Lit century. Lydia Litvyak: biography, exploits, historical facts, photos. Love and friendship

Born on August 18, 1921 in Moscow. She graduated from 9 years of high school and 2 years of mechanical engineering college. In 1935 she entered the Kirov Aero Club. From May to July 1939 she worked as a collector at Transuzelproject, during surveys of the Kirov-Kotlas line. In November 1939 she graduated from the flight school of the Tagansky District Aero Club of Moscow, in December 1939 - the training squad of the Aviation Department of the Moscow City Council of the USSR Osoaviakhim, in May 1940 - the Kherson Aviation Instructor School of the USSR Osoaviakhim, since the summer of 1940 - an instructor-pilot of the Proletarsky District flying club of the city of Moscow. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, it trained 45 pilots.

On October 10, 1941, she voluntarily joined the Red Army. From April 15, 1942, she carried out combat work in the air defense system of the city of Saratov (144th IAD, Saratov-Balashov air defense divisional region). Made 35 sorties to patrol and escort transport aircraft. From September 10, 1942 - pilot of the 586th IAP, flew 10 combat missions. In the same month, she was enlisted as a flight commander in the 437th IAP (287th IAD, 8th Air Army, Stalingrad Front).

From October 10, 1942, it was operationally subordinate to the 9th Guards IAP (by that time it had 1 personal and 2 group victories). On January 8, 1943, she was transferred to the 296th IAP (on March 21, 1943, reorganized into the 73rd Guards IAP). In February she won another personal victory and was soon awarded the Order of the Red Star.

On March 22, 1943, she participated in the interception of a group of Ju-88 bombers and shot down one Junkers. In the same battle, she received a shrapnel wound in her leg. After treatment the regiment returned. On May 5, not yet fully strengthened, she flew out to escort a group of bombers. In the ensuing air battle, the Me-109 fighter was shot down. On May 31, the artillery fire spotting balloon was destroyed. For this victory (and 4 personally shot down enemy aircraft) she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. On July 16, she was again wounded by shrapnel in her leg and shoulder. By the end of July 1943, she won 2 more victories (1 individually and 1 in a group).

On August 1, 1943, the flight commander of the 3rd squadron of the 73rd Guards Stalingrad Fighter Aviation Regiment (6th Guards Don Fighter Aviation Division, 8th Air Army, Southern Front) of the Guard, junior lieutenant L.V. Litvyak, did not return from a combat mission . By that time, she had flown 138 combat sorties, in air battles she had shot down 5 enemy aircraft personally and as part of a group, destroyed 1 spotter balloon (according to the materials of the last award sheet, she had completed 150 combat sorties, shot down 6 aircraft personally and 6 in a group, and more 2 was knocked out; this is not confirmed by operational documents).

For her exploits, she was posthumously nominated by the regiment command for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Since there was no exact information about her death yet (there were rumors that she was in captivity), the division command did not approve this idea, limiting itself to the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

The grave of L.V. Litvyak was found only in the summer of 1979 in the village of Dmitrovka, Shakhtarsky district, Donetsk region (buried in a mass grave). After this, the regiment veterans renewed their petition to award her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, the Guard junior lieutenant Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyak was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The Order of Lenin No. 460056 and the Gold Star medal No. 11616 were handed over to the relatives of the deceased Heroine for safekeeping.

Awarded the orders: Lenin (05/05/1990, posthumously), Red Banner (07/22/1943), Patriotic War 1st degree (09/10/1943, posthumously), Red Star (02/17/1943); medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" (1943).

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak is a legendary Soviet pilot during the Great Patriotic War. Born on August 18, 1921 in Moscow. From early childhood I was interested in aviation. At the age of 15, Lydia made the first solo flight in her life. After graduating from a flight school in Kherson, the girl gets a job as an instructor at the Kalinin flying club. During the time spent there, Lydia Litvyak managed to train 45 pilots.

She went to the front in 1942, enlisting in the 586 IAP, which was secretly called the “women’s air regiment.” When registering, I attributed 100 missing flight hours to myself. Lydia Litvyak quickly mastered the Yak-1 fighter and in the summer of 1942 made her first combat mission. At the end of the summer of the same year, the young pilot shot down her first enemy plane - a Yu-88 bomber.

In the early autumn of 1942, Lydia Litvyak was transferred to aviation fighter regiment No. 437. On September 13, in an air battle over Stalingrad, the pilot in the group shot down two planes, the pilot of one of them was a German baron, holder of the Knight's Cross, an ace pilot, there were 30 planes shot down. In the fall of the same year, Lydia Litvyak shot down two more planes.

On the fuselage of Lydia Litvyak's visual memory Yak, a white lily was depicted. Therefore, many called her nothing more than “White Lily of Stalingrad”; soon “Lily” became her radio call sign.
After some time, Lydia Litvyak was transferred to Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment No. 9. In December 1942, she shot down a Luftwaffe Do-217 bomber. At the end of 1942, Lydia Litvyak was transferred to the 296th regiment.

On February 11, 1942, Lydia Litvyak shot down two planes - one personally, and another in a group. In the same month, in one of the air battles, her Yak-1 was shot down, and she had to make an emergency landing on enemy territory. The German military tried to take her prisoner, but one of the Soviet attack aircraft forced them to retreat with heavy machine gun fire. The pilot then landed and took Lydia on board. On February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvyak received her first award - the Order of the Red Star.

On March 22, 1943, during an air battle not far from Rostov-on-Don, another plane was shot down. In the same battle, performing a diversionary maneuver, she entered into an unequal battle with six enemy aircraft. She was seriously injured, but managed to fly to the airfield on her own and land the damaged plane.

Having quickly recovered from her wounds, Lydia Litvyak returned to the front, and already in May 1943 she shot down two enemy planes. At the end of the month, the girl shoots down a German balloon, which served as an artillery spotter, which could not be shot down for a long time due to heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire. For completing the task, Litvyak is awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In the same month, her husband, Hero of the Soviet Union, senior lieutenant Solomatin, who served in the same regiment as a squadron commander, died in battle. In an air battle on June 15, the pilot shoots down two German planes.

At the end of July 1943, there were fierce battles on the Mius River, in which aviation played a leading role. On August 1, 1943, Litvyak makes four combat missions, during which he shoots down 3 Luftwaffe aircraft. The girl did not return from the last flight. The division command prepared documents for the posthumous nomination of the pilot to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, due to the fact that Litvyak was officially considered missing, the procedure was postponed. After the war, the remains of the pilot were discovered. On May 5, 1991, almost 48 years after her death, Lydia Litvyak was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.

Lydia Litvyak, the most successful female fighter of the Second World War, according to the recollections of her colleagues, was a model of femininity and charm. The short, blond girl was very reserved about the enthusiastic looks and words of her fellow soldiers and, what especially impressed the pilots, she did not give preference to anyone. The main thing for her was the fight against fascism, and she devoted all her strength to this.

Liliya Litvyak was born on August 18, 1921 in Moscow. At the age of 14 she entered the flying club, and at 15 she made her first solo flight. Then she took geology courses and took part in an expedition to the Far North.

After graduating from the Kherson pilot school, she became one of the best instructors at the Kalinin flying club. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she managed to “put on the wing” 45 cadets - future air fighters.

From the first days of the war, Litvyak tried to get to the front. And when she found out that she had started forming women’s air regiments, she quickly achieved her goal. By cheating, she managed to add 100 flight hours to her existing flight time and was assigned to Marina Raskova’s air group.

Senior Sergeant Inna Pasportnikova, who was a technician on Lydia Litvyak’s aircraft during the war, recalls:

“In October 1941, when we were still training at a training base near Engels, during formation Lily was ordered to get out of formation. She was in her winter uniform, and we all saw that she had cut off the tops of her fur boots to make a fashionable collar for her flight suit. Our commander Marina Raskova asked when she did this, and Lilya answered: “At night...”

Raskova said that the next night Lilya, instead of sleeping, would rip off the collar and sew the fur back onto the high boots. She was also arrested, put in a separate room, and she really spent the whole night re-sewing the fur.

This was the first time that other women paid attention to Lilya, since no one had even noticed this short, petite girl before. At 20 years old, she was so thin, pretty and very similar to the popular actress Serova in those years. It’s a strange thing: there was a war going on, and this little girl with blond hair was thinking about some kind of fur collar...”

The brave pilot made her first combat missions as part of the 586th Women's Fighter Aviation Regiment in the spring of 1942 in the skies of Saratov, covering the Volga from enemy air raids. From April 15 to September 10, 1942, she carried out 35 combat missions to patrol and escort transport aircraft with important cargo.

On September 10, 1942, as part of the same regiment, she arrived at Stalingrad and in a short period of time made 10 combat missions.

At the end of September, she achieved a transfer as part of a group of female pilots to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which defended the skies of Stalingrad.

The women's fighter unit did not last long. His commander was soon shot down and, after a forced parachute jump, was treated for a long time. Following her, M. Kuznetsova was out of action due to illness. There were only 2 pilots left in the regiment: L. Litvyak and. It was they who achieved the highest results in battles. Soon Lydia shot down another Junkers.

Since October 10, the female couple was operationally subordinate to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. She has already shot down 3 German planes, one of which she personally had when she joined the regiment of Soviet aces. The short but noticeable stay of Lily Litvyak in the regiment, her technician Inna Pasportnikova and Katya Budanova remained in the memory of the Guardsmen for a long time.

In those days, the main task of the girls was to cover the strategically important front-line center (the city of Zhitvur) and escort transport aircraft. Litvyak completed 58 such combat missions.

For excellent performance of command assignments, Lydia was enrolled in the group of “free hunters” for enemy aircraft. Arriving at the forward airfield, she completed 5 combat missions and conducted 5 air battles. The school of the 9th Guards IAP tempered the brave female pilots and improved their combat skills.

Their glory was crowned with new military victories even after their transfer on January 8, 1943 to the 296th Fighter Aviation Regiment. By February, Litvyak had completed 16 combat missions to escort attack aircraft, reconnaissance of enemy troops and cover our ground forces.

On February 5, 1943, under the command of the 296th IAP, Sergeant L.V. Litvyak was presented with her first award - the Order of the Red Star.

On February 11, 1943, regiment commander Lieutenant Colonel N.I. Baranov led four fighters into battle. And again, as in September 1942, Lida won a double victory: she shot down a Ju-88 bomber personally and in a group.

In one of the battles, her Yak was shot down and Lydia made an emergency landing on enemy territory. Jumping out of the cabin, she fired back and ran away from the German soldiers approaching her.

But the distance between them was quickly closing. Now the last cartridge remained in the barrel... And suddenly our attack aircraft flew over the heads of the enemy. Pouring fire on the German soldiers, he forced them to throw themselves to the ground. Then, having lowered the landing gear, he glides next to Lida and stops. Without getting out of the plane, the pilot desperately waved his hands. The girl rushed forward, squeezed onto the pilot’s lap, the plane took off and soon Lida was in the regiment...

On February 23, 1943, Litvyak was awarded 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.”

In the spring, the situation in the air became even more complicated. On April 22, in the skies of Rostov, she participated in the interception of a group of 12 Ju-88s and shot down one of them. The six Me-109s that came to the aid of the Junkers immediately went on the attack. Lydia was the first to notice them and, in order to disrupt the sudden attack, stood alone in their path. The death carousel spun for 15 minutes. With great difficulty, the pilot, who was wounded in the leg, brought the crippled Yak home. Having reported that the task was completed, she lost consciousness...

After a short treatment in the hospital, she went to Moscow, giving a receipt that she would continue her treatment at home for a month. But a week later Lydia returned to the regiment.

On May 5, not yet fully strengthened, Litvyak flew out to accompany the group to the Stalino area. In the target area, our group was attacked by enemy fighters. In the ensuing battle, Lydia attacked and shot down an Me-109 fighter.

In April 1943, the very popular Ogonyok magazine placed on the front page (cover) a photo of fighting friends - Lydia Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova and a short explanation: “12 enemy planes were shot down by these brave girls.”

At the end of May, in the sector of the front where the regiment operated, the Germans effectively used a spotter balloon. Repeated attempts to shoot down this “sausage”, covered by strong anti-aircraft fire and fighters, led to nothing.

Lydia solved this problem. On May 31, having risen into the air, it walked along the front line to the side, then went deeper into the enemy’s rear and approached the balloon from the depths of enemy territory, from the direction of the sun. The short attack lasted less than one minute!... For this brilliant victory, junior lieutenant Litvyak received gratitude from the Commander of the 44th Army.

By that time, the name of Lydia Litvyak was already well known not only in the 8th Air Army. The command allowed Lida to fly for “free hunting.” On the hood of her Yak, Litvyak painted a bright, visible from afar, white lily.

On July 16, 1943, accompanying the Il-2 group to the front line, six of our Yaks began a battle with the enemy. 30 Junkers and 6 Messers tried to strike our troops, but their plan was thwarted. In this battle, Litvyak personally shot down one enemy Ju-88 bomber and knocked out an Me-109 fighter. But her plane was also shot down. Pursued by the enemy all the way to the ground, she managed to land her Yak on the fuselage. The infantrymen watching the battle covered her landing with fire. They were delighted to learn that the girl turned out to be a fearless pilot. Despite minor shrapnel wounds in the leg and shoulder, she categorically refused the demand to go for treatment.

On July 20, 1943, under the command of the 73rd Guards Stalingrad Fighter Aviation Regiment, Guard flight commander Junior Lieutenant L.V. Litvyak was presented with the Order of the Red Banner. By that time, according to the award document, she had completed more than 140 combat missions, shot down 5 enemy aircraft personally and 4 enemy aircraft as part of a group, as well as 1 observation balloon.

On August 1, 1943, flight commander of the 3rd squadron of the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Guard, junior lieutenant L.V. Litvyak did not return from the combat mission.

According to the last award document dated August 8, 1943, Lydia Litvyak flew 150 combat missions. In air battles, she personally shot down 6 enemy aircraft (1 Ju-87, 3 Ju-88, 2 Me-109) and 1 spotter balloon; as part of the group, she shot down 6 more aircraft and knocked out 2. [indicates 4 individual and 3 group victories.]

The brave pilot was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and the Red Star.

Describing her as an air fighter, the former commander of the 273rd IAP, with whom Lida had to fight for some time, Boris Eremin recalled:

“She was a born pilot. She had a special talent as a fighter, she was brave and decisive, inventive and careful. She could see the air."

On that fateful day, she flew 3 combat missions. In one of them, together with a wingman, she shot down an Me-109. On the 4th flight, a group of 9 Yaks, having entered into battle with 30 Ju-88 bombers and 12 Me-109 fighters, began a deadly whirlwind. And now the Junkers, shot down by someone, is already burning, then the Messer is falling apart into pieces. Coming out of the next dive, Lydia saw that the enemy was leaving. Our group also gathered. Pressing close to the top edge of the clouds, the pilots flew home.

Yak-1B L.V. Litvyak is her last machine. 73rd Guards IAP, summer 1943.

Suddenly, a Messer jumped out of the white veil and, before diving back into the clouds, managed to fire a burst at the leader of the 3rd pair with tail number “23”. Lidin’s “Yak” seemed to have failed, but near the ground the pilot apparently tried to level it out... In any case, that’s what Lydia’s wingman in this battle, Alexander Evdokimov, told his comrades. This gave birth to hope that Lida remained alive.

A search for her was urgently organized. However, neither the pilot nor her plane could be found. After the death of Sergeant Evdokimov in one of the battles, who was the only one who knew in which area Lidin “Yak” fell, the official search was stopped.

It was then that pilot Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was posthumously presented by the regiment command to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The front-line newspaper “Red Banner” dated March 7, 1944 wrote about her as a fearless falcon, a pilot who was known to all the soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

Soon one of the previously shot down pilots returned from enemy territory. He reported that, according to local residents, our fighter landed on the road near the village of Marinovka. The pilot turned out to be a girl - blond, short in stature. A car with German officers approached the plane, and the girl left with them...

This is what fighter pilot Dmitry Panteleevich Panov writes in his memoirs:

“Women aviators were a real barbarity. Not only is it not so easy for a woman to go to a small or large need at airfields, as we know - open spaces, but male pilots decide relatively simply. Moreover, there are no amenities provided on airplanes. For the pilots, they even sewed specially cut overalls with a detachable lower part. And our fathers, the commanders, were not at all interested in the monthly cycles, during which a woman should not be allowed anywhere near the plane. This was the actual practice of women participating in flying in peacetime.

It was no better during the war. We suffered a lot of grief, in particular, with Lilya Litvyak, who had to be made a heroine and God forbid not to allow the “Messers” to gobble her up. It was not easy to achieve this if Lilya, judging by her maneuvers in the air, often had little idea where and why she was flying. It ended with Lilya being shot down in the Donetsk area and she jumped out with a parachute. Our pilots, who were captured together with Lilya, said that they saw her driving around the city in a car with German officers...”

Most of the aviators did not believe the rumor and continued to try to find out Lydia’s fate. But the shadow of suspicion had already spread beyond the regiment and reached higher headquarters. The command, showing “caution,” did not approve Litvyak’s nomination for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, limiting it to the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Once, at the moment of revelation, Lydia said to the plane mechanic, her friend: “What I am most afraid of is being missing. Anything but this.” There were good reasons for such concern. Lida's father was arrested and shot as an "enemy of the people" in 1937. The girl understood perfectly well what it meant for her, the daughter of a repressed man, to go missing. No one and nothing will save her good name.

Fate played a cruel joke on her, preparing just such a fate. But they searched for Lydia, searched long and hard. Back in the summer of 1946, the commander of the 73rd Guards IAP, Ivan Zapryagaev, sent several people to the Marinovka area in a car to search for her trace. Unfortunately, Litvyak’s fellow soldiers were literally a few days late. The wreckage of Lidya’s “Yak” has already been destroyed...

In 1968, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper made an attempt to restore the pilot’s honest name. In 1971, young pathfinders from school No. 1 in the city of Krasny Luch joined the search. In the summer of 1979, their search was crowned with success!

While in the area of ​​the Kozhevnya farm, the guys learned that in the summer of 1943 a Soviet fighter crashed on its outskirts. The pilot wounded in the head was a woman. She was buried in the village of Dmitrievka, Shakhtarsky district, in a mass grave. It was Lida, which was confirmed by further investigations.

In July 1988, the name of Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was immortalized at her burial place, and veterans of the regiment in which she fought renewed their petition to award her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. And justice triumphed - almost half a century later, by Decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, this title was awarded to her! The Order of Lenin No. 460056 and the Gold Star medal No. 11616 were transferred for safekeeping to the relatives of the deceased Heroine.

In Moscow, at house No. 14 on Novoslobodskaya Street, where the Heroine lived and from where she went to the front, a memorial plaque was installed. A memorial plaque was also installed at the burial site, in the village of Dmitrievka, Snezhnyansky district, Donetsk region.

List of victories of Lydia Litvyak

Lydia Litvyak - Soviet fighter pilot

Lydia Litvyak - Soviet fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union.
96th birthday.
The famous pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, aviation flight commander, guard junior lieutenant - Lydia Litvyak, possessing a special talent as a fighter and being able to “see the air”, was one of the most successful female pilots of the Second World War, and according to the recollections of her colleagues, she was also a model femininity and charm. Lydia (Lilya) Vladimirovna Litvyak was born on August 18, 1921 in Moscow, in the family of a railway worker. But in 1937, following a false denunciation, her father was arrested and shot as an “enemy of the people.” Lilya carefully concealed this fact in subsequent years. She “fell ill” with the sky early and at the age of 14 she joined a flying club, and a year later she made her first independent flight. But after finishing the seven-year school, she studied at a mechanical engineering college, and then took geology courses and even took part in an expedition to the Far North. But I didn’t forget about aviation...
In 1940, Litvyak graduated from the Kherson Aviation School of Pilot Instructors of Osoaviakhim and got a job at the flying club of the city of Kalinin, where she soon became one of the best instructors and a qualified pilot. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she managed to train 45 cadets - future pilots. And from the first days of the war, she was eager to go to the front.

Having completed advanced training courses for pilots, Lydia joined the active army in the fall of 1941, since in the face of the loss of a large number of career pilots, a decision was made at the state level to form three women's air regiments under the leadership of the legendary pilot M. Raskova. By the way, in order to get into these units, Litvyak attributed 100 missing hours to her flight time and was immediately enrolled in the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP), which participated in the defense of Saratov. Having mastered the Yak-1 fighter, it was as part of this regiment in the skies of Saratov in the spring of 1942 that Lydia carried out her first combat missions, and soon had one group victory to her credit - the downing of a German Ju-88 bomber. In September of the same year, she was transferred to the 437th IAP near Stalingrad and literally immediately, during her second flight as part of this regiment, she shot down two German aircraft (a Ju-88 bomber and an Me-109 fighter), and that was only the beginning... It was then that a white lily was painted on the hood of the Litvyak plane, and the pilot received the nickname “White Lily of Stalingrad,” and “Lily” became her call sign on the radio.

After Stalingrad, Litvyak served in a separate women's unit at the division headquarters, then was transferred to the 9th Guards Odessa IAP - a kind of ace regiment, the so-called. a team of the best pilots, created to gain air superiority, and at the end of 1942 - in the 296th IAP. And everywhere she never ceased to amaze her male colleagues with her skill, successfully conducting air battles and shooting down German planes. And it was “in the sky” that Lydia met her love - fighter pilot Alexei Salomatin, with whom they married in April 1943 during a break between battles. However, the happiness was short-lived - soon her husband died in battle, and then her best friend Ekaterina Budanova. By the way, Litvyak herself was wounded three times during her participation in hostilities, twice made an emergency landing on enemy territory, but always returned to her regiment and to duty. But the war still continued... At the end of July 1943, on the Southern Front - at the line of the Mius River, which closed the road to Donbass, there were heavy battles to break through the German defense. The ground operations of the Red Army units were also supported by Soviet aviation, stubbornly fighting for air superiority. Among the pilots who took part in these battles was Litvyak.

On August 1, 1943, having made three combat sorties in the Donetsk area, she personally shot down 2 enemy aircraft and 1 in the group, and from the fourth flight, the flight commander of the 3rd squadron of the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Guard, junior lieutenant Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, did not return... Her plane was attacked by the enemy, shot down, and was never seen again. The command urgently organized a search for her. But neither the plane nor the pilot herself could be found. As it was later established, Lydia Litvyak died while performing a combat mission in a battle over the Mius Front. She was only 21 years old, but during her short combat career during the war, she managed to become a real legend, showing courage and skill in the air, while shooting down the most aircraft among female pilots. In total, she made 186 combat missions, in which she conducted 69 air battles and won 16 victories (4 in the group), and also shot down a German spotter balloon.

Immediately after her death, the division command prepared the pilot’s nomination for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, since no remains were found, the performance was postponed. In the post-war years, fellow soldiers and enthusiasts continued to search, but only in 1979 it was found and, during further investigation, it was documented that the remains of Lydia Litvyak were buried in a mass grave in the village of Dmitrievka, Shakhtarsky district, Donetsk region.

By Decree of the President of the USSR dated May 5, 1990, Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was finally awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously), the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal were handed over to her relatives for safekeeping, and on October 25, 1993, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, in recognition for her military merits during the Great Patriotic War, she was also awarded the title of Hero of Russia (posthumously). During her lifetime, the pilot was awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Red Banner and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. In Moscow, on the house where Lydia Litvyak lived before the war, a memorial plaque was installed, at the burial site, in the village of Dmitrievka, Donetsk region, a memorial stone was installed, and in the city of Krasny Luch, in the central park, there is a monument to the legendary pilot. https://cont.ws/@user3885/692748

At all times, war was considered the destiny of men. And even more so when it comes to combat operations in the sky. And these days you can only meet representatives of the stronger half of humanity on military fighters. The overloads here are literally prohibitive for a person. And the reaction of these professionals should be almost lightning fast, because the time allotted for making a decision is sometimes measured in fractions of seconds. In addition, the pilot must thoroughly study all the technical characteristics of his machine in order to know what it is capable of in critical situations.

That is why it is quite difficult to imagine that a sweet, fragile blond girl is sitting at the helm of a high-speed fighter. But nevertheless, given the experience of fighting in the Great Patriotic War, this is possible. During that harsh time, any exceptions were not surprising. One of them is fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak. This will be discussed in this article.

Heroic girl

Looking at the black and white photographs of the war years with Lydia Litvyak, we see a miniature fair-haired beauty in them. It would not be difficult for a girl with such appearance to become a popular actress. And then her fate would have turned out completely differently. Social events, glasses of cold champagne, crispy baskets of caviar and photographers for whom she would pose in fur boas and hung with diamonds would be waiting for her. And this would be quite possible, because Lydia Litvyak looked like Valentina Serova, who was considered the “third great blonde” of the Soviet state after Lyubov Orlova and Marina Ladynina.

However, the fate of our heroine turned out completely differently. She had her own list of victories, but not on the stage or on the silver screen. Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak made 168 combat missions during the 8 months of her heroic service in Soviet aviation. At the same time, she fought with enemy fighters 89 times, shot down 11 German aircraft and one spotter balloon. So impressive is the list of victories of the most charming and feminine pilot of the USSR, who defended the country during the Great Patriotic War. And this is when many men, while at the controls of their fighters, during the entire period of combat testing were unable to shoot down a single enemy aircraft or, at best, only one or two.

Ace pilot from the USSR Lida Litvyak achieved several group and dozens of individual victories. The young girl, who looked like a fragile student, had a spectacular and aggressive style of air combat. This allowed her to enter the lists of the elite combat aviation that was part of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Biography

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was born in Moscow on August 18, 1921. Subsequently, she was incredibly proud that her birthday coincided with All-Union Aviation Day. For some reason the girl didn't like her name. That is why everyone at home, as well as close friends, called her Lilya or Liliya. Under this name she subsequently went down in history.

Lydia (Lilia) Litvyak was madly in love with airplanes and the sky. However, in those years this did not surprise anyone. On the contrary, it was quite natural that a simple Soviet girl dreamed not of a career as a movie star, but of OSOAVIAKHIM. After all, the party and government of the USSR sought to attract young people to aviation.

Lydia Litvyak kept pace with her era. She easily and completely consciously exchanged playing with dolls for a flight club, and dresses and high-heeled shoes for a flight helmet and overalls. The girl was not only fascinated by the sky. She sought to master this. That is why, at the age of 14, she became a member of the Central Aero Club. Chkalova. At first, the parents knew nothing about this. But it was impossible to hide the intense interest in such an unusual profession for a woman for a long time. A year later, at the age of 15, the girl took to the sky for the first time on her own.

After graduating from school, Lydia Litvyak entered a geology course, after which she was sent to the Far North and then to the south. Here she returned to flying.

Lydia (Lilia) Litvyak became a cadet at the Kherson Flight School. She graduated from this educational institution successfully. After that, she became an instructor pilot and managed to train 45 cadets before the start of the war with the Nazis. Colleagues said that she had the ability to see air.

Family

Where Lydia Litvyak’s parents are from is not completely known. After the civil war they moved from the village to Moscow. The girl’s mother’s name was Anna Vasilyevna, but history is also silent about who and where she worked. It is only known that the woman was either a dressmaker or worked in a store. The father of pilot Lydia Litvyak is briefly mentioned in all sources, as is her mother. There is only information that his name was Vladimir Leontievich, and his place of work was the railway. In 1937, Lydia Litvyak’s father was arrested on a false denunciation and then shot. Of course, the girl didn’t tell anyone about this. In those years, the status of the daughter of an enemy of the people could radically change her fate. And this was not what the 15-year-old girl, who was literally raving about aviation, wanted at all.

Fateful decision

The biography of pilot Lydia Litvyak developed in such a way that she had to take part in hostilities. After all, her homeland was attacked by an enemy. However, she did not get to the front right away. The Soviet authorities did not want to allow young Komsomol girls into the ranks of the regular troops. They could only be there as nurses. However, life made its own adjustments.

Many girls dreamed of getting to the front line. This required a decision from the Commander-in-Chief himself. She achieved it. This pilot was one of the first three women awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Raskova flew in extreme conditions and set records in the sky. Her qualifications, experience and energy earned her prestige in the air force. Thanks to this, the famous pilot was able to personally ask Stalin for permission to form female combat units. It was useless to resist the brave girls. In addition, the Soviet army suffered huge losses not only on the ground, but also in the air. That is why in October 1941, the formation of three women’s air regiments began at once. From the first days of the war, pilot Lydia Litvyak (her photo is posted below) tried to get to the front.

After she learned that Marina Raskova had begun to form women’s air regiments, she immediately achieved her goal. However, the girl had to cheat. She added 100 hours to her flight time, thanks to which she was enrolled in the fighter regiment under number 586, which was headed by Marina Raskova herself.

Fighting character

An enterprising and energetic pilot appeared in Soviet aviation. Lydia Litvyak was distinguished by a somewhat capricious character. Her penchant for taking risks was first noticed during training, when the women's air regiment was based near Engels. Here one of the planes crashed. In order to get into the air, he needed a spare propeller. However, this part could not be delivered. At this time, flights were prohibited due to a snowstorm. But this did not stop Lydia. She voluntarily, without receiving permission, flew to the scene of the accident. For this I received a reprimand from the head of the aviation school. But Raskova said that she was proud to have such a brave student. Most likely, the experienced pilot saw her own character traits in Litvyak.

But Lida’s problems with discipline sometimes manifested themselves in a completely different area. So, one day she made a fashionable collar for her overalls. To do this, she had to cut the fur off the high boots. In this case, she did not wait for Raskova’s leniency. Lydia had to sew the fur back.

Nevertheless, the girl did not lose her love for various accessories even at the front. She cut scarves using parachute silk and altered balaclavas, which in her skillful hands became more elegant and comfortable. Even while under fire, Lida was not only an excellent fighter, but was also able to remain an attractive girl.

But as for the level of aerobatics, there were no complaints about Litvyak. Together with the other girls, she perfectly withstood the accelerated pace of training, which included daily twelve-hour training. The severity of the preparation was explained quite simply. The pilots would soon have to engage in battle with an enemy who was smart and unforgiving of mistakes. Upon completion of her training, Lydia Litvyak passed the piloting of the “hawk” (Yak aircraft) with flying colors, which allowed her to go to war.

The beginning of a combat biography

Being part of the 586th Air Regiment, Lydia Litvyak (photo below) first took to the skies in the spring of 1942. At this time, Soviet troops were fighting in Saratov. The task of our aviation was to protect the Volga from German bombers.

In 1942, pilot Lydia Litvyak made 35 flights from April 15 to September 10, during which she carried out patrols and escorted transport aircraft carrying important cargo.

Battle of Stalingrad

The aviation regiment, which included fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak, was transferred to Stalingrad on September 10, 1942. In a short period of time, the brave girl rose into the sky 10 times. During her second combat flight, which took place on September 13, she was able to open a personal combat account. First, it shot down a Ju-88 bomber. After this, the girl rushed to the rescue of her friend Raya Belyaeva, who had run out of ammunition. Lydia Litvyak took her place in the battle and, as a result of a stubborn duel, destroyed the Me-109. The pilot on this plane was a German baron. By that time, he had already won 30 victories in the sky and was a holder of the Knight's Cross. Being captured and being interrogated, he wanted to see the one who defeated him in the sky. A blue-eyed, fragile, gentle blond girl came to the meeting. The German felt that the Russians were mocking him. But after Lydia, with the help of gestures, showed the details of the battle known only to the two of them, the baron took off the gold watch from his hand and handed it to the girl who had overthrown him from heaven.

On September 27, the brave pilot, being only thirty meters from the Yu-88, was able to hit the enemy vehicle.

And even while participating in combat operations, the pilot allowed herself to misbehave. Having completed a successful combat mission , with fuel in the tank, before landing at her home airfield, she performed aerobatic maneuvers over it. Such jokes were one of her calling cards. The regiment commander did not punish her for such entertainment, because the girl successfully completed combat missions, showing good pressure, tenacity of mind and excellent tactical thinking. After the Battles of Stalingrad, she became an experienced fighter pilot, having been hardened by fire. In addition, on December 22, 1942, the girl was awarded a government award. It was the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad”.

White Lily

The biography of Lydia Litvyak is described in many books. In the same sources you can find interesting stories about the brave pilot. So, according to some statements, after she defeated the German ace, a large white lily was painted on her hood. They also say that some enemy pilots, seeing this flower, avoided battle. They also say that after each battle in which she managed to shoot down an enemy car, Lydia Litvyak painted one white lily on the fuselage of her Yak. The name of her favorite flower became the pilot’s call sign. In addition, many called Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak the White Lily of Stalingrad.

Miraculous Rescue

For the first time, the Germans managed to shoot down Lydia Litvyak’s plane shortly after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. The girl almost died after making an emergency landing. Enemy soldiers immediately rushed towards her. Lydia jumped out of the cabin and began to fire back at the Germans. However, the distance between her and her enemies was steadily shrinking. Litvyak had the last cartridge left in the barrel when the Soviet attack aircraft with whom she was on a mission flew over her. The “Ilys” pinned the Germans down with their fire, and one of them glides not far from the girl and, lowering its landing gear, lands. Lydia quickly climbed into the cockpit with the pilot, and they safely escaped the chase.

New appointment

Fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak - the White Lily of Stalingrad - was transferred to the 437th Aviation Fighter Regiment at the end of September 1942. However, the female link that was part of it did not last long. Its commander, Senior Lieutenant R. Belyaeva, was soon shot down by the Germans, and she had to undergo long-term treatment after a parachute jump. After this, M. Kuznetsova was out of action due to illness. There were only two female pilots left in the regiment. This is L. Litvyak, as well as E. Budanova. They were able to achieve the highest results in the battles. And soon the White Lily of Stalingrad, Lydia Litvyak, shot down another enemy plane. It turned out to be Junkers.

Starting from October 10, the pilots came under the operational subordination of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. Lydia Litvyak already had three destroyed enemy aircraft to her credit. One of them was shot down by her personally from the period when she joined the regiment of Soviet ace pilots.

During this period, the girls had to cover the strategically important front-line center - the city of Zhitvur, and also accompany transport planes. In carrying out this task, Lydia flew 58 combat missions. For her courage and excellent execution of command orders, the girl was enrolled in a group of “free hunters” who monitored enemy planes. While at the forward airfield, Litvyak took to the skies five times and fought the same number of air battles. In the 9th Guards IAP, the girls significantly improved their skills.

New victories

On January 8, 1943, the girl was transferred to the 296th Aviation Fighter Regiment. Already in the same month, Lydia accompanied our attack aircraft 16 times and covered the ground forces of the Soviet army. On February 5, 1943, Sergeant L.V. Litvyak was nominated by the command to the Order of the Red Star.

A new victory awaited Lydia on February 11. On this day, Lieutenant Colonel N. Baranov led four fighters into battle. Litvyak distinguished herself by personally shooting down a Ju-88 bomber, and then, as part of a group, she managed to emerge victorious in a battle with an FW-190 fighter.

Wound

The spring of 1943 was marked by calm on almost the entire front line. However, the pilots continued to fly combat missions, intercepting German aircraft and covering Soviet bombers and attack aircraft.

In April 1943, Lydia was seriously wounded. This happened during a rather difficult battle. On April 22, the brave pilot, being part of a group of Soviet aircraft, intercepted 12 enemy Ju-88s, one of which she managed to shoot down. Here, in the sky above Rostov, she was attacked by the Germans. The enemies managed to damage the girl’s plane and wound her in the leg. After the battle, Lydia barely flew to her home airfield, where she reported on the successfully completed task. After this, the girl lost consciousness, falling from blood loss and pain.

However, Lydia did not stay in the hospital for long. Having recovered a little from the injury, she wrote a note that she would go home to Moscow, where she would continue to receive treatment. However, the relatives did not wait for the girl. A week later, Lydia returned to her regiment.

On May 5, not having fully recovered from her injury, Litvyak made another combat mission. Its task was to escort bombers heading to the Stalino area. Our planes were spotted by enemy fighters and attacked by them. A battle ensued, in which Lydia was able to shoot down an Me-109 fighter.

The only love

In the spring of 1943, a new page was written in the biography of pilot Lydia Litvyak. During this period, fate brought the girl together with Alexei Solomatin. He was also an excellent fighter pilot. Romances often began during the war. The acquaintances were quick, and the feelings were stormy. However, most of these novels, for obvious reasons, were short-lived and had an unhappy ending.

In the spring of 1943, there was a short break in hostilities. It was the calm before the battle near Kursk. And in these few weeks of peace, ordinary human happiness came to Lydia. Solomatin and Litvyak got along well in character. Fellow soldiers noted that they were a wonderful couple. Senior Lieutenant Solomatin was initially the girl’s mentor, and then became her husband. However, the happiness of the young people was short-lived. On May 21, 1943, Alexey died. He, being mortally wounded in battle, was unable to land his plane and died in front of his beloved and everyone who was at the airfield. At her husband's funeral, Lydia swore an oath to avenge his death.

Soon, Litvyak’s best friend, Ekaterina Budanova, also died. The girl, who lost two of her closest people in just a few weeks, was left with only combat skills, an airplane and a desire for revenge.

Continuation of hostilities

After some lull the fighting was resumed. And the ace girl, who was only 21 years old, continued to actively participate in them.

At the end of May, in the sector of the front where her regiment operated, the Germans very effectively used a spotter balloon. This “sausage” was covered by fighters and anti-aircraft fire, which repelled all attempts to destroy it. Lydia managed to solve this problem. The girl took off on May 31 and, walking along the front line, went deeper into the territory occupied by the enemy. She attacked the balloon from the rear of the enemy, approaching it from the direction of the sun. Litvyak's attack lasted less than a minute. The pilot’s brilliant victory was marked with gratitude from the Commander of the 44th Army.

Summer fights

July 16, 1943 Lydia Litvyak was on her next combat mission. There were six Soviet Yaks in the sky. They got involved in a battle with 30 Junkers and 6 Messerschmitts, which were trying to strike at the location of our troops. But Soviet fighter pilots thwarted the enemy's plan. In this battle, Lydia Litvyak shot down a Ju-88. It also shot down an Me-109 fighter. However, the Germans also knocked out Lydia’s Yak. The fearless girl, pursued by the enemy, managed to land the plane on the ground. Soviet infantrymen watching the battle helped her break away from the German pilots. Lydia was slightly wounded in the shoulder and leg, but she categorically refused hospitalization.

On July 20, 1943, the command nominated junior lieutenant L.V. Litvyak for another award. The heroic girl received the Order of the Red Banner. By this time, her service record included 140 combat missions and 9 aircraft shot down, 5 of which she destroyed personally and 4 as part of a group. An observation balloon was also mentioned here.

Last Stand

In the summer of 1943, Soviet troops tried to break through the enemy’s defenses, entrenched on the banks of the Mius River. This was necessary for the liberation of Donbass. Particularly heavy fighting took place from the end of July to the beginning of August. They involved both ground and air forces.

On August 1, Lydia Litvyak took to the skies 4 times. During these sorties, she shot down 3 enemy aircraft, two personally, and one while part of a group. Three times she returned to her home airfield. The girl did not return from her fourth combat mission.

It is quite possible that the emotional stress of a hard day or physical fatigue contributed to what happened. Or maybe the weapon simply failed? But be that as it may, the pilots were already returning to their home airfield when they were attacked by eight German fighters. A battle ensued, during which our pilots lost sight of each other, finding themselves in the clouds. As one of them later recalled, everything happened suddenly. A Messer emerged from the white veil of cloud and fired a burst at our Yak with tail number “22”. The plane immediately seemed to fail. Apparently, near the ground, Lydia tried to level it.

Our fighters did not see any flashes either in the sky or on the ground. This is what gave them hope that the girl remained alive.

On the same day, German fighter pilot Hans-Jörg Merkle also went missing. However, there was no information about who shot down this ace. There is a possibility that his death was Lydia Litvyak's parting blow.

Both planes disappeared near Shakhtersk, near the village of Dmitrovka. There is a version that Lydia went on the attack purposefully, eager to avenge the death of her husband and friend. How everything really happened is not known for certain. However, such an act was quite in the spirit of this girl.

Two weeks later, Lydia Litvyak would have turned 22 years old. Afterwards, her relatives said that in one of her letters she told them about a dream in which her husband, standing on the opposite bank of a fast river, called her. This indicated that the girl foresaw her death.

But fellow soldiers, who had not lost hope of seeing the pilot alive, immediately organized a search for her. However, they were never able to find Lydia. And after Sergeant Evdokimov, the only one who knew the crash sector of her Yak, was killed in one of the battles, the official search was stopped. It was then that the regiment command posthumously nominated fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, the posthumous award did not happen. The fact is that soon the previously shot down pilot returned from the territory occupied by enemy troops. According to him, local residents told him that they saw a Soviet fighter land near the village of Marinovka. A short, blond girl got out and got into a car with German officers that pulled up to the plane. However, the aviators did not believe such a story, continuing to find out the fate of Lydia. Nevertheless, rumors about the girl’s betrayal reached higher headquarters. And here the command showed caution. It did not approve Litvyak’s nomination to the highest rank of the country, but limited itself to the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

However, they continued to search for Lydia. In the summer of 1946, Ivan Zapryagaev, being the commander of the 73rd IAP, sent several people to the village of Marinovka. However, the girl’s fellow soldiers never managed to find out anything about her fate.

In 1971, the search for the brave pilot was resumed by young trackers from the city of Krasny Luch. And only in 1979 they finally found traces of Lydia Litvyak. Residents of the Kozhevnya farm told the children that in the summer of 1943, our fighter plane crashed not far from it. The pilot, who was a woman, was shot in the head. She was buried in a mass grave. This pilot turned out to be Lydia Litvyak. This was confirmed upon further investigation. The grave of Lydia Litvyak is located in the Shakhtarsky district, in the village of Dmitrovka. Here the brave pilot is buried along with other unknown fighters.

In 1988, a monument to Lydia Litvyak was erected in this place. Veterans of the regiment in which the brave pilot served asked to renew the petition to posthumously award her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Years later, justice prevailed. In May 1990, the President of the USSR signed a Decree according to which Lydia Litvyak became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Memory

The name of Lydia Litvyak can be found in the Guinness Book of Records. She was listed here as the female pilot who achieved the greatest number of victories in her air combat. In addition, a monument to the brave pilot was erected in the central square of the city of Krasny Luch. It is located opposite gymnasium No. 1, which bears her name.

You can find the name of Lydia Litvyak in “Storm Witches”. This is an anime that tells the viewer about the fight against robotic machines that are trying to take over our planet. It is quite difficult to destroy such an enemy. After all, any deadly weapon, fast missiles, or even innovative technologies are powerless against robots. This is what allows insensitive and insidious machines to win victory after victory. Only girls endowed with magical powers and using a vehicle that is a kind of hybrid of a combat aircraft and a witch’s stupa can fight them. One of these girls is Sani Litvyak.

Anyone who wants to get acquainted with the biography of the heroic pilot is recommended to watch a documentary about her. It is called “Roads of Memory” and was directed by E. Andrikanis. In addition, the film “Lilya” is dedicated to the brave pilot. He appeared first in the documentary series “The Beautiful Regiment”. It was filmed in 2014 by director A. Kapkov.

In 2013, viewers were presented with the series “Fighters.” This is the work of director A. Muradov. One of the heroines of the film is Lydia Litovchenko. The image presented by actress E. Vilkova is collective. Lydia Litvyak served as an example for him. The film turned out to be simply wonderful.