White lily sky. Fighter pilot Lydia Litvak. Secrets and legends of Liliy Litvak Lydia Litvakia Pilot Insoaviyek Instructor

This story about one of the most prominent female pilots -Lidiy Litvak. The name of this brave flyer, the Hero of the Soviet Union, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Lydia Litvak - the most efficient Soviet female pilot of World War II.

She shot down 14 aircraft and a ball correctioner. At the same time, Lydia Litvak fought for just eight months. During this time, she made 168 combat departures and conducted 89 air fighting. In incomplete 22 years she died in battle

Girl and sky

Lydia Litvaka was born in 1921 in Moscow, on August 18 - to the All-Union Day of Aviation. Punched by childhood by airplanes, the girl was incredibly proud of this fact. At the age of 14, she was discovered in the Central Aero Club named after Chkalov, and after a year he made the first independent flight. She then graduated from the Kherson flight school, became an instructor pilot and before the beginning of the war managed to put 45 cadets on the wing.
And in 1937, Lydia's father was arrested as the "enemy of the people" and was shot.

Fighter pilot

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 19-year-old, in love with the sky Lydia was discovered in volunteer pilots. But only a year later, in September 1942, the girl made his first combat departure as part of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment. It was one of the three female aviation regiments under the leadership of the flyer of Marina Raskoy, who were formed by order of Stalin because of the large loss of personnel pilots.

The flyers of the 586th Fighter Aviamar.
Already less than a year later, on February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvak received one of the first of his combat awards - the Order of the Red Star. By the time the fuselage of her faithful Yak-1 was decorated with eight bright red stars (symbol of eight air victories) and a snow-white lily - a special sign of the pilot, which is allowed "free hunting" - a special kind of combat operation, within which the fighter does not fulfill a specific task Covering bombers, and flies, delaying enemy aircraft and "hunting" on them.

Aerial AC

In one of the first combat departures over Stalingrad, Lydia managed to bring down two enemy aircraft - the JU-88 bomber and the BF-109 fighter. The BF-109 pilot was the German Baron, the Kavitar of the Knight's Cross, won 30 air victories. German was an experienced pilot and beat until the last. But in the end, his car broke out from the bounded Lydia of the projectile and began to fall rapidly. The pilot jumped up with a parachute and was captured. At the interrogation, he asked to show him who he shot down. Seeing a twenty-year-old girl, the German speaker came into rage: "Are you laughing at me? I am a pilot who shot more than thirty aircraft. I am the Kavitar Knight's Cross! It can not be that this girl is shot down! That pilot fought masterfully. " Then Lydia gestures showed well-known battle items to them, he changed in his face, removed the golden clock from his hands and handed them to her, the pilot that won him ...
It was there that Lydia Litvak received the nickname "White Lilia Stalingrad", and "Lilia" became her radio wave.

"Different people"

The colleagues said that the sky literally transformed Litvak: the steering wheel in his hands changed it to be unrecognizable and as if it was divided into two completely different people.
The "earthly" Lydia was silent, modest beauty with blond hair, pigtails and blue eyes. She loved reading books and elegantly dressing: I wore unusual things - a white prehemmer, twisted down to the outside of the skin, chrome boots, a flying collar made of fur cut off from the Unte, and went with a special gait, causing those surrounding a quiet delight. At the same time, a blonde girl very restrainedly treated with enthusiastic views and words of fellow soldiers, and, which was especially impressed by pilots, she did not prefer anyone.
"Heavenly" Lydia was characterized by decisiveness, crewing and endurance: she "knew how to see the air," as her commander said. Her special handwriting in the pilotation was compared with Chkalovsky, admired the skill and were defeated by her desperate courage.

Pilot of the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviamal Junior Lieutenant Lydia Litvak (1921-1943) After a combat departure on the wing of his Yak-1B fighter.
On March 22, in the Rostov-on-Don area, Lydia participated in the interception of a group of German bombers. During the battle, she managed to knock down one aircraft. And then Lydia noticed flying messerschmitts in the sky. Seeing the six BF-109, the girl joined them in an unequal battle, giving his fighting comrades to fulfill the task set before them. During the battle, Lydia was seriously injured, but managed to bring a damaged aircraft on the airfield. Deciding on the successful performance of the task and two shot down enemy aircraft, the girl lost consciousness. According to colleagues, her plane resembled a colander. The pilot attributed an extraordinary luck. Once during the battle, Litvak was hit, and she was forced to land on the territory busy opponent. When German soldiers tried to take a girl in captivity, one of the pilots-attack aircraft came to her to help: he forced the Germans from the machine guns, and he himself landed and took Litvak on board.

Love and friendship

In early 1943, Lydia Litvak was translated into the 296th Fighter Aviation Regiment and was appointed led by the commander of the squadron Alexey Solomatin (the leading pilot should go to the attack, and the slave is to cover it). After a few months of joint flights, in April of the same year, literally in the break between the battles of the couple signed.
All this time, the girl was friends and fought with the pilot of Katte Budanova, with which the fate brought her back at the beginning of a battle way - in the women's soldering place - and no longer separated. Since then, they have always served together and were the best friends.

Fat year

On May 21, 1943, her husband died in the plane crash, which took place right in front of his comrades and Lydia, Her husband, Hero of the Soviet Union Alexey Solomatin.
And less than a month later, many wounds received and died, not coming into consciousness, the best friend of Lydia Katya Budanova. On July 18, in a battle with German fighters, Litvak and Budanov were shot down. Litvak managed to jumped with a parachute, and Budanov died.
This fateful year became the last and for the White Lily. On August 1, 1943, Litvaka made his last flight. At the end of July, scary battles were walking on the breakthrough of the German defense at the turn of the Mius River, which closed the road to Donbass. Fights on Earth were accompanied by a stubborn struggle for superiority in the air. Lydia Litvaka made four combat departures, during which two opponent aircraft personally hit and another in the group. From the fourth departure, she did not return. Six "Yakov" entered into battle with a group of 30 bombers JU-88 and 12 BF-109 fighters, a deadly cheer was started. Plane Lydia was shot down by a German fighter ... In two weeks, Lydia Litvak was to be filled 22 years.
Her searches were urgently organized. However, neither the pilots, nor her plane favored. Lydia Litvaka posthumously was represented by the command of the regiment by the Hero of the Soviet Union. The front-line newspaper "Red Banner" dated March 7, 1944 wrote about her as a fearless falcon, the pilot, which all the soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Front knew.

Evil joke of fate

However, one of the later pilots returned soon with the enemy territory. He reported that he heard the locals said that once on the road near the village of Marinovka, our fighter sat down. The pilot was a blond girl. A car with German soldiers drove up to the plane, and the girl went with them.
Most aviators have no hearing, but the shadow of suspicion has already been out of the regiment and reached her own headquarters. Command, showing "caution", did not approve the representation of Litvak to the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union, limiting the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.
Somehow, at the time of Revelation, Lydia said his girlfriend: "Most of all I am afraid of the abyss. All anything, but not that. " There were weighty grounds for such anxiety. Father Lida was arrested and shot as an "enemy of the people" in 1937. The girl perfectly understood what it means to her, the daughter of the repressed, the abyss. No one and nothing will save her honest name. The fate played a joke with her, having prepared just such a fate.

Fight, search, find and not surrender

But Lidia was looking for, looking for a long time and stubbornly. Carrying fans organized their own investigations. In 1967, in the city of Red Light Lugansk region, Valentina Vashchenko, Vashchenko, founded the search detachment RVS (military glory scouts). Being in the area of \u200b\u200bKhozhevny farm, the guys found out that the Soviet fighter fell on his outskirts in the summer of 1943. The pilot, wounded in the head, was a girl. She was buried in the village of Dmitrievka of the Shakhtarsky district in a fraternal grave. The study of the remains made it possible to find out that the dead was mortally injured in the frontal part of the head. Further investigation found that it could only be Lydia Litvak. The girl was identified by two white pigtails.
So in 45 years after the death of the flyer, in 1988, a record appeared in the personal case of Lydia Lydia: "Died when performing a combat task." And in 1990, Lydia was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

On August 18, 1921, Lidia Vladimirovna Litvak, Lidiya, Lidia, Fighter-Fighter, was born in Moscow

Lydia Litvak lived short, but bright, heroic, filled with love for homeland and friends life. Her fate, like all Soviet girls and guys, was divided into two periods by the most terrible word - "War".

Girl dreamed of heaven

About childhood Lydia is known a little. However, there are several facts that perhaps predicted her choice to tie their lives with the sky.

Source: Interesnoznat.com.

First of all, it is worth saying that Lydia was born on August 18 - on the day of All-Union Aviation (such a coincidence was such).

Since childhood, she dreamed of aviation and aircraft. At that time, the Soviet Union was a big propaganda of airports and the development of the sky. The country gave a young dreamer such an opportunity. The first time in the sky Lydia has already risen in 14 years. During his studies in the airlocks of Moscow, Kherson and Kalinina, she perfectly mastered the piloting technique. Moreover, she herself became airsointer and prepared over 40 pilots, future air fighters.

Source: Waralbum.ru.

She was very inspired by the example of the first Soviet heroines of the sky Marina Raskoy, and Polina Osipenko. Lydia did not know that she would soon be destined to meet with Marina Obokova, "it will only happen in war and as a subordinate.

War in heaven

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Lydia was trying in every way to get to the front: threatened the thresholds of the military registration and enlistment office, writing letters. She denied all the time. I could not believe the military commissar that a low, fragile and blonde girl would be able to move the harsh front-line conditions.

Source: Pinterest.ru.

In one of the newspapers, she read a short note that Marina Svaloova, her hero, collects a female airlock to beat the enemy. Lydia attributed to himself the missing 100 hours of plaque and was able to persuade the military commissioner of the Cominternovsky RVK of the city of Moscow to take it into the army.

So it began its short but glorious combat path. At first there was a battle study. Lydia in a short time was able to master the Yak-1 fighter, according to veterans, a rather complex aircraft in piloting, especially the models of early modifications.

In 586 "female" JEP, where she fell, there was a first "flying". As Senior Sergeant I. Pollovikov, who was the technician of Lydia Lydia,

"In October 1941, when we still trained at the training base near Engels, during the construction of Lile ordered to fail. She was in winter form, and we all saw that she cut off the top of her fur units to make a fashionable collar for a flying overalls. Our commander Marina Svalova asked when she did, and Lily replied: "At night ..."

Source: Waralbum.ru.

She was even punished on Gaupvatahte. Everyone was surprised how this little girl would fight. But with the first combat departure in August 1942, she in a group with his new girlfriend Katte Budanova sent an enemy bomber "Junkers" JU-88. The shelf was noticed by a young pilot, and its combat account began to grow. It was at that moment that on board his plane Lydia asked to draw white lily. At the same time, the call sign "Lilia-44" was fixed behind it. So bloomed "White Liliya Stalingrad".

The following became the "Messer", and after him another "Bombovoz". Lydia with her friend soon enrolled in the 9th Gwyap, where she continued to fight in a pair with Katya Budanova.

Source: Soviet-aces.ru.

On the day of the Red Army on February 23, 1943, Lydia receives the first award - the Order of the Red Star. And to May became the cavalier of the Order of the Red Banner.

Our heroine was wounded twice. Once with a ridiculous foot managed to plant the car at the airfield. And in two months was again in the shelf. Another time on a knockdown, Yak landed on the enemy territory. From there, it was taken by combat martal carriers on their IL-2. The skill and luck of this fragile girl were known to the whole front.

Disappeared, but not forgotten

In the regiment, Lydia behaved modestly, did not respond to the courtship of men. All due to the fact that she was in love, and then married her only. The chosen was Captain Alexey Solomatin, also a fighter.

Lydia's husband - Captain Alexey Solomatin

Lydia Litvyak - The most efficient fighter woman fighter of World War II, whose record for victories obsessed in the air is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. On a personal account of the Hero of the Soviet Union Lydia Litvak, 12 shot down enemy aircraft, and she stuck in the Soviet land as part of the group, that is, with the help of his fellow pilots. In this case, we are talking about confirmed victories. In reality, she shot down a couple of airplanes. Total: 18 defeated invaders and another aerostat - an artillery fire correction. At the same time, Lydia Litvak fought only one year. During this time, she made 168 combat departures and conducted 89 air bonds. In his incomplete 22 years when the release of the Donbass, she disappeared ...

About Lydia Litvak is written a lot of articles and removed several documentaries. They describe the entire combat path of the heroic pilot: where and under what circumstances she punishable enemies, as cities and villages knocked "Messers" and "Junkers", for what feats received awards. I will not duplicate these facts, but I will tell you several stories from the short, but very bright life of the blonde beauties Lida Litvak. Simple "human" stories that seemed to me the most interesting.

I will begin with an amazing coincidence - Lida, which all homemade and close friends called Lily, was born on August 18, 1921 - to the All-Union Day of Aviation. She was always incredibly proud of this fact. The girl was insanely in love with the sky and planes. At the age of 14, she was discovered in the Central Aeroclub of the name of Chkalov, and already in the 15th committed its first independent flight. After Litvyak graduated from the Kherson flying school, she became a pilot-instructor and before the beginning of the war managed to put 45 cadets on the wing. You just think about it: Miniature nineteen-year-old beauty prepared 45 military pilots for the country!

When the war began, the Soviet command decided to form three female soldiers from women volunteers under the leadership of the legendary pilot Marina Raskova .

And Lydia Litvak attached every effort to get into the new part. By the way, to be enrolled in the 586th fighter airlock, Litvak attributed to his raid 100 missing hours. That is, she made a serious fellowship in the name of the Great Goal - for the meaning of the invaders from the territory of the Motherland.

Lydia successfully mastered the Yak-1 fighter and in the first of his battle in the sky over Saratov as part of the group knocked his first enemy bomber aircraft - "Junkers JU-88". But during the second combat departure over Stalingrad, the young pilot made an incredible - she hit two aircraft at once: Junkers Ju-88 bombarder and Messerschmitt BF.109 fighter. Moreover, I did it, having exhaled from the trouble my girlfriend, paradise Belyaev, who ended the ammunition. Two victories - in one battle! Yes, and during your second (just the second!) In the account of the departure! You know, not every Soviet male pilot could put in the fall of 1942 by such an achievement. That is, the lack of combat experience in Litvaka completely overlapped by amazing mastery. And luck, probably, too.

Some sources report that the German pilot of a shot down ME-109, which landed Lydia, turned out to be a baron that won 30 air victories. Captured Baron during the interrogation wished to meet his winner. Blonde, fragile, gentle with appearance came to him at the meeting. This simply cracked the Baron. He considered that the Russians wanted to mock him! Former German celever came into rage and exclaimed: "You are laughing at me!? I am a pilot who shot down more than thirty aircraft. I am the Kavitar Knight's Cross! It can not be that this girl is shot down! That pilot fought masterfully! ".

But when Lydia gestures showed well-known battle parts by them, the Baron changed in his face, removed the golden clock and handed them to her, a girl who overthrew him from heaven.

Even in war, a woman wants to remain a woman. About this in the memoirs of colleagues Litvyak there is one funny memory. Once Lydia came out for a general construction with a chic and unusual fur collar on a flying jacket. It was not the charter. And then everyone suddenly understood where the fur came from - Lydia cut him off his units and decorated the collar them. The commander Marina Svalova noticed this female "stuff" and ordered Litvak to alter everything back. And that all night, instead of sleep, being under arrest, returned the Unit and the jacket is a statutory look.

According to the memories of Odnopold, Lida loved to dress elegantly. She wore unusual things: a white prehemmer, twisted the fur to the outside of the skin, chrome boots and long scarves, stitched from parachute silk. In the summer, in the cockpit of her fighter there was always a bouquet of wildflowers. After several victories in the sky over Stalingrad, Lydia deserved the right to a personal onboard sign - on the fuselage it "Yaka" appeared drawn white lily. And on the air began to sound new radio wave: either just "Lily" either "White Lilia - 44" . 44 is on the on-board number of its aircraft. And the girl itself often began to call not a lida, but a lily.

A very interesting case happened to her in mid-February 1943.

In one of the battles, her aircraft "Yak-1" was bent, and the pilot made a forced landing on the enemy territory. German infantry soldiers rushed to her and tried to take the lead in captivity. She began to shoot from a pistol. And when Lida had only one cartridge, our attack aircraft flew to the revenue. He drove over the heads of the Nazis, and, having watered them with fire, forced to break into the ground. And then landed next to the White Lillia and took her on board. Well, here is the right ready peculiar squeezing scene for a heroic feature film! Only if you remove it, the viewers will say: - I do not believe! There is no such thing! ...

However, it happens. Still as happens!

In early 1943, Lydia Litvakov was transferred to the 296th Fighter Aviation Regiment and was appointed led by the commander of the squadron Alexey Solomatin. For reference, suddenly someone does not know: the leading pilot must go into the attack, and the slave is to cover it. Love arose between the leading Solomatin and Slave Litvak, and after a few months of joint flights, in April 43rd, in the break between the battles, the couple got married. But front-line family happiness was not long ...

May 21 husband Lida Hero of the Soviet Union Alexey Solomatin died in a plane crash.

And in a month, the best friend of Lida died from multiple injuries - Katia Budanova .

This fateful 1943 year became the last for Lydia Lydia Lydia. At the end of July, scary battles were walking on the breakthrough of the German defense at the turn of the Mius River, which closed the road to Donbass. Fights on Earth were accompanied by a stubborn struggle for superiority in the air.

On August 1, 1943, White Lilia made his last flight. On that day of the Guard, the Junior Lieutenant Lydia Litvak made four combat departures, (especially accentuating: four combat departures!) In which two enemy aircraft and one more in the group personally shot down. From the last fourth departure, she did not return ...

Whether physical fatigue and emotional tension affected, or the weapon refused. In the mad circularity of the deadly carousel of hot air combat, the plane with White Lillia on board was bent, but did not fall immediately, but entered the clouds zone and disappeared ...

Two weeks later, Litvak was to be marked 22 years old.

For a long time, the brave pilot is considered missing. Of course, she was looking for. And immediately after the liberation of Donbass, and after the war. I was looking for a long time and stubbornly. For example, in 1967, in the city of Red Light Lugansk region, the school teacher Valentina Ivanovna Vashchenko founded a search squad called RVS, which deciphered as military glory scouts. Being in the area of \u200b\u200bthe farm Kozhevnya, the reconnaissance guys found out from the locals that the Soviet fighter fell on the outskirts of the farm in the evening of 1943. His pilot, wounded in the head, was a girl. I buried her in the village of Dmitrovka of the Shakhtar district in the brotherly grave. Further investigation found that it could only be Lydia Litvak. White Lily identified two white pigtails.

ONLY 45 years after the death of Letchitsa, in 1988, in the personal case of Lydia Litvak appeared record: "Died when performing combat tasks."

And in 1990 she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

P.S.

A selection of colorized photos about the war. Look - what beautiful faces!

With black and white pictures, a miniature blonde beauty is watching us. With such an appearance, it could well become a popular actress, drinking ice champagne in secular rounds, biting crispy baskets with caviar, to pose with photographers in fur boa and diamonds, with each day augmentation of their filmmaker. Not in vain in Lydia Litvaki saw the external similarity with the "Third Great Blonde of the USSR" Valentina Serovoy (the first, by the way, was the love of Orlov and Marina Ladynina). But our heroine had its own list of victories, and not at the movie screen or theatrical stage. For 8 months of the heroic service of the Guard, the junior lieutenant Litvaka carried out 168 combat departures, took part in 89 air battles, hit 11 enemy aircraft and 1 ball correctioner.

Such an impressive list of the most feminine and charming pilots of the Great Patriotic War ... However, she still decorated the cover of the popular magazine "Spark". In the photo "White Lilius of Stalingrad" (a 21-year-old Lily Litvakov was awarded such a poetic nickname), together with his combat girlfriend, Catherine Budanova, and below the signature: " 12 enemy aircraft shot down these brave girls».

The note on the legendary flyer was published in April 1943, and after 4 months, Lydia disappeared (the evil irony of fate: it happened exactly what she, the daughter of the repressed, was afraid of everything). But first things first.

Lydia Litvak, biography

Future Queen of Fighters Lidia Litvaka was born in Moscow on the day of aviation (a sort of fate signal!) -18 August 1921. Little Lilo - she preferred to be called it that way, - from the very childhood pulled into the sky. However, against the background of universal passion of aviation, this fact hardly looks awesome: on the contrary, it would be strange if the simple Soviet girl dreamed of reigning in the Boudoire "with a sad dump of eyes, with a French book in his hands." " Young people - in Osoaviim!"," Said the cry of the era. So our heroine went up with the times, with ease of whining the game in the dolls on the aviation circle, and heels and dresses - on a jumpsuit and a flying helmet. However, one thing is carried away, but completely different - the most flights. That is why the 14-year-old Lily initially hid his hiking from his parents to the aircraft, but it was simply impossible to hide such violent interest. A year later, the girl had already made his first flight, and then another sign happened, but this time the tragic event is her father, Vladimir Litvyak railwayman, repressed and shot. Lilya, of course, this fact thoroughly hidden: to be a daughter of the enemy of the people - heavy burden, especially for the 15-year-old girl, desperately frowning aviation.

After school, Lida graduated from the courses of geologists and went to the extreme north, and after moving to the south and finally returned to the flights. Litvyak graduated from Kherson Aviation School, after which he worked in a Kalinin club, where 45 pilots prepared independently. " She knew how to see the air"Silent told her.

Fuzzy Solution

"The war is not a female face" - an indisputable thesis, so, however, the Soviet authorities thought. To allow young Komsomolic in the ranks of the regular army, except as in the role of nurses, they clearly did not plan. But the XX century broke the stereotypes. The famous Soviet pilot Marina Svalova sought personally from Stalin permission to form women's combat units. The girls literally rushed to the forefront, and resist the desire of such a number of people was useless, especially since the army carried significant losses in the flight composition. Therefore, in October 1941, it was decided to form three women's airlocks. Lily Litvak, who independently attributing the missing flight hours, filed documents in combat aviation and was enrolled in a 586 fighter regiment, to the very marina of the Obokova.

Corporate handwriting

At first, fragile blonde distinguished himself at all by combat successes, but an unexpected pull to ... fashion accessories. Once Lily cut the Unga and sewed a fur collar on the jacket. The strict crevival was in rabies: instead of sleeping before the teachings, the girl has a whole night masters a fashionable nonsense! For such a small dominance, Lil arrested, and she had to change the fur back. " A strange thing: War went, and this little girl with blond hair thought about some kind of fur collar... "- recalled the colleague Litvyak Inna Porzitovikov. However, isn't Olga Berggolts in his "Forbidden Diary"? "... They also ask us: "How can you live - think about dresses, about performances, because at any moment the noise and whistle can begin, because he is death ..." How to explain that we can, that we just live - and all And do not think about "her" at all.<...>, not because "heroes", and simply because they learned to live in a different way?»

Anyway. Lil at first I remembered the weakness for this maiden.

They say our heroine loved to wear long white scarves from parachute silk and always kept a bouquet of wildflowers in the cabin. Returning from combat missions, the pilot "Drew" in the air of the highest pilot figure, - for such a hooligan scoffing girl, of course, again received reprimands from the bosses, but henceforth it was her corporate hand writing, an integral part of a romantic image. After the first serious victory, her plane decorated Lily. Since then, the flower has become her branded sign and call sign.

Stalingrad success

From April to September 1942, Lily covered the Volga from enemy raids, after which he arrived in Stalingrad. List of Victory Litvak discovered more than bright: first, the girl hit the JU-88 bomber. Then he saved his girlfriend Raisa Belyaev, when the ammunition ended. Lily took her place and after the grueling fight he-109, whose pilot was the German Baron, Kavitar Knight's Cross, AU. It is said that the German was shocked by the fact that his, experienced pilot, shot down some kind of white-making girl! According to some reports, he even handed his golden clock - as a sign of confession, after she shared with him the details of the battle. However, it is quite possible that this is nothing more than fiction.

Unfortunately, the famous female detachment, created by Marina Rabovoy, existed not long. Soon, Lily, together with a battle friend, Catherine Budanova was joined to 437 airlocks, as part of which were some men.

Interrupted flight

The medal for the defense of Stalingrad, the Order of the Red Star, - the merits of the young pilot were assessed. And she finally met her love - also the pilot, of course. In early 1943, Lily's restrained to serve to serve in the regiment, where her mentor, and Solomatin began her spouse, and soon and his spouse. Unfortunately, this beautiful couple was not long together. On May 21, 1943, Alexey crashed in front of his beloved wife and combat comrades. And after two months another tragedy happened: the best friend Lily Katia Budanov died from the wounds. The atmosphere was heating, the fights became all fierce, but it was impossible to retreat. Lily constantly risked. She was wounded several times, but after a week fled from the hospital and again turned out for the helm, contrary to all prohibitions. It seemed that someone would choose the pilot and fate, taking the two closest people, fond of herself, but ... Litvak's life path was also short. On August 1, 1943, knocking down three enemy aircraft, she died.

Restored justice

Lily disappeared. Evil languages \u200b\u200bargued that a miniature blond girl was seen in Marinovka, sad to the car towards the German officers. This version did not receive any official confirmation, but it is easy to guess what a similar rumor turned into a daughter of the enemy of the people. So, with awarding the title Hero of the Soviet Union, it was decided to postpone. We needed years to prove that Lily really died, performing a combat task. For a long 36 years, the search lasted, and only in 1979, the remains of the temples were found in the Donetsk region. After 11 years, Lydia Litvak finally awarded the honored rank of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.

However, evil tongues did not calm down; When there were exposures, memoirs appeared, in which Lilya was not an experienced fighter, but blonde, "often poorly represented, where and why flies." Fortunately, such "memories" was a bit.

One way or another, Lydia Litvak joined the story as the most productive pilot and even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Her "Heavenly Handwriting" is called Chkalovsky, which is the highest assessment of combat talent.

July 27, 2017, 16:10

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvak began during the war years legend. She shot down more enemy aircraft than any other fighter woman in the history of air battles. The Guinness Book of Records as a pilot who has gained the greatest number of victories in air battles.

For his short combat path, she made 186 combat departures, held 69 air fighting, made two forced landings on the territory of the enemy and was able to return to his regiment, she was injured three times, losing close people, but continued to fight. Lydia flew on the Yak-1 fighter and died, having 12 personal confirmed air victories on his military account; 4 aircraft enemy she shot down in a group.

Having won the greatest number of victories in air battles among all Soviet women-Asovs of World War II, Lydia Vladimirovna Litvak began the best woman-ASA in the history of all world aviation.

Lydia Litvak was born in Moscow on August 18, 1921. Lily as a child. 1935

The country then has not yet recovered from the chaos of revolution and civil war. Lydia's father was a railway station. In 1937, he was arrested and shot as an "enemy of the people." This circumstance could hardly damage the girl, so she tried to keep him secret.
Lydia Litvaka very early "fell ill" by heaven. At age 14, she together with adults visits the aircraft, and at the age of 15 he makes his first independent flight. Then Lydia enters the courses of geologists and participates in the expedition to the extreme north. After the end of the Kherson aviation school, instructors becomes one of the best instructors of the Kalininsky aircraft. By the beginning of the Patriotic War, she managed to prepare 45 cadets.

Lily with Brother Yura.1938g.

When in June 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the country took qualified pilots. And Lida became one of thousand volunteers. At first, the command did not assume the use of women as fighters. But gradually, when the loss of personnel pilots began to grow rapidly, the command changed their views. In October 1941, it was decided to form three women's airlocks.

To lead the formation of these regiments was instructed by the hero of the Soviet Union by the flyer Marina Rabovoy. In early 1942, having learned that a female fighter aviation regiment was being formed, Lydia attributed to the 100 missing watches had a raid and was enrolled in the 586th Fighter Regiment. And in June, he made his first combat departure in the sky over Saratov.
In August 1942, having one group victory over Yu-88, Lydia has achieved a transfer to the 268th Fighter Aviation Division. In early September 1942, the best combat velves (including Lydia Litvak with a girlfriend Katte Budanova) sent to the Stalingrad Front in the "Male" 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment for the continued service on La-5 fighters.

On September 13, during his second combat departure, Lily Litvakon hit two aircraft BF109 and Ju 88. Two weeks later, she won his third victory, hitting one more JU 88. Then in a pair with the pilot R. Belyaeva shot down BF109. Soon, Lydia was translated into a separate women's link, organized at the headquarters of the division, and from there in the regiment of ASOs - the 9th Guards Odessa Fighter Aviation Regiment. On February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvakov presented the first combat award - the Order of the Red Star. By that time, 8 air victories were already on her account.

Lydia Litvak was another very young girl - she was barely 21 years old. Young and very romantic: According to memories, Lydia wore long scarves, stitched from parachute silk, and always kept in the cockpit of the fighter biscuit of wild flowers. On the hood of his yak-1, she painted bright white lily.

In March, the situation in the air became much more complicated. On March 22, in the Rostov-on-Don area, Lydia participates in the interception of the JU 88 group. During a long and difficult battle, she managed to knock down one of the enemy bombers. But the Six of BF 109 approached the help of "Junkers" and went into the attack. For more than 15 minutes, the battle continued in which the flyer was wounded and with great difficulty was able to bring a crippled fighter home.
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It was after this fight that she was recognized as a. After treatment in the hospital, the pilot returned to the regiment. And already on May 5, I still didn't fully fix it, I flew to the support of the group of bombers. During the departure, the air battle began, and Lydia knocked down the enemy fighter. And two days later hit another BF109. At the end of May, an aerostat-correctioner of artillery fire appeared on the front of the front, where the regiment acted. Repeated attempts to knock him down to anything. Litvak could cope with this task. Taking off, she passed along the front line, then deepened in the rear of the enemy and went to the balloon with the territory captured by the enemy, on the side of the Sun. Attack lasted less than a minute! For this victory, the junior lieutenant Lydia Litvak was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The pilots were written about the exploits in the newspapers, her name became known to the whole country.

In the summer of 1979, their searches were crowned with success. Being in the area of \u200b\u200bKhozhevny farm, the guys found out that the Soviet fighter fell on his outskirts in the summer of 1943. The pilot, wounded in the head, was a woman. It was established that the famous Lidia Lidia Lithuanian Litvak was buried in a fraternal grave in the village of Dmitrievka of the Shakhtar district of the Donetsk region.

In July 1988, in his personal case Litvak, the record "disappeared" was finally replaced by "died, performing combat tasks." And the veterans of the regiment, in which she fought, resumed a petition for the assignment of the pilot of the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Brother Lily Yuri and Movie Girlfriend Inna Pollovikov

By decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990 for the exemplary implementation of the tasks of command and manifested courage and heroism in battles with the German fascist invaders of the Guard, Lyutenant Litvak Lidie Vladimirovna posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Order of Lenin No. 460056 and the "Golden Star" medal № 11616 were transferred to the storage of relatives of the deceased heroine. He was awarded the Order of Lenin (5.05.1990, posthumously), the Red Banner (07.22.1943), the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (09/10/1943, posthumously), the Red Star (02/17/1943), the Medal "For Defense Stalingrad" (1943) . In the Hero City Hero at the house number 14 on Novoslobodskaya Street, in which heroine lived and from where she went to the front, a memorial plaque was installed. The memorial plate is installed on the memorial at the burial place, in the village of Dmitrovka of the Shakhtar district of the Donetsk region.

source loginov-lip.livejournal.com