Nadezhda Popova
Encyclopedia
Nadezdha Anastasya Vasil'yevna Popova, (Born 17 December 1921) is one of the first military female pilots in the Soviet Union
and was awarded the decorations of Hero of the Soviet Union
, Gold Star, Order of Lenin, and Order of the Red Star (three times) during the Great Patriotic War.
coal fields. As an adolescent she loved music, song and dance, taking part in amateur plays and musicals, dreaming of becoming an actress.
All changed when a small aircraft landed near her village and she became enamoured with aviation, enroling in a gliding school without telling her parents.
In 1937, at the age of sixteen she made both her first parachute jump and her first solo flight. Despite her parent's opposition she carried on with her new passion and after obtaining her flying licence, tried to enrol in a pilot school, but was rejected.
After Polina Osipenko, the then Inspector for Aviation in the Moscow Military District, recommended that she be taken as student, she was able to enrol in the Kherson flight school where she graduated at the age of eighteen. She then became a flight instructor.
to Engels to join the other women then being trained to become military pilots.
She then joined a night bombing regiment and became a flight leader, flying the Polikarpov Po-2
. On 10 March 1942, during a training mission, Popova was leading a formation when two of its aircraft got lost in the heavy blizzard they were flying into and crashed into the ground, killing their all-female crews. These were the first casualties sustained by her unit.
After training, she was sent to fight in her birth region of the Donetsk coal fields.
Popova was shot down several times in the three years she spent fighting, but was never wounded. On one occasion, on 2 August 1942 she was on a day reconnaissance mission when she was attacked by Luftwaffe fighters and forced into an emergency landing near Cherkessk
. Trying to get back to her unit, she joined a motorized column and among the wounded met her future husband, fighter pilot
Semyon Kharlamov.
She then flew a relief mission through enemy fire over Novorossiysk
to drop food, water and medical supplies over the friendly forces trapped in Malaya Zemlya
. After returning she found that her aircraft was covered with bullet holes, down to holes in her map and helmet.
As the Axis forces began their retreat, Popova's unit followed the front through Belarus and Poland and eventually in Germany itself. It was in Poland that she reached her personal record of 18 sorties in one night.
was dissolved in October 1945, and when Popova returned to her town she received a hero's welcome, complete with marching band and flowers being thrown over her car. She was driven to the theatre, where 2.000 people were waiting for her, among them one of the marines she had saved in Malaya Zemlya.
She married soon after the war, her husband reaching the highest rank possible in the Soviet air forces. Her son, Aleksandr, is a graduate of the Air Academy. Popova was widowed in 1990.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and was awarded the decorations 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:...
, Gold Star, Order of Lenin, and Order of the Red Star (three times) during the Great Patriotic War.
Early life
Popova was born in Shabanovka (today's Dolgoye). Daughter of a railwayman, she grew up in Ukraine, in the area of the DonetskDonetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...
coal fields. As an adolescent she loved music, song and dance, taking part in amateur plays and musicals, dreaming of becoming an actress.
All changed when a small aircraft landed near her village and she became enamoured with aviation, enroling in a gliding school without telling her parents.
In 1937, at the age of sixteen she made both her first parachute jump and her first solo flight. Despite her parent's opposition she carried on with her new passion and after obtaining her flying licence, tried to enrol in a pilot school, but was rejected.
After Polina Osipenko, the then Inspector for Aviation in the Moscow Military District, recommended that she be taken as student, she was able to enrol in the Kherson flight school where she graduated at the age of eighteen. She then became a flight instructor.
Great Patriotic War
After her house was taken over by invading German troops and her brother Leonid was killed at the front, she was sent by Marina RaskovaMarina Raskova
Marina Mikhailovna Raskova was a famous Russian navigator. She later became one of over 800,000 women in the military service, founding three female air regiments which would eventually fly over 30,000 sorties in World War II.- Early life :...
to Engels to join the other women then being trained to become military pilots.
She then joined a night bombing regiment and became a flight leader, flying 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"...
. On 10 March 1942, during a training mission, Popova was leading a formation when two of its aircraft got lost in the heavy blizzard they were flying into and crashed into the ground, killing their all-female crews. These were the first casualties sustained by her unit.
After training, she was sent to fight in her birth region of the Donetsk coal fields.
Popova was shot down several times in the three years she spent fighting, but was never wounded. On one occasion, on 2 August 1942 she was on a day reconnaissance mission when she was attacked by Luftwaffe fighters and forced into an emergency landing near Cherkessk
Cherkessk
Cherkessk is the capital city of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: 121,439 ; 116,244 ; -History:...
. Trying to get back to her unit, she joined a motorized column and among the wounded met her future husband, fighter pilot
Semyon Kharlamov.
She then flew a relief mission through enemy fire over Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
to drop food, water and medical supplies over the friendly forces trapped in Malaya Zemlya
Malaya Zemlya
Malaya Zemlya was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako that was recaptured after fierce, bloody battles with the Germans during the Battle of Caucasus, on the night of 4 February 1943...
. After returning she found that her aircraft was covered with bullet holes, down to holes in her map and helmet.
As the Axis forces began their retreat, Popova's unit followed the front through Belarus and Poland and eventually in Germany itself. It was in Poland that she reached her personal record of 18 sorties in one night.
Post war life
The 46th Guards Night Bombing RegimentNight Witches
"Night Witches" is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname , for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces...
was dissolved in October 1945, and when Popova returned to her town she received a hero's welcome, complete with marching band and flowers being thrown over her car. She was driven to the theatre, where 2.000 people were waiting for her, among them one of the marines she had saved in Malaya Zemlya.
She married soon after the war, her husband reaching the highest rank possible in the Soviet air forces. Her son, Aleksandr, is a graduate of the Air Academy. Popova was widowed in 1990.
Awards
- Hero of the Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet UnionThe 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:...
(23 February 1945, medal No. 4849). - Soviet Medal of Honor
- Order of FriendshipOrder of FriendshipThe Order of Friendship is a state decoration of Russia established by decree # 442 of March 2, 1994 of the President of the Russian Federation....
- Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
- Order of the Red BannerOrder of the Red BannerThe Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
(three times) - Order of the Patriotic WarOrder of the Patriotic WarThe Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
1st class, (twice) - Order of the Patriotic WarOrder of the Patriotic WarThe Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
2nd class - Honorary citizen of Donetsk