During WWII, the Soviet Union trained women as pilots. They were supposed to be treated like men, so no long hair or make-up. They defied the make-up rule. They had to overcome obstacles like older bombers that required both the pilot and co-pilot to pull back on the control stick to take-off. And once, a mouse was placed in the cockpit of a woman as a prank. The most famous of these women warriors was Lydia Litvyak. She was born on August 18, 1921. She grew up loving airplanes and at age 14 joined a flying club. One year later she soloed. In the late 1930s she was working as a flight instructor training male pilots. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, she joined the military. She was trained by famous aviatrix Marina Raskova. At first, she and other women pilots were assigned to a defensive unit, but after showing their abilities, they were transferred to a male unit at Stalingrad. Her success there led to her becoming known as the “White Rose of Stalingrad”. She was the first Soviet woman to shoot down a German plane. She was motivated by the death of her boy-friend who was shot down by the Germans. He was Aleksey Solomatin. He was credited with 39 kills. She often flew as his wing man. She took revenge for his death by shooting down German planes. She flew a Yak-1. Her biggest win was over a German ace. He survived and was taken captive. Upon meeting her, he refused to believe a woman had shot him down, until she described in detail their dog-fight. She finished with 12 kills. In a throwback to WWII, one of her most famous missions was when she shot down an observation balloon being used to spot for German artillery. She braved intense anti-aircraft fire to flame the balloon. When wounded in the leg in one flight, she refused extended leave so she could continue to fight. She rose to the rank of flight commander. On August 1, 1943, on her fourth sortie of the day, she was surprised by two German fighters and did not return to base. She was 21-years-old. For thirty six years after the war her mechanic Inna Pasportnikona hunted for the wreck. In 1979, he located her gravesite in a village. Confirmation of the remains in 1990 resulted in Mikhail Gorbachev honoring her with the Hero of the Soviet Union award. There are historians that believe she was taken captive by the Germans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Litvyak
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