A Woman Hero of WW2

It never ceases to amaze me what one can learn by just tromping around the internet.

I have always considered myself a bit of a WW2 buff, but oddly, being a woman myself, I never really considered looking into what some of the women actually did. Just doesnt seem to be something that comes up when watching old footage or going through old archives.

Today though, I came across this incredible woman and I cant wait to see what else I can actually find on her and others. Hopefully members will direct me and others to more that they know of.

Granted this woman is Russian, but really, in the realm of things, who cares. She could have fought for any country and Im sure her heart would have been just the same. It just amazes me for the time when she actually did it. Face it,while many American women were helping build the aircraft for our armed forces as most of us all ready know, most American women were still of the mind set of staying in the kitchen etc.

Anyhow, let me introduce you to Marina Raskova



Snips from one source:Source Link

In the summer of 1941, Marina Raskova, a record-breaking aviatrix, organized the 588th night bomber squadron - composed entirely of women, from the mechanics to the navigators, pilot and officers.

One June 8, 1942, three planes took off on the first mission. The target: the headquarters of a German division. The raid was successful, but one aircraft was lost. The 588th fought non-stop for months, flying 15 to 18 missions a night. "It was a miracle we didn't lose more aircraft", recalls Nadia Popova. "Our planes were the slowest in the air force. They often came back riddled with bullets, but they kept flying."

From the battle of Stalingrad to the fall of Berlin, the regiment made 24,000 combat flights and dropped 23,000 tons of bombs. It was awarded the Soviet Union's highest collective military honor. Years after the war, Nadia Popova said, "At night sometimes, I look up into the dark sky, close my eyes and picture myself as a girl at the controls of my bomber and I think, 'Nadia, how on earth did you do it?"

With the aircraft icing up over the Siberian wilderness, the women tossed everything movable out of the aircraft to try and gain altitude. Finally, Raskova, who had been the navigator, decided she would have to go as well. She marked the aircraft's compass heading on a map and bailed out into the darkness.

As much as I would love to post this whole article, I dont wish to violate our terms etc.. Hopefully I have added enough to intrigue you to go to the LINK and read more about this incredible woman.

Just to add, please, by all means, feel free to add any more women heros you may know of from this era regardless of whom they may have fought for. After all, a hero is a hero yes?

Once again, the LINK to the SOURCE

That one passed me by also. Checkout some of the Russian woman snipers,just amazing.
Their snipers operated in some of the bloodiest battles like Staligrad.

reply to post by mugger


Thank you for that tip, I will most certainly do that. Odd, women are considered the loving ones yet, when it comes to battle they seem to go to a whole other level.
Have any good links to start me off with?

Originally posted by onehuman
reply to post by mugger

 

Odd, women are considered the loving ones yet, when it comes to battle they seem to go to a whole other level.

That's mostly because of the "mother instinct". - Don't touch my babies ...

Thanks to the member mugger above, I did go in search of finding more about the women snipers. I found a pretty good link for those that may be interested.

One of them being Lyudmila Mykhailivna Pavlichenko whom had 309 kills by the time she was 25. She is also known for meeting Eleanor Roosevelt as well as making this statement on a tour in Chicago:

“Gentlemen, I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist occupants by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?!” After a short pause, the crowd met her statement with great approval.

This link Best Female Snipers of WW2 has a awesome rundown of many ladies and their accomplishments

Sorry dbl post

During WW2 women performed many non combat roles amongst the Western allies. There were many women in the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) who undertook seriously dangerous missions and many who died at the hands of the Nazi’s, not to mention the many women in the various Resistance organisations who frustrated their Nazi occupiers.

en.wikipedia.org...

The Soviets made good propaganda of the use of women in combat, but the Soviets treated women with contempt, as was their want. This included using mass rapes of women and girls as a punishment in the Baltic, Poland and especially Berlin.

Regards

in my opinion there is something intoxicating about a strong women, and the ladies above are no exception and are just as bad ass as the male soldiers.