.T.
Kovaleva A.
Kovshova N.
N.V. Kovshova
Kolesova E.F.
Konstantinova K.S.
Konstantinova T.F.

Kopylova E.
Kosmodemyanskaya Z.A.
T.I. Kostyrina
A.
Kravets L.S.
Kravtsova-Meklin N.F.
Kulman H.A.
Kurlyankina E.
I.N. Levchenko
Lisitsyna A.M.
Litvinova L.N.
Litishenko M.
Lobkovskaya N.
Lyapina A.
Magadze I.
Mazanik E.G.
Makarova T.P.
Malysheva N.
Malgina V.G.
Mametova M.Sh.
Mareseva Z.I.
Marinenko T.S.
Maslovskaya A.I.
Melent'eva M.V.
Melnikayte M.Yu.
Menshakova E.
Mikheeva A.
Mishanina-Apokina A.
Moldagulova A.
A.K. Moldogulova
A.A. Morozova
Morozova E.
K.I. Nazarova
T.
Nedilko M.
Nikandrova A.A.
Nikishina T.
Nikolaeva-Tereshkova V.V.
Nikulina E.A.
Nosal E.I.
Oktyabrskaya M.V.
Onilova N.A.
Orlova-Rogozina V.G.
Osipenko P.D.
Osipova M.B.
Pavlichenko L.

Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The most productive female sniper - 309 killed (including 36 snipers).

Parfenova Z.I.
Pasko E.B.
Petrova A.V.
Petrova G.K.
Petrova P.
Polivanova M.
Polivanova M.S.
Popova N.V.
Portnova Z.M.
Pushina F.A.
Raskova M.M.
Raspopova N.M.
Ratushnaya L.S.
Rudneva E.M.
Ryabova E.V.
Salnikova E.
Samsonova Z.A.
Sanfirova O.A.
Safronova V.I.
Sebrova I.F.
Smirnova M.V.
Solntseva N.
Nightingale N.
Sorokina L.
Sosnina N.I.
Soshnikova A.
Stempkovskaya E.K.
Syrtlanova M.G.
Sysolova R.
Teplyakova M.
Timofeeva L.
Timofeeva-Egorova A.A.
Tokareva V.
Troyan N.V.
Tusnolobova-Marchenko Z.M.
Ubiyvovk E.K.
Ulyanenko N.Z.
Fedutenko N.N.
Fomicheva K.Ya.
Khlopotkina Z.
Khoreva V.
Khoruzhaya V.Z.
Khudyakova A.F.
Tsukanova M.
Chaikina E.I.
Chechneva M.P.
Shapran N.
Shebalina A.
Shevtsova L.G.
Shkarletova M.S.
Shcherbachenko M.Z.
Yaremenko M.

Monument to Ekaterina Zelenko.

Women - heroes of the Great Patriotic War: who are they? You don't need to guess for a long time to answer this question. There is no such kind and kind of troops in which they would not fight ...

Women - heroes of the Great Patriotic War: who are they? You don't need to guess for a long time to answer this question. There is no such kind and kind of troops in which Soviet women would not have fought. And on land, and at sea, and in the air - everywhere one could find warriors who took up arms to defend their homeland. Names such as Tatyana Markus, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Marina Raskova, Lyudmila Pavlichenko are probably known to everyone in our country and the former Soviet republics.

Official statistics say that 490,000 women were drafted into the army and navy. Three aviation regiments were formed entirely of women - the 46th Guards Night Bomber, the 125th Guards Bomber and the 586th Air Defense Fighter Regiment, as well as a separate female company of sailors, a separate female volunteer rifle brigade, a central female sniper school and a separate female reserve rifle regiment. But in reality, the number of women who fought was, of course, much higher. Indeed, 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 the deeds performed during the Great Patriotic War, and four more became full holders of the Order of Glory. And women - holders of other orders and medals, hundreds of thousands.

Heroine pilots

Most of the women who deserved the highest rank of the country on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War were among the female pilots. This is easily explained: after all, there were as many as three purely female regiments in the aviation, while such units were almost never encountered in other branches and types of troops. In addition, one of the most difficult tasks fell to the lot of female pilots: the night bombardment on the "heavenly slug" - the U-2 plywood biplane. Is it any wonder that of the 32 female pilots who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 23 are "night witches": this is what German warriors who suffered serious losses from their night raids nicknamed the heroines. In addition, it was women pilots who were the first to receive the highest rank even before the war. In 1938, the crew of the Rodina aircraft - Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova - received the highest award for a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East.

Pilots of the female air regiment.

Out of more than three dozen women - knights of the highest rank, seven received it posthumously. And among them - the first pilot who rammed a German plane, pilot of the Su-2 bomber Yekaterina Zelenko. By the way, she was awarded this title many years after the end of the war - in 1990. One of four women, full holders of the Order of Glory, also served in aviation: the air gunner of the reconnaissance air regiment Nadezhda Zhurkina.

Underground heroines

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

Three Soviet female partisans, 1943

Medical heroines

Of the nearly 700,000 doctors in the active army, about 300,000 were women. And among the 2 million nurses and nurses, the ratio was even higher: almost 1.3 million! At the same time, very many medical girls were constantly at the forefront, sharing with the male soldiers all the hardships of the war. Therefore, it is natural that in the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union, female doctors are in third place: 15 people. And one of the full holders of the Order of Glory is also a medic. But the ratio between the living and those who were awarded the highest rank posthumously is also indicative: 7 out of 15 heroines did not live to see their moment of glory. As, for example, the medical instructor of the 355th separate battalion of the marines of the Pacific Fleet sailor Maria Tsukanova. One of the twenty-five thousand girls who responded to the order to call 25,000 women 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 - it happened on August 15, 1945 ...

The orderly is bandaging the wounded.

Heroine foot soldiers

Oath.

It would seem that even during the war years, the woman and the infantry were difficult to match. It's one thing - pilots or doctors, but infantrymen, workhorses of war, people who, in fact, always and everywhere begin and end any battle and at the same time endure all the hardships of military life ... Nevertheless, women served in the infantry who took the risk not only to share the difficulties of infantry life with men, but also to master hand weapons, which required a lot of courage and skill from them. Among the female infantrymen there are six Heroes of the Soviet Union, five of them received this title posthumously. However, the ratio will be the same for male infantrymen. One of the full holders of the Order of Glory also served in the infantry. It is noteworthy that among the heroines-infantrymen there is the first woman from Kazakhstan to deserve such a high rank: machine gunner Manshuk Mametova. During the liberation of Nevel, she alone held the dominant height with her machine gun and died without letting the Germans pass.

Sniper heroines

When they say "woman 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 history! But besides Pavlichenko, five more of her combat friends were awarded the highest award for the art of marksmanship, and three of them were posthumously awarded.

Sniper.

One of the full holders of the Order of Glory is foreman Nina Petrova. Her story is unique not only in that she had 122 destroyed enemies, but also in the age of a sniper: she fought when she was 52 years old! Few of the men sought the right to go to the front at that age, and the instructor of the sniper school, behind which was the Winter War of 1939-1940, achieved this. But, alas, she did not live to see Victory: Nina Petrova died in a car accident a week before her, on May 1, 1945.

The women were awarded by a decree of November 2, 1938. The pilots Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova were awarded for the implementation of a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East on a Rodina plane.

On the morning of September 24, 1938, the country's famous pilots Valentina Grizodubova, Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova took off on a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East on a twin-engined plane "Rodina". From the first hours of the flight, the plane began to struggle with the elements: after takeoff, the car entered the cloud, on the way to Novosibirsk, icing began at the plane, at an altitude of 6500 meters, the turbulence that began forced the plane to be raised even higher, to an altitude of 7450 meters. The crew had to work in oxygen masks and in severe frost.

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War

Among the Heroes - Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The most productive female sniper - 309 killed (including 36 snipers).

For the last time in the history of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to women on May 5, 1990. Ekaterina Demina (Mikhailova), a former medical instructor of the 369th separate battalion of the Marine Corps, was awarded the Golden Star. Heroes (posthumously) were two pilots - Ekaterina Zelenko and Lydia Litvyak. Senior Lieutenant Zelenko on September 12, 1941 on his Su-2 bomber rammed a German Me-109 fighter. Zelenko died, destroying an enemy plane. It was the only female ram in aviation history. Junior Lieutenant Litvyak is the most productive female fighter who personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft and died in an air battle on August 1, 1943.

Hero of the Soviet Union Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak. The most productive female fighter of the Second World War. On account of her 11 shot down enemy aircraft.

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya, a monument near the Moscow school number 201.

Women Heroes of the Soviet Union and Cavaliers of the Order of Glory

Hero of the Soviet Union Lyudmila Pavlichenko. The most productive female sniper - 309 killed (including 36 snipers).

Parfenova Z.I.
Pasko E.B.
Petrova A.V.
Petrova G.K.
Petrova P.
Polivanova M.
Polivanova M.S.
Popova N.V.
Portnova Z.M.
F.A. Putin
Raskova M.M.
Raspopova N.M.
Ratushnaya L.S.
Rudneva E.M.
Ryabova E.V.
Salnikova E.
Samsonova Z.A.
Sanfirova O.A.
Safronova V.I.
Sebrova I.F.
Smirnova M.V.
Solntseva N.
Nightingale N.
Sorokina L.
Sosnina N.I.
Soshnikova A.
Stempkovskaya E.K.
Syrtlanova M.G.
Sysolova R.
Teplyakova M.
Timofeeva L.
Timofeeva-Egorova A.A.
Tokareva V.
Troyan N.V.
Tusnolobova-Marchenko Z.M.
Ubiyvovk E.K.
Ulyanenko N.Z.
Fedutenko N.N.
Fomicheva K.Ya.
Khlopotkina Z.
Khoreva V.
Khoruzhaya V.Z.
Khudyakova A.F.
Tsukanova M.
Chaikina E.I.
Chechneva M.P.
Shapran N.
Shebalina A.
Shevtsova L.G.
Shkarletova M.S.
Shcherbachenko M.Z.
Yaremenko M.