Raisa Surnachevskaya

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.[1] 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.[2][3][4]

Raisa Surnachevskaya
Native name
Раиса Нефедовна Сурначевская
Born8 August 1922
Moscow, Soviet Union
Died18 December 2005 (aged 83)
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
Years of service1941 — 1945
RankLieutenant
Unit586th Fighter Aviation Regiment
Battles/warsEastern Front of World War II
Awards Order Of The Patriotic War (2nd Class)

See also

References
  1. Glancey, Jonathan (2001-12-15). "The very few". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  2. "Сурначевская Раиса Нефедовна". airaces.narod.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  3. "Раиса Сурначевская / Raisa Surnachevskaya | Persones.ru". persones.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  4. Noggle, Anne (1994). A Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 188–191. ISBN 9781585441778.
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