The only female pilot to be awarded the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union twice. Colonel of aviation, commander of the male regiment during the war of 1941-1945., Record holder of aviation sports. What memories were left of this great woman, Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova? How did her life, personal memories, memories of the war - further in the article.
Childhood
Valentina Stepanovna was born into the family of an engineer in 1909 (according to other sources in 1910). Her childhood passed in Kharkov, at her father's place of work. He loved to study technology, was the head of a power plant, and later worked in a car repair shop. He was especially interested in aviation technology. Stepan Grisodubov's passion for aviation was transferred to his wife, who contributed to the Soviet aviation industry. Valentine with her mother’s milk absorbed this passionate love for airplanes. Stepan was an active man, for talent and skillful hands he received good money, for which he built his own hangar, where he designed the plane. The device, according to contemporaries, he managed to build, but the plane could take off only three to four meters.
Valentina, who grew up in an aviation atmosphere, became infected with a passion for flying. For the first time, she sat in the cockpit behind her father. Stepan Grizodubov eventually became interested in gliders. He managed to become one of the leaders of glider sports. He took Valentine with him.
Mom believed that the girl needed a female education, planned to send her to a music school. In her youth, Valentina Stepanovna played the piano. After studying for a little time as a musician, Grizodubova left the school and, at the behest of her heart, entered the Institute of Technology, in which the aviation circle was very helpful. In the circle, they could not teach her anything new, because she had been learning to fly with her father throughout her childhood. In the head of Valentina, the desire to become a pilot was already born. Following her dream, she went to Penza, where there was a school of pilots.
Youth
After moving, Valentina Stepanovna worked for several years as an instructor for pilots in flight schools. Later fell into the agitation squadron. Gorky. The purpose of the squadron was flights throughout the Soviet Union with campaigns in favor of the Communist Party. The pilots of this squadron were also involved in the transfer of popular people throughout the Union for speaking at rallies. So Valentina Stepanovna managed to visit all the major cities of the USSR and find useful contacts.
Competitions
In the period of 1920-30s. around the world there has been a leap in aviation development. World records were set. In 1928, the American C. Lindbergh first flies over the Atlantic. After five years, a female pilot Amelia Earhart is trying to repeat the record. The Soviet Union considered it necessary to respond with its own achievements. In 1937, the pilots of the Soviet Socialist Republic for the first time ventured on a flight of the USSR-USA. The team, consisting of pilots V. Chkalov, A. Baydukov and A. Belyakov, was received with equal joy both in the Soviet Socialist Republic and in the United States.
In 1938, it was planned to carry out two flights at record distances. The path ran to the Far East, landing was prohibited during the flight. Two crews were preparing for this mission: male and female. V. Kokkinaki and A. Bryandinsky entered the male. The team was supposed to fly in the summer, and in the fall a women's group went. The difference of the second route was only in the fact that it ended earlier - in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. A team of men must reach Spassk-Dalniy.
Crew
The selection for the composition, which will take part in the legendary flight, was strict. As a result, three were chosen: Valentina Grizodubova, Marina Raskova and Polina Osipenko. All the girls were athletes, multiple winners of competitions among women at the world level. Valentina Stepanovna was appointed commander. P. Osipenko - as a co-pilot, M. Raskov - as a navigator. For the flight, they chose the ANT-37 machine, converted from a bomber. It was Grizodubova who initiated the most dangerous event. Behind her shoulders at that time there were several world records in distance and flight speed. The aircraft itself, on which it was planned to set a record, led Grizodubova in admiration. The first aircraft in the Soviet Socialist Republic, with the launch of one button landing gear.
The memoirs of M. Raskova have survived that the majestic plane was much larger than those that they had managed to fly before, and its wheels are the size of a man. The hull resembled a heavy ship, and the control of this ship was entrusted to a girl - Valentina Grizodubova. The name of the car was given to match - "Homeland."
Flight
September 24, 1938 the crew started from Moscow. After the capital, the plane was supposed to land in the Far East in a day. But in the reporting time, the car did not appear at the airport. After waiting a certain set time, during which the crew did not show any signs of life, an urgent expedition was urgently assembled to search for the missing.
Later it turned out that during the flight a world record was set for the distance range - 6450 km. Even before the start of the record flight, meteorologists warned that the weather outside the Urals was bad, they suggested postponing the event for several weeks. But Stalin ordered to fly. Due to bad weather conditions, it was necessary to lower the plane in order to see the ground from under the clouds. At night, to navigate the stars, the navigator had to open a frozen window and study their position in an oxygen mask. Inside the aircraft there was a temperature difference, and communication with the flight control center was interrupted. As a result, the aircraft ran out of fuel earlier than the estimated landing time.
Grisodubova had to urgently plant the car directly in the forest. Because of the danger with sharp tops and tree branches to damage the front of the aircraft, where the crew navigator was, she was ordered to eject. Marina Raskova threw herself out of the plane several tens of kilometers from the place where Grisodubova and Osipenko landed a car. Thanks to the skill of the crew, the plane landed in a soft, swampy clearing, and there was almost no damage. Later they continued to use it.
The rescue
For nine days, girls were searched in the deep forest. The rescue operation was carried out clumsily and ineptly. As a result of the illiterate actions of the organizers, two search aircraft crashed in flight before the eyes of Osipenko and Grisodubova. One of the dead was the winner of the competition in flight range among men - test pilot Alexander Bryandinsky. Grizodubov and Osipenko were found earlier, and the navigator had to roam the taiga for more than a week. With her, the girl had only a box of matches, a chocolate bar and a weapon. During the day, she looked for a landing plane, and at night she listened to the steps of the bears and the barking of lynxes. Marina was lucky and she was found safe and sound.
On November 17, the Far Eastern flight of the female crew of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Valentina Stepanovna was recognized as a new world record in flight distance without a direct landing. For the courage shown by Grisodubov (and her entire command staff) she was awarded the order and the honor of becoming the first woman to be the Hero of the Soviet Union.
1941-1945
As a professional and patriot to the core, Valentina did not stand aside and defended her homeland from the Nazi invaders. She was instructed to command the 101st Aviation Regiment. It is noteworthy that Marina Raskova received the women's division in command, and Grizodubova was given men in submission. This clearly demonstrates the attitude of the authorities towards this heroic woman and illustrates her strong-willed and decisive character. Raskova later heroically fell in battle.
Valentine carried out more than two hundred combat flights. For the head of Colonel Grizodubova, a major award was appointed. Valentina herself recalled that throughout the war she had to repeatedly prove her worth as a pilot and as a commander. Women in the army, and even more so in command, were neglected. The subordinates loved and respected a strict but fair colonel. During the fighting, her regiment bombed the rear of the enemy, from the areas that came under fire, she managed to remove more than 4,000 children.
Intercessor
After the conclusion of peace between Germany and the USSR, Grisodubov was appointed deputy. Head of NII-17 (Institute of Instrument Engineering). The first woman Hero of the Soviet Union personified a real communist, a standard that the powerful wanted to see. She was set as an example, the relationship between Valentina Stepanovna and Stalin was very favorable. In addition to research and management activities, she was involved in assistance. She was sensitive, she received letters in the Kremlin in her name. It was written on the envelopes “Moscow. Kremlin. Valentina Grizodubova. " The heroic woman helped to find repressed relatives, taking into account the good relations with the top authorities, she could help release the prisoners.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova had a special burgundy daddy. In it, she kept a list of those who were saved. In the period from 1948 to 1951, daddy replenished with 4767 names of those people who were able to get out of the gulag's dungeons and return to their families. One of those saved was the famous designer - Sergey Pavlovich Korolev, whose history is widely known to the public. The first female Hero of the Soviet Union was never conceited from her results. She only regretted that getting a person out of prison was much easier than returning him to society (finding a job and a house).
After the death of Stalin
Later, since 1972, Grizodubova was appointed deputy. Head of Moscow Research Institute of Instrument Engineering. Having worked for the good of the Motherland for many years, in 1986 she was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. Thus, Valentina Stepanovna became the only woman twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately or fortunately, Valentina Stepanovna found the collapse of the USSR, she was very worried about recent years. She was disgusted that the name of the leader of the peoples Joseph Stalin was poured out in the mud. Grizodubova was against the policies of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. The monument to this amazing first woman-Hero of the Soviet Union is installed on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow. And the name and merits will forever remain in the history of the SSR.
Women are war heroes
The list of women-Heroes of the Soviet Union, which began with a trinity of pilots, was replenished with new names during the period of hostilities. The terrible time forced to defend the homeland not only the stronger sex, but also many millions of women. During the war, and several years later, they were reluctant to talk about the heroism shown by the girls of yesterday. More often I recalled those who had already died for their homeland. Shevtsova Lyubov Grigoryevna posthumously became one of such Heroes of the SSR. This is the name of the girl, activist of the underground society Young Guard. In wartime, the information transmitted from the rear of the enemy was an invaluable contribution to the victory on behalf of Lyubov Grigoryevna. Shevtsova was brutally tortured in captivity, she was tortured for more than a month.
A similar fate befell the famous Red Army girl to this day. Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya ended her days in captivity, at the whim of German soldiers. She became the first girl Hero awarded this title during the Second World War. Awarding made after the death.
Having given her life, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union Natalia Venediktovna Kovshova, a woman sniper. On her account more than two hundred fascist soldiers. She fell in battle, along with her friend Maria Polivanova.
Those who survived preferred not to recall this harsh time. The female view of the Second World War in the book “The War Does Not Have a Female Face” by Svetlana Alexievich is clearly described. The work won the Nobel Prize in 2015.
After the war
Many women who fought for their land along with men after the war returned to peaceful professions. The fate of Baida Maria Karpovna is interesting. During the war, she served as a nurse, later as a medical instructor. In one of the battles for Sevastopol, she single-handedly dealt with fifteen enemies, freed eight soldiers and one officer. For this feat is assigned to the star of the Hero. At the end of the fighting, this unique woman became the head of the registry office of Sevastopol, who so desperately defended during the war.
The deputy head of the library in the Byelorussian SSR was Elena Grigoryevna Mazanik. She received the title of Hero for the operation to destroy the general commissar of Belarus V. Kube. He was blown up by a mine in his own bed. The device was placed there by Elena Mazanik, who worked as a cleaner in the house.
Finally
A whole list of female Heroes of the Soviet Union can be found on the Internet. And only God knows what they had to endure during the war years. The female soul is not intended for bloody times, and therefore they do not want to remember these years. Unlike men who remember part numbers, surnames of generals and other paraphernalia, women remember colors, smells, words, people. An interesting fact: after the war, front-line women hated the red color.
Later, with the development of outer space, the first women cosmonauts were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Socialist Republic. Savitskaya Svetlana Evgenievna became the first woman to go into open space. She was awarded the title after Valentina Tereshkova, who conquered space the first of women.
Over the past 26 years, 17 women - Heroes have been awarded. Their exploits in most cases are associated with past wars, both the Great Patriotic War and the Chechen ones. Their names will forever remain immortal. And one of them, Valentina Grizodubova, is a Hero of the Soviet Union, the first of women.