Anna Yegorova
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Lt.
Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova (Анна Александровна Тимофеева-Егорова; September 23, 1916 – October 29, 2009) was a pilot in the Red Army Air Force (VVS) during the Second World War. She learned to fly and became a flight instructor before the war, then volunteered for the front when Germany invaded. In 1941-2, she flew reconnaissance and delivery missions for the 130th Air Liaison Squadron in a wooden biplane
, the Polikarpov Po-2
. After being shot down, she transferred in 1943 to the 805th Attack Aviation Regiment and flew more than 270 missions in the Ilyushin Il-2
Shturmovik, including battles above the Taman Peninsula
, Crimea
and Poland
.
During an August 1944 mission to destroy German forces at the Magnuszew bridgehead near Warsaw, Yegorova's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Her tail gunner was killed, and the plane was heavily damaged and crashed. Rolling inverted, Yegorova was burned as she left the plane at a low altitude; her parachute only partially opened and she suffered broken bones and other internal injuries on hitting the ground. She was given first aid by the German captors, then taken to a prisoner of war camp where her wounds were tended by Dr. Georgy Sinyakov. Back at her air base, Yegorova was presumed dead and 'posthumously' granted the status of Hero of the Soviet Union
.
On January 31, 1945, Yegorova was liberated after Soviet forces overran the Kustrin
prisoner camp where she was being held. Arrested by the NKVD
, Yegorova was suspected as a potential traitor and interrogated continuously for eleven days. (Joseph Stalin
and Soviet law viewed any Soviet who was captured alive as a traitor, subject even to the death penalty or to a term in a penal battalion). After other POW inmates vouched for her injuries and her conduct, she was released, but still suffered persecution and suspicion for many years. She was invalided out of the Soviet Air Forces for medical reasons in 1945.
Yegorova was the subject of a feature article in the Literaturnaya Gazeta
in 1961, and in 1965, she was finally awarded her Hero of the Soviet Union medal.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova (Анна Александровна Тимофеева-Егорова; September 23, 1916 – October 29, 2009) was a pilot in the Red Army Air Force (VVS) during the Second World War. She learned to fly and became a flight instructor before the war, then volunteered for the front when Germany invaded. In 1941-2, she flew reconnaissance and delivery missions for the 130th Air Liaison Squadron in a wooden biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
, the Polikarpov Po-2
Polikarpov Po-2
The Polikarpov Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik for maize; thus, 'maize duster' or 'crop duster'), NATO reporting name "Mule"...
. After being shot down, she transferred in 1943 to the 805th Attack Aviation Regiment and flew more than 270 missions in the Ilyushin Il-2
Ilyushin Il-2
The Ilyushin Il-2 was a ground-attack aircraft in the Second World War, produced by the Soviet Union in very large numbers...
Shturmovik, including battles above the Taman Peninsula
Taman peninsula
The Taman Peninsula is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia. It is bounded on the north by the Sea of Azov, on the west by the Strait of Kerch and on the south by the Black Sea. The peninsula has evolved over the past two millennia from a chain of islands into the peninsula it is...
, Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
During an August 1944 mission to destroy German forces at the Magnuszew bridgehead near Warsaw, Yegorova's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Her tail gunner was killed, and the plane was heavily damaged and crashed. Rolling inverted, Yegorova was burned as she left the plane at a low altitude; her parachute only partially opened and she suffered broken bones and other internal injuries on hitting the ground. She was given first aid by the German captors, then taken to a prisoner of war camp where her wounds were tended by Dr. Georgy Sinyakov. Back at her air base, Yegorova was presumed dead and 'posthumously' granted the status of Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
.
On January 31, 1945, Yegorova was liberated after Soviet forces overran the Kustrin
Küstrin
Before 1945 Küstrin was a town in the former Prussian province of Brandenburg in Germany, situated on both sides of the Oder river...
prisoner camp where she was being held. Arrested by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
, Yegorova was suspected as a potential traitor and interrogated continuously for eleven days. (Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Soviet law viewed any Soviet who was captured alive as a traitor, subject even to the death penalty or to a term in a penal battalion). After other POW inmates vouched for her injuries and her conduct, she was released, but still suffered persecution and suspicion for many years. She was invalided out of the Soviet Air Forces for medical reasons in 1945.
Yegorova was the subject of a feature article in the Literaturnaya Gazeta
Literaturnaya Gazeta
Literaturnaya Gazeta is a weekly cultural and political newspaper published in Russia and Soviet Union.- Overview :...
in 1961, and in 1965, she was finally awarded her Hero of the Soviet Union medal.