Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941–45When the Great Patriotic War began many women volunteered for the armed forces, but most of them were rejected. They were steered towards nursing or other supportive roles. Many determined women managed to enter combat by first volunteering as field medics and nurses, then simply picking up a gun during the battle, and charging boldly into the line of fire. In the area of aviation, women also contributed greatly to the war effort. In rickety biplanes, they flew bombing missions at night, without parachutes; their only protection was the darkness. This book tells the stories of the brave women that were awarded the Soviet Union's most prestigious title Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery in protecting their homeland. |
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46th Taman Guards aircraft aviation Baida Batrakova battle Battle of Kursk became a Heroine Belorussia bomb born captured commander Comments the HSU Date awarded Comments daylight missions Dolina enemy female field medic fighter fighting fire Flew Fomicheva German Gnilitskaya Gold Star Medal grenade Guards Capt Guards Maj Guards Night Bomber Guards Sr/Lt HSU title Ivanovna joined Khoruzhaya Kiev killed Kolesova Komsomol Komsomol member Kovshova Levchenko Lydia Litvyak Lyudmila Pavlichenko machine gun nest machine gunner Marina Raskova Mariya Dolina Mariya Melnikaite Mariya Oktyabrskaya Mazanik military missions as navigator missions as pilot Moscow Natalya Nationality Date awarded Night Bomber Regiment night missions Night Witch Nina officer Onilova Order of Lenin partisan Patriotic Patriotic War plane Portnova received the HSU rifle Russian sabotage scout Sevastopol shot sniper soldiers Soviet Union squadron Sr/Sgt Mariya tank driver troops Tusnolobova-Marchenko Ukraine Ukrainian village Vitebsk Wilhelm Kube woman women Yegorova Yekaterina Yelena Zinaida Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya