| Raisa Surnachevskaya | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Раиса Нефедовна Сурначевская |
| Born | 8 August 1922 Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Died | 18 December 2005 (aged 83) Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Service |  Soviet Air Force |
| Years of service | 1941 — 1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards |   |
Raisa Nefedovna Surnachevskaya (Russian: Раиса Нефедовна Сурначевская; 8 August 1922 – 18 December 2005) was a Soviet fighter pilot and squadron commander during World War II, as well as one of the very few pregnant women to have flown in combat. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 she volunteered to join a women's aviation regiment founded by Marina Raskova and underwent training to fly Yakovlev Yak-1 fighters at Engels military Aviation School. She was assigned to the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment for the war; on a mission with Tamara Pamyatnykh she shot down two Junkers Ju 88 bombers while patrolling a railway junction after a formation of 42 bombers approached. After they each shot down two planes and Pamyatnykh attempted to ram a third the formation turned around without dropping their payloads on the railways.
See also
References
- Glancey, Jonathan (2001-12-15). "The very few". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- "Сурначевская Раиса Нефедовна". airaces.narod.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- "Раиса Сурначевская / Raisa Surnachevskaya | Persones.ru". persones.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- Noggle, Anne (1994). A Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 188–191. ISBN 9781585441778.
| Soviet female fighter pilots of World War II | |
|---|---|
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