Raisa Vasilyevna Belyayeva (Russian: Раиса Васильевна Беляева; 25 December 1912 – 19 July 1943) was one of the first Russian female fighter pilots. She fought alongside Lydia Litvyak and was credited with up to three aerial victories. She died in combat, from causes unknown, in 1943.[1]
Raisa Vasilyevna Belyayeva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Раиса Васильевна Беляева |
| Nickname(s) | Raya |
| Born | 25 December 1912 Kirov, Kirov Oblast |
| Died | 19 July 1943 (aged 30) |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Service |  Soviet Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1941–1943 |
| Unit | 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Early life
editBelyayeva attended a technical institute for tanners in Kirov. After graduation she asked her old friend Olga Yamshchikova, a Leningrad flight instructor, to teach her to fly. Belyayeva soon proved herself an enthusiastic and indefatigable alumna. Before the war, she accumulated more than a 1,000 hours flight time and a hundred parachute jumps, instructing hundreds of parachutists. She also took part in many airshows over Tushino airfield, near Moscow.[2]
Military career
editShe took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and flew as an escort pilot for Nikita Khrushchev.[3]
Belyaeya died in a crash on 19 July 1943.[3]
References
edit- ^ Milanetti 2011, p. 105-106.
- ^ Milanetti 2011, p. 106.
- ^ a b Pennington, Reina (2003). Amazons to Fighter Pilots - A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women (Volume Two). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 522–523. ISBN 0-313-32708-4.
Bibliography
edit- Cottam, Kazimiera (1998). Women in War and Resistance: Selected Biographies of Soviet Women Soldiers. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co. ISBN 1585101605. OCLC 228063546.
- Milanetti, Gian Piero (2013). Soviet Airwomen of the Great Patriotic War - A pictorial history. Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, Rome, Italy. ISBN 9788875651466.
- Milanetti, Gian Piero (2011). Le Streghe della Notte: La storia non detta delle eroiche ragazze-pilota dell'Unione Sovietica nella Grande Guerra Patriottica (in Italian). Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, Roma, Italia. ISBN 978-88-7565-100-8. https://
- Pennington, Reina (1997). Wings, Women, and War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1554-7.