Yekaterina Ryabova

Yekaterina Vasilevna Ryabova
WWII Photo portait of Ryabova (pre-1945) showing her wearing an Order of the Red Banner, an Order of the Red Star, an Order of the Patriotic War, and a Guards pin
Native name Екатерина Васильевна Рябова
Born 14 July 1921
Gus-Zhelezny, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died 12 September 1974 (aged 53)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance  Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
Years of service 1941–1945
Rank Senior lieutenant
Unit 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment
Awards


Yekaterina Ryabova (July 14, 1921 – September 12, 1974) was a Soviet World War II aviator awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on 23 February 1945 for her bombing missions as a navigator. She attained the rank of senior lieutenant as a member of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment, in which she flew 890 night missions in a Polikarpov Po-2.[1]

Early life

Ryabova was born in 1921 to a Russian peasant family in Gus-Zhelezny, currently located in Ryazan, Russia. After graduating from secondary school she enrolled in the MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics where she studied until the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In 1943 she became a member of the Communist Party.[2]

Military career

Ryabova entered the Engels military aviation school in October 1941 to become a navigator in the 588th Night Bomber regiment, one of the three women's aviation regiments founded by Marina Raskova. The navigation courses normally lasted three years, but due to the war the classes only lasted three months. The soon after the regiment was deployed to the Southern Front in May 1942 it received the Guards designation and was reorganized into the 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment. After entering the war as a link navigator she was eventually promoted to the position of squadron navigator under the command of squadron navigator Marina Chechneva. In 1944 she and pilot Nadezhda Popova flew 18 bombing sorties in a single night over Poland. In total she flew 890 sorties during the war, with her last mission taking place over Berlin after participating in bombing campaigns in Taman, Crimea, Belarus, and Poland. On 23 February 1945 Ryabova was declared a Hero of the Soviet Union by delcaration the Supreme Soviet, and the medal of the award was presented to her by the commander of the 2nd Byelorussian Front, Konstantin Rokossovsky, on 8 March.[3][4][5]

Later life

After the war Ryabova was sent by the regiment commander to attend the Russian Air Force Academy (now the Gagarin Air Force Academy) with Mariya Smirnova but they were not admitted because the academy was been officially closed to women. After being rejected from the Air Force Academy she returned to her studies at Moscow State University, where she remained socially active after graduating in 1948 from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics before defending her thesis and earning her Ph.D. in 1951. After graduating she worked as a teacher at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute, and from 1963 to 1972 she worked as an Associate Professor of the Department of Theoretical Mechanics at the Dzerzhinsky Military Engineering Academy. During her life she traveled to Italy, France, Korea, and Bulgaria. Due to a head injury she suffered in the war she experienced severe headaches often but tried to hide them, only to end up fainting when greeting an Italian delegation.[6][7]

In June 1945 she married twice hero of the Soviet Union Grigory Sivkov who she met during the war. She gave birth to her first daughter Natalya in 1947 and her second daughter Irina in 1952. She passed away on 12 September 1974 when she was only 53 years old. Her diary contained writing about headaches doctors said were from the head injury in the war when her head slammed against the cockpit dashboard during a hard landing.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sakaida, Henry (2003). Heroines of the Soviet Union. Cwmbran, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-598-8. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Рябова Екатерина Васильевна". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  3. ↑ Joseph, Frank (2011-11-30). The Axis Air Forces: Flying in Support of the German Luftwaffe. ABC-CLIO. p. 78. ISBN 9780313395901.
  4. ↑ "Nadia Popova". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  5. ↑ "Рябова Екатерина Васильевна". airaces.narod.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  6. ↑ "Рябова Катя". tamanskipolk46.narod.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  7. ↑ Sumarokova, Tatyana (1972). Пролети надо мной после боя. Moscow: Politizdat.
  8. ↑ Soviet Military Review. Krasnaya Zveda Publishing House. 1985. Retrieved 9 September 2014. In autumn 1943 Grigory met Yekaterina Ryabova, flight navigator, then squadron navigator of the 46th Taman Guards Women's Air Regiment.
  9. ↑ "Сивков Григорий Флегонтович". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
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