San Diego Aerospace Museum Event To Honor Russia’s Heroines

It's quite literally something you don't see much at all. Women in the cockpits of World War II fighters -- in combat.

The San Diego Aerospace Museum stages a symposium June 18, 2005 at 1400, featuring five women who served with the Soviet Army Air Regiments during World War II, known by Russians as the Great Patriotic War.

When Germany launched "Operation Barbarossa," the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Soviet Air Force was caught on the ground and nearly annihilated. The Soviet Union formed three air regiments of female combatants at the behest of Marina Raskova. Raskova, Russia’s Amelia Earhart of the time convinced Stalin to allow women to help in the fight and, on October 8, 1941, an order by the People’s Commissariat of Defense was issued for the formation of three female air regiments.

The 586th Air Regiment maintained and flew fighter aircraft such as the Yak-1, Yak-7 and Yak-9. The 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment flew the Petlyakov Pe-2, a complex twin-engine dive-bomber. The female pilots of this aircraft used the services of their navigator/bombardier to assist them in talking off from the airfield by pushing on their backs to keep them far enough ahead in their seat.

The women of the 588th Air Regiment were given the Polikarpov Po-2, an obsolescent open cockpit biplane made of mostly of tube and fabric. Most Po-2 pilots were not issued a parachute until the end of the war and operated without a radio on board. The female Po-2 pilots were assigned the mission of flying night harassment raids against the Germans – sometimes five to 15 missions a night in the brutal Russian winter flying low and slow over their targets while caught in a web of searchlights and flak.

The deadly success of these missions and the fear which permeated the targeted German ground forces led Hitler himself to offer a special medal to anyone who shot down these small biplanes. For the Soviet cause, the female pilots were heroines; to the Germans they were the "Nachthexen" – the "Night Witches."

By the end of WWII, nearly 1,000 Russian women had flown Soviet combat aircraft, ranging from fighters to dive-bombers with valor and bravery. These regiments included female pilots, navigators, mechanics and armament mechanics. Russia’s highest military honor -- Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to hundreds in the Soviet Air Force. The 587th (later the 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment) earned five HSU awards and the 588th Regiment earned 23. However, as historians contend to this day the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which produced at least two fighter aces, has never really received the recognition it is due.

Noted historian, Dr. Kazimiera J. Cottam will moderate the symposium and provide an intriguing detailed historical background. Then, with the assistance of a translator, each Russian air veteran will give her personal account. A question and answer session with audience participation will follow.

After the speaking portion of the event, Dr. Cottam will sign copies of her two books written on the subject available for purchase at the event – Women in War and Resistance and Women in Air War. Also, former Ann Noggle, a former WASP will also sign copies of her book, A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. Both authors will have books available for purchase at the event.

In addition, a silent auction will be held with proceeds benefiting the travel expenses from Russia. Items in the auction will include autographed aircraft models of the Yak-1, Pe-2 and Po-2.

The women scheduled to participate at the symposium are:

46th Guards Bomber Regiment - The 588th Air Regiment was activated in the summer of 1942 and in 1943 was honored by being designated as a Guards regiment. Henceforth, the regiment was officially known as the 46th Taman Guards Bomber Regiment. The regiment was equipped with the Po-2, a Polikarpov open-cockpit biplane made of fabric and wood, fitted with a 100 hp five-cylinder radial engine. The mission of the night bomber regiment was to destroy tactical targets located close to the front lines, such as fuel depots, ground troops bridges and ammunition dumps. The Po-2 was fitted with bomb racks and a light machine gun in the rear cockpit. The crew relied heavily on the dark of night for protection when flying over heavily defended targets.

Nadezhda Vasil’ezna Popova
Po-2 pilot, Squadron Commander
Hero of the Soviet Union
Flew 852 combat missions, shot down several times

586th Air Defense Fighter Regiment - The 586th became operational in April 1942. As a defense regiment, its primary duty was to guard important targets from enemy bombers and to escort aircraft of important persons. The regiment was initially equipped with the Yak-1, a single-seat low-wing aircraft with a 1,100 hp engine. It had a top speed of 400 mph and carried two small caliber machine guns.

Tamara Ustinovna Pamiatnykh
Yak pilot, Squadron Commander
Shot down German bombers
Awarded Soviet Order of the Red Star
Recognized for heroics by the King of England

Ekaterina Kuz’minichna Polunina
Sr. Mechanic, maintaining Yaks during war
now the 586th Regiment historian

The 125th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment - The 587th Bomber Regiment was honored during the war and was renamed the 125th M.M. Raskova Borisov Guards Bomber Regiment. The aircraft flown by this regiment were considered to be the most complex of the Soviet-made aircraft. Less experienced pilots were often afraid of the Petlyakov Pe-2, while more competent pilots were said to love it. The twin-engine, twin-tail dive-bomber was powered by two 1,100 hp engines and could reach a maximum speed of 336 mph at 16,400 feet. It carried a 1,000 kg bomb load and a crew of three: pilot, navigator-bombardier and tail-gunner.

Galina Pavlovna Brok-Bel’tsova
Pe-2 Navigator-Bombardier
Survived Focke-Wulf attack

Anna Ivanovna Kirilina
Armament Mechanic for Pe-2
Maintained and loaded bombs and machine guns

While in San Diego, the airwomen will be treated to the hospitality offered by MCAS Miramar during a trip to the base. A unique juxtaposition between countries, wars, technology and cultures will prove to be a very interesting day for all parties.

FMI: www.aerospacemuseum.org