Can a Woman Kill?
"I heard words...Poison. It was men's desire to go and fight. Can a woman kill?! Those were abnormal, defective women. No! A thousand times no! No, it was a human desire...We had been taught to love it [Russia]. To admire it. Since there's a war, it's our duty to help in some way." Sgt. Klara Semyonovna Tikhonovich, anti-aircraft gunner.
Lilya Litvyak is considered the most famous Soviet female fighter pilot. She learned to fly before the war and eagerly signed up for combat training at 20 years old in October 1941. Once qualified, she was assigned to the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment in January 1942. She mostly flew bomber escorts, but during the Battle of Stalingrad she became the first woman in the world to shoot down an enemy aircraft. Litvyak quickly gained the distinction "fighter ace." She flew most of her sorties in a Yakovlev also known as a Yak-1. Flying in both women’s and men’s regiments, Litvyak earned the award Order of the Red Star and Red Banner, as well as the distinction of “White Rose of Stalingrad” in the press.
On August 1, 1943 her aircraft was damaged over enemy territory and she disappeared. Her body was not found until 1979. Some dispute the manner of her death, insisting that she was pulled from her aircraft and taken to a prisoner of war camp, while others believe she died of her wounds sustained from the crash and buried in a nearby village. It has been stated that the burial was exhumed to confirm Litvyak’s identity as the buried woman, but some question if the exhumation was done or dispute the forensic analysis.
In 1990 she was granted the Hero of the Soviet Union medal. Litvyak is credited with 12 personal skills and 3 shared kills in 168 combat sorties, although consensus among historians vary as to the absolute numbers.
