White lily of Stalingrad (3 photos) Bashny.Net

This low blond girl - the most productive aviator fighter in history. On account of its 16 aircraft shot down (four per group). Lydia was Litvyak storm Luftwaffe over Stalingrad and Rostov. On the hood of her fighter was painted white lily, why it was called the "White lily of Stalingrad».



Litvyak Lydia was born in Moscow on August 18, 1921. With 14 years worked at the flying club. At age 15, she has already made her first solo flight. After graduating from Kherson aviation school instructor pilot flying club worked in Kalinin. Prepared by 45 pilots. In 1937, Lydia's father was arrested and shot.

In 1942 he joined the newly created Women's Aviation Fighter Regiment, attributing the missing 100 flight hours. Yak-mastered 1. The first sortie made in the skies over Saratov. In August 1942, the group was hit by German Ju-88 brombardirovschik. In September, was transferred to the 437 th Fighter Regiment (287 th Fighter Division, 8th Air Force, the South-Eastern Front).



In one of the battles her Yak-1 was shot down over enemy territory. Lydia got out of it and ran away, firing from pursuing her Germans. When the enemies were already very close, and the barrel was the last patron, came to the aid of one of our stormtroopers. His fire, he forced them to lie down and landed nearby. Lydia squeezed into the cockpit, the pilot on his knees, and aufiderzeyn!



August 1, 1943 she was hit by three enemy aircraft, but the last flight that day never came back. Hero of the Soviet Union for a long time did not give, as Lydia unaccounted for. Justice has been done only in 1990, shortly before the death of the Union. She got in the Guinness Book of Records, and in the anime. And I look at this picture and think, when she died, she in fact was not and 22 years ....