ofskfe: historicaltimes: WWII — Soviet fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak and a Petlyakov Pe-2. She p
ofskfe: historicaltimes: WWII — Soviet fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak and a Petlyakov Pe-2. She primarily flew a Yakovlev Yak-1. First female fighter ace in history, shooting down 12 German aircraft in 66 missions. She was shot down and killed at the Battle of Kursk in August 1943. via reddit Lydia Litvyak, remembered as the “White Rose of Stalingrad”, is the most famous Soviet female fighter pilot of all time. She was born in Moscow to a Jewish family in 1921. As a little girl, she was fascinated by the adventures of the famous women fliers Valentina Grizzodubova, Polina Osipenko, and Marina Raskova. Her initial attempts to enter military service were thwarted, so she joined Marina Raskova’s all-women regiment. She was then transferred to the 427th Fighter Regiment, which flew Yak-1 fighters. There she mostly flew bomber escorts. Litvyak kept a low profile despite the publishing of her many accomplishments in newspapers. On August 1, 1943, Litvyak’s Yak was shot down by enemy fighters over the Donetsk area of Ukraine, and her remains weren’t uncovered until 1979. She holds the record for most kills by a female fighter pilot in all wars and has left behind an unforgettable mark in the history of Soviet military aviation. Lydia Litvyak was posthumously awarded the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, The Hero of The Soviet Union title, in 1990. -- source link