Lost in the clouds The story of Lydia Litvyak - the legendary "White Lily. Secrets and legends of the lily litvyak

She made her first sortie in the sky over Saratov. In August 1942, the group shot down a German Yu-88 bomber. In September, she was transferred to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment (287th Fighter Aviation Division, 8th Air Army, South-Eastern Front).

In November of the same year, by order of the Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, a change was made to paragraph 22 of the order of the Main Personnel Directorate dated September 16, 1943 regarding the fate of Litvyak: “She went missing on August 1, 1943. It should be read: she died while performing a combat mission on August 1 1943"

Films

• .
• The first film "Lilya" in the series of documentaries "Beautiful Regiment" is dedicated to Lydia Litvyak, 2014 Directed by Alexander Kapkov.
• In 2013, the series "Fighters" was released (dir. A. Muradov). An example for the collective image of the heroine of the film, Lydia Litovchenko (actress E. Vilkova), was Lydia Litvyak.

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Literature

• // Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of three degrees: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. College D.S. Sukhorukov. - M .: Military Publishing House, 2000. - 703 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-01883-9.
• Ovchinnikova L.P. Women in soldier's overcoats. - Volgograd: Nizh.-Volzh. book. publishing house, 1987. - 47 p.
• Golden Star Muscovite. M ., 1963.
• Soviet aces. - M .: "Eastern Front", 1996.
• Milanetti Gian Piero."Soviet Airwomen of the Great Patriotic War - A pictorial history". - Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, Rome, Italy, 2013. - ISBN 9788875651466.
• Vinogradova L. Defending the Motherland. Pilots of the Great Patriotic War. - M .: Azbuka-Atticus, Hummingbird, 2015. - ISBN 978-5-389-09900-5

Works of art

• G. F. Kravtsova. Come back from flight. M., 1971; 1979.
• V. A. Agranovsky White Lily: A Documentary Tale. M., 1979 (Man among people).
• supplemented edition of the story "White Lily" in Agranovsky's collection "Persons: Tales and Essays" M., 1982.

Notes

Links

An excerpt characterizing Litvyak, Lidia Vladimirovna

Platon Karataev must have been over fifty years old, judging by his stories about the campaigns in which he participated as a longtime soldier. He himself did not know and could not in any way determine how old he was; but his teeth, bright white and strong, which all rolled out in their two semicircles when he laughed (as he often did), were all good and whole; no one gray hair was not in his beard and hair, and his whole body had the appearance of flexibility and especially hardness and endurance.
His face, despite the small round wrinkles, had an expression of innocence and youth; his voice was pleasant and melodious. But main feature his speech was immediacy and argumentative. He apparently never thought about what he said and what he would say; and from this there was a special irresistible persuasiveness in the speed and fidelity of his intonations.
His physical strength and agility were such during the first time of captivity that he did not seem to understand what fatigue and illness were. Every day in the morning and in the evening, lying down, he said: “Lord, put it down with a pebble, raise it up with a ball”; in the morning, getting up, always shrugging his shoulders in the same way, he would say: "Lie down - curled up, get up - shake yourself." And indeed, as soon as he lay down to immediately fall asleep like a stone, and as soon as he shook himself, in order to immediately, without a second of delay, take up some business, the children, having risen, take up toys. He knew how to do everything, not very well, but not badly either. He baked, steamed, sewed, planed, made boots. He was always busy and only at night allowed himself to talk, which he loved, and songs. He sang songs, not like songwriters sing, knowing that they are being listened to, but he sang like birds sing, obviously because it was just as necessary for him to make these sounds, as it is necessary to stretch or disperse; and these sounds were always subtle, tender, almost feminine, mournful, and his face was very serious at the same time.
Having been taken prisoner and overgrown with a beard, he, apparently, threw away everything that was put on him, alien, soldierly, and involuntarily returned to the former, peasant, people's warehouse.
“A soldier on leave is a shirt made of trousers,” he used to say. He reluctantly spoke about his time as a soldier, although he did not complain, and often repeated that he had never been beaten during his entire service. When he told, he mainly told from his old and, apparently, dear memories of the "Christian", as he pronounced, peasant life. The sayings that filled his speech were not those for the most part indecent and glib sayings that the soldiers say, but these were those popular sayings that seem so insignificant, taken separately, and which suddenly acquire the meaning of deep wisdom when they are said by the way.
Often he said the exact opposite of what he had said before, but both were true. He loved to talk and spoke well, embellishing his speech with endearing and proverbs, which, it seemed to Pierre, he himself invented; but the main charm of his stories was that in his speech the simplest events, sometimes the very ones that, without noticing them, Pierre saw, took on the character of solemn decorum. He liked to listen to the tales that one soldier told in the evenings (all the same), but most of all he liked to listen to stories about real life. He smiled joyfully as he listened to such stories, inserting words and asking questions that tended to make clear to himself the beauty of what was being told to him. Attachments, friendship, love, as Pierre understood them, Karataev did not have any; but he loved and lived lovingly with everything that life brought him, and especially with a person - not with some famous person, but with those people who were before his eyes. He loved his mutt, loved his comrades, the French, loved Pierre, who was his neighbor; but Pierre felt that Karataev, in spite of all his affectionate tenderness for him (which he involuntarily paid tribute to Pierre's spiritual life), would not have been upset for a minute by parting from him. And Pierre began to experience the same feeling for Karataev.
Platon Karataev was for all the other prisoners the most ordinary soldier; his name was falcon or Platosha, they good-naturedly mocked him, sent him for parcels. But for Pierre, as he presented himself on the first night, an incomprehensible, round and eternal personification of the spirit of simplicity and truth, he remained so forever.
Platon Karataev knew nothing by heart, except for his prayer. When he spoke his speeches, he, starting them, seemed not to know how he would end them.
When Pierre, sometimes struck by the meaning of his speech, asked to repeat what was said, Plato could not remember what he had said a minute ago, just as he could not in any way tell Pierre his favorite song with words. There it was: “dear, birch and I feel sick,” but the words did not make any sense. He did not understand and could not understand the meaning of words taken separately from the speech. Every word of his and every action was a manifestation of an activity unknown to him, which was his life. But his life, as he himself looked at it, had no meaning as a separate life. It only made sense as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt. His words and actions poured out of him as evenly, as necessary and immediately, as a scent separates from a flower. He could not understand either the price or the meaning of a single action or word.

Having received news from Nikolai that her brother was with the Rostovs in Yaroslavl, Princess Mary, despite her aunt's dissuades, immediately prepared to go, and not only alone, but with her nephew. Whether it was difficult, easy, possible or impossible, she did not ask and did not want to know: her duty was not only to be near, perhaps, her dying brother, but also to do everything possible to bring him a son, and she got up. drive. If Prince Andrei himself did not notify her, then Princess Mary explained that either by the fact that he was too weak to write, or by the fact that he considered this long journey too difficult and dangerous for her and his son.
In a few days, Princess Mary got ready for the journey. Her crews consisted of a huge princely carriage, in which she arrived in Voronezh, chaises and wagons. M lle Bourienne, Nikolushka with her tutor, an old nanny, three girls, Tikhon, a young footman and a haiduk, whom her aunt had let go with her, rode with her.
It was impossible to even think of going to Moscow in the usual way, and therefore the roundabout way that Princess Mary had to take: to Lipetsk, Ryazan, Vladimir, Shuya, was very long, due to the lack of post horses everywhere, it is very difficult and near Ryazan, where, as they said, the French showed up, even dangerous.
During this difficult journey m lle Bourienne, Dessalles and the servants of Princess Mary were surprised by her fortitude and activity. She went to bed later than everyone else, got up earlier than everyone else, and no difficulties could stop her. Thanks to her activity and energy, which aroused her companions, by the end of the second week they were approaching Yaroslavl.
AT recent times During her stay in Voronezh, Princess Marya experienced the best happiness in her life. Her love for Rostov no longer tormented her, did not excite her. This love filled her whole soul, became an indivisible part of herself, and she no longer fought against it. Recently, Princess Marya was convinced - although she never clearly said this to herself in words - she was convinced that she was loved and loved. She was convinced of this during her last meeting with Nikolai, when he came to her to announce that her brother was with the Rostovs. Nikolai did not hint in a single word that now (in the event of the recovery of Prince Andrei) the former relations between him and Natasha could be resumed, but Princess Marya saw from his face that he knew and thought this. And, despite the fact that his relationship to her - cautious, tender and loving - not only did not change, but he seemed to be glad that now the relationship between him and Princess Marya allowed him to more freely express his friendship to her love, as she sometimes thought Princess Mary. Princess Mary knew that she loved at first and last time in life, and felt that she was loved, and was happy, calm in this respect.
But this happiness of one side of her soul not only did not prevent her from feeling grief for her brother with all her strength, but, on the contrary, this peace of mind in one respect gave her a great opportunity to give herself completely to her feelings for her brother. This feeling was so strong in the first minute of leaving Voronezh that those who saw her off were sure, looking at her exhausted, desperate face, that she would certainly fall ill on the way; but it was precisely the difficulties and worries of the journey, which Princess Marya undertook with such activity, saved her for a while from her grief and gave her strength.
As always happens during a trip, Princess Marya thought about only one trip, forgetting what was his goal. But, approaching Yaroslavl, when something that could await her again opened up, and not many days later, but this evening, Princess Mary's excitement reached its extreme limits.
When a haiduk sent ahead to find out in Yaroslavl where the Rostovs were and in what position Prince Andrei was, he met a large carriage driving in at the outpost, he was horrified to see the terribly pale face of the princess, which stuck out to him from the window.
- I found out everything, Your Excellency: the Rostov people are standing on the square, in the house of the merchant Bronnikov. Not far, above the Volga itself, - said the haiduk.
Princess Mary looked at his face in a frightened questioning way, not understanding what he was saying to her, not understanding why he did not answer the main question: what is a brother? M lle Bourienne made this question for Princess Mary.
- What is the prince? she asked.
“Their excellencies are in the same house with them.
“So he is alive,” thought the princess, and quietly asked: what is he?
“People said they were all in the same position.
What did “everything in the same position” mean, the princess did not ask, and only briefly, glancing imperceptibly at the seven-year-old Nikolushka, who was sitting in front of her and rejoicing at the city, lowered her head and did not raise it until the heavy carriage, rattling, shaking and swaying, did not stop somewhere. The folding footboards rattled.
The doors opened. On the left was water - a big river, on the right was a porch; there were people on the porch, servants, and some sort of ruddy-faced girl with a big black plait, who smiled unpleasantly feignedly, as it seemed to Princess Marya (it was Sonya). The princess ran up the stairs, the smiling girl said: “Here, here!” - and the princess found herself in the front old woman with oriental type face, which with a touched expression quickly walked towards her. It was the Countess. She embraced Princess Mary and began to kiss her.
- Mon enfant! she said, je vous aime et vous connais depuis longtemps. [My child! I love you and have known you for a long time.]
Despite all her excitement, Princess Marya realized that it was the countess and that she had to say something. She, not knowing how herself, uttered some courteous French words, in the same tone as those that were spoken to her, and asked: what is he?

At all times, war was considered the lot of men. And as for the fighting in the sky - even more so. And today on military fighters you can meet only representatives of the strong half of humanity. Overload here for a person is literally prohibitive. And the reaction of these professionals should be almost lightning fast, because the time allotted for making a decision is sometimes measured in fractions of seconds. In addition, the pilot must thoroughly study all the technical characteristics of his car in order to know what it is capable of in critical situations.

That is why it is quite difficult to imagine that a sweet, fragile blond girl is sitting at the helm of a high-speed fighter. But nevertheless, given the experience of fighting in the Great Patriotic War, this is possible. During that harsh time, any exceptions were not surprising. One of them is fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak. It will be discussed in this article.

heroic girl

Looking at the black-and-white photographs of the war years with Lydia Litvyak, we see a miniature fair-haired beauty on them. A girl with such an appearance would not be difficult to become a popular actress. And then her fate would have been completely different. She would have been waiting for social events, glasses of cold champagne, crispy baskets with caviar and photographers for whom she would pose in fur boas and hung with diamonds. And this would be quite possible, because Lydia Litvyak outwardly resembled Valentina Serova, who was considered the “third great blonde” of the Soviet state after Lyubov Orlova and Marina Ladynina.

However, the fate of our heroine was completely different. She had her own list of victories, but not on the stage or on the movie screen. Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak made 168 sorties during 8 months of her heroic service in the Soviet aviation. At the same time, she fought enemy fighters 89 times, shot down 11 German aircraft and one spotter balloon. So impressive is the list of victories of the most charming and feminine pilot of the USSR, who defended the country during the Great Patriotic War. And this is when many men, being at the helm of their fighters, for the entire time of combat tests could not shoot down a single enemy aircraft, or at best only one or two.

Ace pilot from the USSR Lida Litvyak achieved several group and dozens of individual victories. The young girl, who looked like a fragile student, had a spectacular and aggressive air combat style. This allowed her to enter the lists of the elite combat aviation, which is part of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Biography

Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak was born in Moscow on August 18, 1921. Subsequently, she was incredibly proud that her birthday coincided with the All-Union Aviation Day. For some reason, the girl did not like her name. That is why all the family, as well as close friends, called her Lily or Lily. Under this name, she later went down in history.

Lydia (Liliya) Litvyak was madly in love with airplanes and the sky. However, in those years, no one was surprised. On the contrary, the fact that a simple Soviet girl dreamed not of a career as a movie star, but of OSOAVIAKHIM was quite natural. After all, the party and the government of the USSR sought to attract young people to aviation.

Lydia Litvyak kept pace with her era. She easily and quite consciously exchanged the game of dolls for a flying circle, and dresses and high heels for a flying helmet and overalls. The girl was not only fond of the sky. She aspired to master. That is why at the age of 14 she became a member of the Central Aeroclub. Chkalov. At first, the parents did not know anything about it. But it was impossible to hide the intense interest in such an unusual profession for a woman for a long time. A year later, at the age of 15, the girl for the first time independently rose into the sky.

After graduating from school, Lydia Litvyak entered the courses of geologists, after which she was sent to Far North and then south. Here she returned to flying.

Lydia (Liliya) Litvyak became a cadet at the Kherson Flight School. This is educational institution she graduated successfully. After that, she became an instructor pilot and, in the period before the start of the war with the Nazis, she managed to train 45 cadets. Colleagues said that she had the ability to see the air.

Family

Where the parents of Lydia Litvyak come from is not completely known. After the civil war, they moved from the village to Moscow. The girl's mother's name was Anna Vasilievna, but history is also silent about who and where she worked. It is only known that the woman was either a dressmaker or worked in a store. The father of the pilot Lydia Litvyak is briefly mentioned in all sources, as well as the mother. There is only evidence that his name was Vladimir Leontyevich, and the railway was his place of work. In 1937, Lydia Litvyak's father was arrested on a false denunciation and then shot. Of course, the girl did not tell anyone about this. In those years, the status of the daughter of an enemy of the people could radically change her fate. And this was not at all what the 15-year-old girl, who was literally delirious about aviation, did not want.

fateful decision

The biography of the pilot Lydia Litvyak developed in such a way that she had to take part in the hostilities. After all, the enemy attacked her homeland. However, she did not get to the front immediately. The Soviet authorities did not want to allow young Komsomol girls to join the ranks of the regular troops. They could only be there as nurses. However, life has made its own adjustments.

Many girls dreamed of being on the front line. This required the decision of the Commander-in-Chief himself. He was achieved. This pilot was one of the first three women awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union. Raskova flew in extreme conditions and set records in the sky. Qualification, experience and energy brought her prestige in the air force. Thanks to this, the famous pilot was able to personally ask Stalin for permission to form women's combat units. It was useless to resist the brave girls. In addition, the Soviet army suffered huge losses not only on the ground, but also in the air. That is why in October 1941 the formation of three women's air regiments began at once. From the very first days of the war, pilot Lydia Litvyak (her photo is posted below) tried to get to the front.

After she became aware that Marina Raskova began to form women's air regiments, she immediately achieved her goal. However, the girl had to cheat. By her flying time, she attributed 100 hours, thanks to which she was enlisted in the fighter regiment at number 586, which was headed by Marina Raskova herself.

Fighting character

An enterprising and energetic pilot appeared in Soviet aviation. At the same time, Lydia Litvyak was distinguished by a somewhat wayward character. For the first time, her tendency to take risks was noticed during training, when the women's air regiment was based near the city of Engels. Here one of the planes crashed. In order to take to the air, he needed a spare propeller. However, it was impossible to deliver this part. At this time, flights were prohibited due to a blizzard. But that didn't stop Lydia. She arbitrarily, without obtaining permission, flew to the scene of the accident. For this, she received a reprimand from the head of the aviation school. But Raskova said she was proud that she had such a brave student. Most likely, an experienced pilot saw traits of her own character in Litvyak.

But problems with discipline in Lida sometimes manifested themselves in a completely different area. So, once she made a fashionable collar for her overalls. To do this, she had to cut the fur from the fur boots. In this case, she did not wait for Raskova's indulgence. Lydia had to change the fur back.

Nevertheless, the girl did not lose her love for various accessories even at the front. She cut scarves using parachute silk and altered balaclavas, which in her skillful hands became more elegant and comfortable. Even while under fire, Lida was not only an excellent fighter, but also managed to remain an attractive girl.

But as for the level of aerobatics, there were no complaints against Litvyak. Together with the rest of the girls, she perfectly maintained the accelerated pace of training, which included daily twelve-hour training. The rigidity of the preparation was explained quite simply. The pilots soon had to engage in battle with the enemy, who was smart and did not forgive mistakes. Upon graduation, Lydia Litvyak perfectly passed the piloting of the “hawk” (Yak aircraft), which allowed her to get into the war.

The beginning of the combat biography

Being part of the 586th air regiment, Lydia Litvyak (photo below) first took to the skies in the spring of 1942. At this time, Soviet troops were fighting in Saratov. The task of our aviation was to protect the Volga from German bombers.

In 1942, pilot Lydia Litvyak made 35 flights between April 15 and September 10, during which she patrolled and escorted transport aircraft carrying important cargo.

Battle of Stalingrad

The aviation regiment, which included fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak, was transferred to Stalingrad on September 10, 1942. In a short period of time, the brave girl rose into the sky 10 times. During her second combat flight, which took place on September 13, she was able to open a personal combat account. First, she shot down a Ju-88 bomber. After that, the girl rushed to the rescue of her friend Raya Belyaeva, who ran out of ammunition. Lydia Litvyak took her place in the battle and, as a result of a stubborn duel, destroyed the Me-109. The pilot on this plane was a German baron. By that time, he had already won 30 victories in the sky and was a holder of the Knight's Cross. Being captured and being interrogated, he wished to see the one who defeated him in the sky. A blue-eyed, fragile, tender blond girl came to the meeting. The German thought that the Russians were mocking him. But after Lydia, with the help of gestures, showed the details of the battle, known only to the two of them, the baron removed the gold watch from his hand and handed it to the girl who overthrew him from heaven.

On September 27, the brave pilot, being only thirty meters from Yu-88, was able to hit an enemy car.

And even participating in military operations, the pilot allowed herself to misbehave. Having made a successful sortie , in the presence of fuel in the tank, before landing at her native airfield, she twisted aerobatics over it. Such jokes were one of her business cards. The regiment commander did not punish her for such entertainment, because the girl successfully completed combat missions, showing good pressure, tenacity of mind and excellent tactical thinking. After the Stalingrad battles, she became an experienced fighter pilot, having been hardened by fire. In addition, on December 22, 1942, the girl was awarded government award. She became the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad".

White Lily

The biography of Lydia Litvyak is described in many books. In the same sources you can find interesting stories about a brave pilot. So, according to some statements, after she defeated the German ace, a large white lily was painted on her hood. They also say that some enemy pilots, seeing this flower, evaded the battle. They also say that after each battle in which she managed to shoot down an enemy car, Lydia Litvyak painted one white lily on the fuselage of her Yak. The name of her favorite flower became the pilot's call sign. In addition, many called Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak the White Lily of Stalingrad.

miraculous rescue

For the first time, the Germans managed to knock out Lydia Litvyak's plane shortly after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. The girl almost died after making an emergency landing. Enemy soldiers immediately rushed towards her. Lydia jumped out of the cab and began to shoot back from the Germans. However, the distance between her and the enemies was steadily shrinking. Litvyak had the last bullet left in her barrel when the Soviet attack aircraft with which she was on a mission swept over her. The "Ilys" pressed the Germans with their fire, and one of them glided not far from the girl and, having released the landing gear, landed. Lydia quickly climbed into the cockpit to the pilot, and they safely escaped from the chase.

New appointment

Fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak - the White Lily of Stalingrad - at the end of September 1942 was transferred to the 437th Aviation Fighter Regiment. However, the female link, which is part of it, did not last long. Its commander, senior lieutenant R. Belyaeva, was soon shot down by the Germans, and she had to be treated for a long time after a parachute jump. After that, due to illness, M. Kuznetsova was out of action. Only two pilots remained in the regiment. This is L. Litvyak, as well as E. Budanova. They were able to achieve the highest results in the battles held. And soon the White Lily of Stalingrad, Lydia Litvyak, shot down another enemy plane. It turned out to be Junkers.

Starting from October 10, the pilots were transferred to the operational subordination of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. Lydia Litvyak already had three destroyed enemy aircraft on her account. One of them was personally shot down by her from the period when she entered the regiment of Soviet aces pilots.

During this period, the girls had to cover the strategically important front-line center - the city of Zhitvur, as well as escort transport aircraft. In carrying out this task, Lydia made 58 sorties. For her courage and excellent execution of command orders, the girl was enrolled in a group of "free hunters" who followed enemy aircraft. Being at the forward airfield, Litvyak took to the skies five times and spent the same air combat. In the 9th Guards IAP, the girls significantly improved their skills.

New victories

On January 8, 1943, the girl was transferred to the 296th Aviation Fighter Regiment. Already in the same month, Lydia escorted our attack aircraft 16 times and covered ground troops Soviet army. On February 5, 1943, the command presented Sergeant L.V. Litvyak to the Order of the Red Star.

A new victory awaited Lydia on February 11th. On this day, Lieutenant Colonel N. Baranov led four fighters into battle. Litvyak distinguished herself by personally shooting down a Ju-88 bomber, and then, as part of a group, she managed to emerge victorious in a battle with an FW-190 fighter.

Wound

The spring of 1943 was marked by a lull on almost the entire front line. However, the pilots continued to make sorties, intercepting german planes and covering Soviet bombers and attack aircraft.

In April 1943, Lydia was seriously wounded. It happened during a rather difficult battle. On April 22, the brave pilot, being part of a group of Soviet aircraft, intercepted 12 enemy Ju-88s, one of which she managed to shoot down. Here, in the sky over Rostov, she was attacked by the Germans. The enemies managed to damage the girl's plane and wound her in the leg. After the battle, Lydia hardly flew to her native airfield, where she reported on the successfully completed task. After that, the girl lost consciousness, falling from blood loss and pain.

However, Lydia was not in the hospital for long. Having recovered a little after the injury, she wrote a receipt that she would go home to Moscow, where she would continue to be treated. However, the relatives did not wait for the girl. A week later, Lydia again arrived in her regiment.

On May 5, not having time to fully recover from her wound, Litvyak made another sortie. Her task was to escort bombers heading to the Stalino area. Our planes were spotted by enemy fighters and attacked by them. A battle ensued, in which Lydia was able to shoot down the Me-109 fighter.

The only love

In the spring of 1943, a new page was written in the biography of pilot Lydia Litvyak. During this period, fate brought the girl to Alexei Solomatin. He was also an excellent fighter pilot. During the war, romances often began. Acquaintances were quick, and feelings were stormy. However, most of these romances were understandably short-lived and had unhappy endings.

In the spring of 1943, there was a short break in the fighting. It was the calm before the battle near Kursk. And in these few weeks of rest, ordinary human happiness came to Lydia. Solomatin and Litvyak got along very well in character. Fellow soldiers noted that they were a wonderful couple. Senior Lieutenant Solomatin was at first the girl's mentor, and then became her husband. However, the happiness of the young was short-lived. May 21, 1943 Alexei died. He, being mortally wounded in battle, failed to land his plane and died in front of his beloved and everyone who was at the airfield. At her husband's funeral, Lydia swore an oath to avenge his death.

soon died and best friend Litvyak - Ekaterina Budanova. The girl, who lost two of her closest people in just a few weeks, was left with only combat skills, a plane and a desire for revenge.

Continuation of hostilities

After some lull, the fighting was resumed. And the ace girl, who was only 21 years old, continued to actively participate in them.

At the end of May, on the sector of the front where her regiment operated, the Germans used a spotter balloon very effectively. This "sausage" was covered by fighters and anti-aircraft fire, which repelled all attempts to destroy it. Lydia managed to solve this problem. The girl took to the air on May 31 and, passing along the front line, went deep into the territory occupied by the enemy. She attacked the balloon from behind enemy lines, approaching it from the direction of the sun. The Litvyak attack lasted less than a minute. The brilliant victory of the pilot was marked by the gratitude of the Commander of the 44th Army.

Summer fights

July 16, 1943 Lydia Litvyak was on another combat mission. There were six Soviet Yaks in the sky. They got into a fight with 30 Junkers and 6 Messerschmitts, who tried to strike at the location of our troops. But Soviet fighter pilots thwarted the enemy's plan. In this battle, Lydia Litvyak shot down a Ju-88. She also shot down a Me-109 fighter. However, the Germans also knocked out Lydia's Yak. The fearless girl, pursued by the enemy, managed to land the plane on the ground. Soviet infantrymen, who were watching the battle, helped her to break away from the German pilots. Lydia was slightly wounded in the shoulder and leg, but categorically refused hospitalization.

On July 20, 1943, the command presented junior lieutenant L. V. Litvyak for another award. The heroic girl received the Order of the Red Banner. By this point in her track record 140 sorties and 9 downed aircraft were indicated, 5 of which she destroyed personally, and 4 - as part of a group. An observation balloon was also mentioned here.

Last Stand

In the summer of 1943, Soviet troops tried to break through the defenses of the enemy, who had entrenched themselves on the banks of the Mius River. This was necessary for the liberation of Donbass. Particularly heavy fighting was fought between the end of July and the beginning of August. Both ground and air forces were involved in them.

On August 1, Lydia Litvyak took to the skies 4 times. During these sorties, she shot down 3 enemy aircraft, two personally, and one - while in the group. Three times she returned to her native airfield. The girl did not return from her fourth sortie.

It is possible that his contribution to what happened was made emotional stress hard day or physical fatigue. Or maybe the weapon just failed? But be that as it may, the pilots were already returning to their home airfield when they were attacked by eight German fighters. A battle ensued, during which our pilots lost sight of each other, being in the clouds. As one of them later recalled, everything happened suddenly. The Messer emerged from the white veil of the cloud and fired a burst at our Yak with tail number 22. The plane immediately seemed to have failed. Apparently, near the ground, Lydia tried to level it.

Our fighters did not see any flashes either in the sky or on the ground. This is what gave them hope that the girl remained alive.

On the same day, the German fighter pilot Hans-Jörg Merkle also went missing. At the same time, there was no information about who shot down this ace. There is a possibility that his death was Lydia Litvyak's parting blow.

Both planes disappeared near Shakhtyorsk, not far from the village of Dmitrovka. There is a version that Lydia went on the attack purposefully, eager to avenge the death of her husband and girlfriend. How it really happened is not known for certain. However, such an act was quite in the spirit of this girl.

Two weeks later, Lydia Litvyak would have turned 22 years old. Later, relatives said that in one of her letters she told them about a dream in which her husband called her, standing on the opposite bank of a fast river. This indicated that the girl foresaw her death.

But fellow soldiers, who did not lose hope of seeing the pilot alive, immediately organized a search for her. However, they could not find Lydia. And after Sergeant Evdokimov, the only one who knew the fall sector of her Yak, was killed in one of the battles, the official search was stopped. It was then that the command of the regiment posthumously presented fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, there was no posthumous award. The fact is that soon a previously downed pilot returned from the territory occupied by enemy troops. According to him, locals told him that they saw how not far from the village of Marinovka sat down soviet fighter. A small blond girl came out of it and got into a car with German officers that drove up to the plane. However, the aviators did not believe this story, continuing to find out the fate of Lydia. Nevertheless, rumors about the betrayal of the girl reached the higher headquarters. And here the command showed caution. It did not begin to approve Litvyak's presentation to the highest rank of the country, but limited itself to the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

However, the search continued for Lydia. In the summer of 1946, Ivan Zapryagaev, being the commander of the 73rd IAP, sent several people to the village of Marinovka. However, the girl's fellow soldiers did not manage to find out anything about her fate.

In 1971, the search for a brave pilot was resumed by young pathfinders from the city of Krasny Luch. And only in 1979 did they finally find traces of Lydia Litvyak. Residents of the Kozhevnya farm told the children that in the summer of 1943 our fighter plane crashed not far from it. The pilot, who was a woman, was shot in the head. She was buried in a mass grave. This pilot turned out to be Lydia Litvyak. This was confirmed during further investigation. The grave of Lydia Litvyak is located in the Shakhtyorsky district, in the village of Dmitrovka. Here the brave pilot is buried along with other unknown fighters.

In 1988, a monument to Lydia Litvyak was erected in this place. Veterans of the regiment, in which the brave pilot served, asked to renew the petition for posthumously conferring on her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Years later, justice has prevailed. In May 1990, the President of the USSR signed a Decree, according to which Lydia Litvyak became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Memory

The name of Lydia Litvyak can be found in the Guinness Book of Records. Here she was listed as a female pilot, who won the largest number of victories in her air battles. In addition, a monument to the brave pilot was erected in the central square of the city of Krasny Luch. It is located opposite the gymnasium number 1, which bears her name.

You can meet the name of Lydia Litvyak in "Assault Witches". This is an anime that tells the viewer about the fight against robot machines that are trying to take over our planet. It is quite difficult to destroy such an enemy. After all, anyone is powerless against robots deadly weapon, fast rockets and even innovative technologies. This allows insensitive and insidious machines to win victory after victory. Only girls endowed with magical powers and using a vehicle that is some kind of hybrid combat aircraft and a witch's stupa. One of these girls is Sani Litvyak.

Anyone who wants to get acquainted with the biography of the heroic pilot is recommended to look at her documentary. It is called "Roads of Memory" and directed by E. Andrikanis. In addition, the film "Lily" is dedicated to the brave pilot. He was the first in the documentary series "Beautiful Regiment". It was filmed in 2014 by director A. Kapkov.

In 2013, the series "Fighters" was presented to the audience. This is the work of director A. Muradov. One of the heroines of the film is Lydia Litovchenko. The image, which is presented by actress E. Vilkova, is collective. An example for him was Lydia Litvyak. The movie was just amazing.

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was born on August 18 - the All-Union Aviation Day. Fascinated by airplanes since childhood, the girl was incredibly proud of this fact. She was predicted an acting future, but she chose the sky.

White Lily-44

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 19-year-old brave and in love with the sky Lydia signed up as a volunteer pilot. But initially the Soviet command did not intend to give women a significant role in aviation. And only a year later, in September 1942, the girl made her first sortie as part of the 586 IAP (fighter aviation regiment) - one of the three women's aviation regiments under the leadership of pilots Marina Raskova, which were formed on the orders of Stalin due to the large losses of professional pilots.

Lydia Litvyak. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Less than a year later, on February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvyak received one of her first military awards - the Order of the Red Star. During these months, she, as one of the best pilots, was transferred to the divisions that participated in the most important battles of the Second World War, and also became known as the "White Lily".

By that time, the fuselage of her faithful Yak-1 was adorned not only with eight bright red stars, a symbol of eight air victories, but also with a snow-white lily - a special sign of a pilot who is allowed "free hunting" - a special type of combat operations in which the fighter does not perform a specific task to cover bombers, or vice versa, protect against them, but flies, tracking down single enemy aircraft and "hunting" them.

Litvyak's call sign, "White Lily-44", was also sounded differently, according to the tail number of her aircraft. And she herself was often called not Lida, but Lily. By the way, there is an assumption that the name Lilia comes from the word "lil", which, translated from one of the ancient Eurasian languages, means "air, wind."

Two Lydia

The sky transformed Litvyak, as her colleagues claimed: the feeling of the steering wheel in her hands changed her beyond recognition and seemed to divide her into two completely different people.

"Earthly" Lydia was a silent, modest beauty with a blond mop of hair and blue eyes- it was even compared with the popular one in those years actress Valentina Serova. She loved to read books and dress elegantly: she always looked neat, feminine, wore unusual things - a white balaclava, a sleeveless jacket turned out with fluff, chrome boots, a collar for a flight uniform made of fur cut from high boots (which she was then ordered to tear off and attach back to her shoes ) - and walked with a special gait, causing quiet delight among those around her.

The “heavenly” Lydia was distinguished by her determination, composure, endurance and dexterity: she literally “knew how to see the air,” as her commander said. It is no coincidence that she was called "Diana - the goddess of free hunting", and her special handwriting in piloting was compared with Chkalovsky. They admired her skill, rejoiced at her victories, marveled at her desperate courage. For example, once Lydia returned to the airfield on a plane riddled with German shells and with a wound in her leg, and, having reported on the successful completion of the mission and two downed enemy aircraft, she lost consciousness. After this battle, the male pilots recognized her as a real ace.

Probably, the combination of traits inherent in the character of Lydia Litvyak, even in childhood, contributed to her passion for aviation and the pursuit of this dream. At the age of 14, she, along with adults, attended the Chkalov Central Aeroclub, a year later she made her first solo flight and participated in a geological expedition to the Far North, and some time later she graduated from the Kherson Flight School, became an instructor pilot, and before the start of the war she managed to put on wing of 45 cadets.

Soviet pilot Lydia Litvyak with her fighter. 1943 Photo: RIA Novosti

Ace in a skirt

“We were all shocked and delighted by her act, which we told each other about. A blizzard had been raging in Engels for several days, the wind had knocked people off their feet. But it was necessary to carry a propeller from the Anisovka airfield for the plane that had crashed. Flights in such weather are prohibited, but Lilya Litvyak took off without permission and brought a propeller. Colonel Bagaev, Head of the Engels School reprimanded her for failure to comply with the order for the aviation school, and Major M. Raskova called her and said: “I am proud of my brave and courageous pilot!” ”- her best friend recalled the White Lily, fighter pilot Ekaterina Budanova.

And in one of the first sorties over Stalingrad, the White Lily managed to shoot down two enemy aircraft. The pilot of the second German fighter was an experienced pilot and fought to the last. But in the end, his car flared up from a shell fired by Lydia and quickly headed towards the ground, and the pilot who jumped out with a parachute was captured. During interrogation, he asked to show him the one who brought him down, and when he saw a twenty-year-old girl, he became furious: “Why are you laughing at me? I am a pilot who shot down more than thirty aircraft. I am a holder of the knight's cross! It can't be that this girl hit me! That pilot fought masterfully.” But after Lydia showed with gestures the details of the battle known only to the two of them, he changed his face, took off his gold watch from his hand (according to another version, he tore numerous awards from his chest) and handed it to her, the winner.

Crucial moment

At the beginning of 1943, Lydia Litvyak was transferred to the 296th IAP and assigned to squadron commander Alexei Solomatin: there was a special tactic for aviation, according to which the lead pilot must go on the attack, and the follower must “cover” him. After several months of joint flights, in April of the same year, literally in the break between battles, the couple signed.

Lydia also maintained friendly relations with the pilot Ekaterina Budanova, with whom fate brought them together at the beginning combat way- in the Raskova women's air regiment - and no longer separated. Since then, they have always served together and have been best friends.

A month later, White Lily's life began to change. On May 21, 1943, in a plane crash that occurred right in front of her comrades and Lydia herself, her husband died. Less than a month later, she received many injuries and died without regaining consciousness, Budanov's best friend.

Pilots of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment Lidia Litvyak, Ekaterina Budanova, Maria Kuznetsova (left to right) at the Yak-1 aircraft. 1943 Photo: RIA Novosti

last flight

This fateful year was the last for the White Lily herself. On August 1, 1943 Litvyak made her last flight. There were terrible battles to break through the German defenses at the turn of the Mius River, which closed the road to the Donbass. For the regiment's fighters, this was already the fourth sortie of the day. Either physical fatigue and emotional stress affected, or the weapon failed - Lydia's plane was shot down by a German fighter during the collision, but did not fall right away, but entered the cloud zone and disappeared.

According to pilot Borisenko, who sent his fighter after Litvyak into the clouds, the aircraft with a white lily on the fuselage was not visible in the air, but no fiery flashes were observed on the ground either. Other eyewitnesses claimed that they saw how the fighter landed, its blond girl-pilot allegedly got into an approaching car with German officers and disappeared in an unknown direction. But this version looks absolutely fantastic.

Two weeks later, Lydia Litvyak was supposed to turn 22 years old. Relatives believed that she had a premonition of her death: in one of her letters she mentioned a dream in which on the opposite bank stormy river her husband called her.

fight and seek

According to official data, on August 1, 1943, Lydia Litvyak did not return from a combat mission and went missing. Formal searches did not last even several years: the pilot, who approximately knew the area where the plane crashed, died, and the discovered White Lily fighter, as it turned out later, was handed over by local residents for scrap. But then the remains could not be found.

But her relatives, close and caring fans organized their own investigations. In 1967 in the city of Krasny Luch, Lugansk region school teacher Valentina Ivanovna Vashchenko founded the RVS (Reconnaissance of Military Glory) detachment, which also conducted searches in its region. The detachment included students of the seventh grade, in which Vashchenko was the class teacher: she believed that such an experience would unite the children and captivate them native history. On July 23, 1979, members of the detachment became aware that an unknown pilot was buried in one of the mass graves. The study of the remains made it possible to find out that the deceased was mortally wounded in the frontal part of the head. Further investigation established that it could only be Lydia Litvyak.

So, in 1988, 41 years after her death, an entry appeared in her personal file “died while performing a combat mission.” In 1990, the pilot was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and in 1993 - the title of Hero of Russia.

In total, in the ten months that the White Lily devoted to the defense of the Motherland, she made 186 sorties, received 3 wounds, personally shot down 11 aircraft and 3 aircraft in a group, as well as one balloon. In terms of combat flight time, she still holds the top lines in the ranking of fighter pilots, on a par with other legendary Soviet pilots, despite the fact that she fought for less than a year.

War is the prerogative of men. Military aviation- especially. But, as the experience of the Second World War shows, there were exceptions to the rule here. This story is about one of the most prominent female pilots - Lydia Litvyak.

The name of this brave pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Lydia Litvyak is the most productive Soviet female pilot of the Second World War. She shot down 14 aircraft and a spotter balloon. At the same time, Lydia Litvyak fought for only eight months. During this time, she made 168 sorties and conducted 89 air battles. At less than 22 years old, she died in battle.

girl and sky

Lydia Litvyak was born in 1921 in Moscow, on August 18, the All-Union Aviation Day. Fascinated by airplanes since childhood, the girl was incredibly proud of this fact. At the age of 14, she enrolled in the Chkalov Central Aeroclub, and a year later she made her first solo flight. Then she graduated from the Kherson Flight School, became an instructor pilot, and before the start of the war she managed to put 45 cadets on the wing.

And in 1937, Lydia's father was arrested as an "enemy of the people" and shot.

fighter pilot

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 19-year-old Lydia, in love with the sky, signed up as a volunteer pilot. But only a year later, in September 1942, the girl made her first sortie as part of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment. It was one of three women's aviation regiments under the leadership of the pilot Marina Raskova, which were formed on the orders of Stalin due to the large losses of professional pilots.

Pilots of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Less than a year later, on February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvyak received one of her first combat awards - the Order of the Red Star. By that time, the fuselage of her faithful Yak-1 was adorned with eight bright red stars (a symbol of eight air victories) and a snow-white lily - a special sign of a pilot who is allowed "free hunting" - a special type of military operations in which the fighter does not perform a specific task for bomber cover, but flies, tracking down enemy aircraft and "hunting" them.

air ace

In one of the first sorties over Stalingrad, Lydia managed to shoot down two enemy aircraft - a Ju-88 bomber and a Bf-109 fighter. The pilot of the Bf-109 turned out to be a German baron, holder of the Knight's Cross, who scored 30 air victories. The German was an experienced pilot and fought to the last. But in the end, his car flared up from a shell fired by Lydia and began to fall rapidly. The pilot bailed out and was taken prisoner. During the interrogation, he asked to show him the one who brought him down. Seeing a twenty-year-old girl, the German ace became furious: “Are you laughing at me? I am a pilot who shot down more than thirty aircraft. I am a holder of the Knight's Cross! It can't be that this girl hit me! That pilot fought masterfully.” Then Lydia showed with gestures the details of the battle known only to the two of them, he changed his face, took off his gold watch and handed it to her, the pilot who defeated him ...

It was there that Lydia Litvyak received the nickname "White Lily of Stalingrad", and "Lily" became her radio call sign.

"Different people"

Colleagues said that the sky literally transformed Litvyak: the steering wheel in her hands changed her beyond recognition and seemed to divide her into two completely different people.

"Earthly" Lydia was a silent, modest beauty with blond hair, pigtails and blue eyes. She loved to read books and dress elegantly: she wore unusual things - a white balaclava, a sleeveless jacket turned out with fluff, chrome boots, a collar for a flight uniform made of fur cut from fur boots - and walked with a special gait, causing quiet delight in those around her. At the same time, the blond girl was very reserved about the enthusiastic looks and words of fellow soldiers, and, which especially impressed the pilots, she did not give preference to anyone.

The “heavenly” Lydia, on the other hand, was distinguished by her determination, composure and endurance: she “could see the air,” as her commander said. Her special handwriting in piloting was compared with Chkalovsky, they admired her skill and marveled at her desperate courage.

Pilot of the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Junior Lieutenant Lidia Litvyak (1921-1943) after a sortie on the wing of his Yak-1B fighter.

On March 22, near Rostov-on-Don, Lydia participated in the interception of a group of German bombers. During the battle, she managed to shoot down one plane. And then Lydia noticed Messerschmitts flying in the sky. Seeing the six Bf-109s, the girl joined them in unequal fight, allowing his comrades to complete the task assigned to them. During the battle, Lydia was seriously wounded in the leg, but managed to bring the damaged aircraft to the airfield. Having reported on the successful completion of the mission and two downed enemy aircraft, the girl lost consciousness. According to colleagues, her plane resembled a colander.

The pilot was credited with extraordinary luck. Once during the battle, Litvyak's plane was shot down, and she was forced to land on the territory occupied by the enemy. When the German soldiers tried to take the girl prisoner, one of the attack pilots came to her aid: with machine gun fire, he forced the Germans to lie down, and he landed and took Litvyak on board.

Love and friendship

At the beginning of 1943, Lydia Litvyak was transferred to the 296th Fighter Aviation Regiment and assigned to follow the squadron commander Alexei Solomatin (the lead pilot must go on the attack, and the wingman must cover him). After several months of joint flights, in April of the same year, literally in the break between battles, the couple signed.

All this time, the girl was friends and fought with the pilot Katya Budanova, with whom fate brought her together at the beginning of her military career - in the Raskova women's air regiment - and no longer separated. Since then, they have always served together and have been best friends.

fatal year

On May 21, 1943, in a plane crash that occurred right in front of her comrades and Lydia herself, her husband, Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Solomatin, died.

And less than a month later, Lydia's best friend Katya Budanova received many injuries and died without regaining consciousness. On July 18, in a fight with German fighters, Litvyak and Budanova were shot down. Litvyak managed to jump out with a parachute, and Budanova died.

This fateful year was the last for the White Lily herself. On August 1, 1943 Litvyak made her last flight. At the end of July, there were terrible battles to break through the German defenses at the turn of the Mius River, which closed the road to the Donbass. The fighting on the ground was accompanied by a stubborn struggle for air superiority. Lydia Litvyak made four sorties, during which she personally shot down two enemy aircraft and one more in the group. She did not return from the fourth flight. Six "Yakovs" entered the battle with a group of 30 Ju-88 bombers and 12 Bf-109 fighters, a deadly whirl ensued. Lydia's plane was shot down by a German fighter… Lidia Litvyak was supposed to be 22 years old in two weeks.

A search for her was urgently organized. However, neither the pilot nor her aircraft could be found. Lydia Litvyak was posthumously presented by the command of the regiment to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The front-line newspaper "Red Banner" dated March 7, 1944 wrote about her as a fearless falcon, a pilot who was known to all the soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

Evil joke of fate

However, soon one of the previously shot down pilots returned from enemy territory. He reported that he heard the locals say that one day our fighter landed on the road near the village of Marinovka. The pilot was a blond girl. A car pulled up to the plane German soldiers and the girl left with them.

Most of the aviators did not believe the rumor, but the shadow of suspicion had already gone beyond the regiment and reached the higher headquarters. The command, showing "caution", did not approve Litvyak's submission to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, limiting himself to the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

Once, at the moment of revelation, Lydia said to her friend: “Most of all I am afraid of missing out. Anything but this." There were good reasons for such concern. Lida's father was arrested and shot as an "enemy of the people" in 1937. The girl perfectly understood what it means to her, the daughter of a repressed person, to go missing. No one and nothing will save her honest name. Fate played with her bad joke prepared for just such a fate.

Fight, seek, find and never give up

But they searched for Lydia, searched long and hard. Caring fans organized their own investigations. In 1967, in the city of Krasny Luch, Lugansk region, a school teacher Valentina Ivanovna Vashchenko founded a search detachment of the RVS (scouts of military glory). Being in the area of ​​the Kozhevnya farm, the guys learned that in the summer of 1943 a Soviet fighter plane crashed on its outskirts. The pilot wounded in the head was a girl. She was buried in the village of Dmitrievka, Mining District, in a mass grave. The study of the remains made it possible to find out that the deceased was mortally wounded in the frontal part of the head. Further investigation established that it could only be Lydia Litvyak. The girl was identified by two white pigtails.

So 45 years after the death of the pilot, in 1988, an entry appeared in the personal file of Lydia Litvyak: “She died while performing a combat mission.” And in 1990, Lydia was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Lidvyak Lidiya ("Liliya") Vladimirovna

Guards senior lieutenant, flight commander.

She was born on August 18, 1921 in the city of Moscow (Russia). Russian.
Graduated from high school for ten years.
In 1935, at the age of 14, she entered the Kirov flying club.
She entered the courses of geologists, participated in an expedition to the Far North.
She graduated from the Kherson Aviation Pilot School.
She worked as an instructor-pilot in the Kalinin flying club, trained and trained 45 pilots.
She was drafted into the Red Army by the Kominternovsky District Military Commissariat of Moscow on October 10, 1941.
Since December 1941, she served in the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment with the rank of sergeant.
Member of the Great Patriotic War since February 1942. From April 25, 1942, she defended Saratov from German air raids, made 35 (55) sorties to patrol over Saratov and escort transport aircraft with valuable cargo for the front.
From September 10, 1942, she fought on the Stalingrad Front as part of the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment, made 10 sorties to cover Stalingrad.
In the battle on September 13, 1942, in the period 07.40 - 08.45, together with senior lieutenant R. V. Belyaeva, junior lieutenants E. V. Budanova and M. M. Kuznetsova, she shot down one Yu-88 west of Stalingrad.
On September 27, 1942, in a battle over a tractor plant in the northern part of Stalingrad, she personally shot down one Yu-88 and, together with Senior Lieutenant R.V. Belyaeva, one Me-109.
From October 10, 1942, she fought as part of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, made 58 (55) sorties to patrol over Zhitkur and escort transport aircraft with important cargo for the front. In addition, in the group of "free hunters" of the 9th air regiment, she made 5 sorties to cover Stalingrad and participated in 5 air battles.
Since January 8, 1943, she fought on the Southern Front as part of the 1st Squadron of the 296th Fighter Aviation Regiment (hereinafter - the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment).
From January 8 to February 5, 1943, she made 16 sorties to escort attack aircraft, reconnaissance of enemy troops and cover our ground troops.
Presumably, for some time she flew on the Yak-1 fighter, on the hood (fuselage) of which the “White Lily” was depicted.
On February 11, 1943, east of Rostov-on-Don, she shot down one Me-109.
On March 22, 1943, during a raid by enemy aircraft on Rostov, as part of the six Yak-1, she fought with twelve Junkers-88. With two attacks, she independently shot down one Yu-88, after which for fifteen minutes one fought with six Me-109s. Despite severe damage to the car and injury in left leg shell fragments, brought her plane to the airfield and made a safe landing.
On May 5, 1943, while escorting a group of Pe-2 bombers during a raid on the enemy airfield Stalino, she personally shot down one Me-109.
In May 1943 he was awarded military rank"Ensign".
At the end of May 1943 she was transferred to the 3rd squadron.
On May 31, 1943, together with junior lieutenant I. I. Borisenko, she shot down an enemy corrective balloon in the Kondakovka area.
July 16, 1943, as part of the six Yak-1 in the Kuibyshevo region, she entered the battle with 30 Yu-88, under the cover of 6 Me-109. In battle, she was slightly wounded in the leg and shoulder, made an emergency landing on the fuselage.
On July 19, 1943, she personally shot down one Me-109 in the Pervomaisky area.
In an air battle on July 21, 1943, she was shot down, made an emergency landing on the fuselage near the village of Novikovka.
On July 31, 1943, as part of a flight, she shot down one Me-109 in the Petrovsky area.
In total, during the participation in hostilities, she made 138 sorties, personally shot down 5 aircraft and 3 as part of groups, as well as 1 balloon.
On August 1, 1943, as part of nine Yak-1s, they flew to cover our troops in the Marinovka-Stepanovka area. The group fought an air battle with four Me-109s, then with six more Me-109s and three dozen Yu-88s. As stated in the award document, "As a result of fierce unequal air battles, our fighters shot down 1 Me-109 and 1 Yu-88, but junior lieutenant Litvyak did not return from the combat mission."
In 1943, he was posthumously awarded the military rank of lieutenant.
On July 29, 1969, the remains of an “unknown pilot” were found and buried in a mass grave in the village of Dmitrovka by local boys near the Kozhevnya farm. In the summer of 1979, after many years of searching by the search team of the 1st school of the city of Krasny Luch, the remains of the "unknown pilot" were identified as the remains of Lydia Litvyak.
In 1990, she was posthumously awarded the military rank of Senior Lieutenant.

She was married: in April 1943 she married a fellow soldier of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Senior Lieutenant Aleksey Frolovich Solomatin (he died on May 21, 1943 in a plane crash).

List of famous air victories by L. V. Litvyak:
09/13/1942 1/4 Yu-88 west of Gumrak (west of Stalingrad)
09/27/1942 1 Yu-88 STZ (northern part of Stalingrad)
09/27/1942 1/2 Me-109 STZ (northern part of Stalingrad)
02/11/1943 1 Me-109 Vesely (east of Rostov-on-Don)
03/22/1943 1 Yu-88 Chaltyr - Sinyavka (north of Rostov-on-Don)
05/05/1943 1 Me-109 south of the Stalino airfield (now Donetsk) *
05/31/1943 1 Kondakovka balloon (north-east of Pokrovskoye - Troitskoye)**
07/19/1943 1 Me-109 Pervomaiskoye
07/31/1943 1/3 Me-109 west of Petrovsky

By the Decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, for the exemplary performance of command assignments and the courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders, Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (“Gold Star” No. 11616).
She was awarded the Orders of Lenin *** (05/05/1990), the Red Banner (07/22/1943), the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (09/10/1943), the Red Star (02/17/1943), the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" (12/22/1942 ).

Note:
*Aerial victory is listed based on bounty material only. It is not mentioned in headquarters documents.
** To destroy the balloon, she flew out in tandem with junior lieutenant I. I. Borisenko, who finished off the balloon after the Litvyak attack.
*** The order had serial number 460056.

Secrets and legends of Lilia Litvyak

By the Decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, for the exemplary performance of command assignments and the courage and heroism shown in the battles against the Nazi invaders, the famous pilot Lilia Litvyak, who fought in the Great Patriotic War in a combat fighter, was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. This high rank was awarded to the brave pilot very late, 47 years after her death, and the reasons for such a late recognition of her merits are considered to be the unclear circumstances of her last battle on August 1, 1943, from which she did not return and was declared missing. But, apparently, there were some other, unknown to us reasons ...

In general, I must say, in the biography of Litvyak, unlike all our other pilots, there is a lot of obscure and mysterious. Let's start with the fact that the real name of our heroine is not Lily, under which everyone knows her, but Lydia. However, for some reason, the girl herself did not like this name, and therefore she called herself Lily or simply Lily. Over time, everyone else began to call her Lily, and it was under this name that she went down in history.

There is a lot of mystery in the Litvyak family. Where her parents come from is unknown. Her mother, Anna Vasilievna, was either a dressmaker or worked in a store. True, who she worked in the store - as a saleswoman, cleaner or director - history is silent. Almost nothing is known about the father of the pilot, whose name, according to some sources, was Vladimir Leontyevich. Suspiciously muffled about him, only that he left the family that he worked for railway, either as a simple railway worker in the depot, or as an inspector, or as an inspector, and in 1937, allegedly, "on a false denunciation, he was repressed, tortured and shot." Perhaps the legend of the "tortured father" was invented by Lily herself, who was having a hard time breaking up her father and mother. Be that as it may, it is believed that for the sake of heaven, Lily was forced to abandon her own father, who was declared an "enemy of the people."

Almost everyone who knew Lilia Litvyak notes that she was silent and secretive. Perhaps this was due to rather vague family circumstances. Although, by and large, to hide something from the employees of the special department of the NKVD, who were in all military units Red Army, it was unrealistic and, as they say, very fraught. Therefore, without a doubt, the special officers of the regiments in which Lilia Litvyak served were well aware of all the members of her family, but, apparently, they did not find anything reprehensible and dangerous in their actions. Otherwise, she would hardly have been entrusted with a combat aircraft. Or maybe she was just hiding her origin? There is an assumption that Litvyak was not Russian by nationality, as recorded in the documents, but Jewish. And in many modern means The media is unambiguous about it. By the way, the surname Litvyak itself, as well as Litvak, means in literally"Lithuanian Jew". Apparently, it was for this reason that the younger brother of the pilot Yuri, being already an adult, changed his native surname Litvyak to a more tolerant one - Kanavin. And this is despite the fact that his sister Lily became famous under the name Litvyak. It would seem that such a name should be proud of. And he took, and changed it. Why would that be interesting?

Even Lilia's face was peculiar, and the point here is not beauty, but her unusually straight nose, clearly not corresponding to the snub-nosed Russian. Such a straight line, the so-called "Greek nose", is more typical for persons of Jewish nationality.

To the features of Litvyak's appearance, one can also add the generally accepted opinion about her as a blonde. In fact, she was brown-haired, that is, she had naturally dark blond or brown hair. But being very womanly girl, for which external beauty was the main criterion, Lily considered only blondes to be beautiful, therefore, for greater attractiveness, she dyed her blonde with hydrogen peroxide.

To the above, we also add that there is absolutely no information about Lily's other closest relatives: neither about grandparents, nor about uncles and aunts, nor about cousins. Nothing is known about her childhood and youth friends either. There are no memories of her childhood, school years and so on. Even her own younger brother Yuri never mentioned any details of the family history. In general, almost nothing is known about Lily's personal life before the war.

However, for us, the pre-war life of Litvyak and her family is not so important. Much more important for us are the facts of Lily's participation in the Great Patriotic War, in which she, no doubt, proved to be an outstanding pilot.

By the way, about her outstanding and indomitable character says at least the fact that, wanting to get into the women's fighter aviation regiment at all costs, she somehow attributed 100 missing hours to the available flight time.

At first, the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, in which Litvyak served, operated in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe rear city of Saratov, where Lily, like all other pilots, was engaged in patrolling over the city and escorting transport aircraft. Such routine activities did not bring much joy to either Lilya or other pilots. Therefore, in early September 1942, eight female pilots of the regiment, including Lilya, under not entirely clear circumstances, in fact, arbitrarily "flew" to the front near Stalingrad and began to fight as part of the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Since then, the name of Lilia Litvyak has become known throughout the country.

In almost all modern media, including the Internet, it is claimed that already in the second or third sortie on September 13, 1942, she, participating in an air battle as part of a group, personally shot down one Yu-88 bomber, and then finished off a fighter Me-109 damaged by Raisa Belyaeva. It is curious that the details of this battle were overgrown with incredible legends, according to which the German fighter pilot escaped by parachute, was captured and was taken to the 437th air regiment, where he was given a meeting with the pilot who shot him down. True, the witnesses of this meeting describe it in different ways.

Here, for example, there is such a description: “A German pilot from the Richthofen squadron asked me to show him a pilot who demonstrated high skill and managed to shoot him down. For some reason, the command granted his request. With a swift, light step, Lily Litvyak entered the headquarters dugout in a dark blue overalls in a headset with glasses and reported to the general: "Junior Lieutenant Litvyak has arrived." The fascist ace looked at Litvyak with curiosity, then curiosity was replaced by bewilderment: “Why are you laughing at me? I am a pilot who shot down more than thirty aircraft. I am a holder of the knight's cross! It can't be that this girl hit me! That pilot fought masterfully.” The people in the dugout silently looked at the winner and the vanquished. The German asked for proof - Litvyak recalled the details of the battle, known only to the two of them. At first, he listened incredulously, then, apparently, he understood - it was she who knocked him down. The German suddenly jumped up and stretched out into the front, they said something else - he took off his gold watch and handed it to the winner.

And here is another testimony: “Somehow after a flight in which she shot down another fighter, Lilia was urgently called to the headquarters of the regiment. It turned out that the German pilot of the Messerschmitt-109E shot down by her in the style of the Teutonic Knights expressed a desire to see the one who threw him down. The well-groomed baron, colonel of the elite squadron of the Luftwaffe "Richthofen", holder of three Iron Crosses, seeing his winner, was so shocked that he could only stand up in front of Lilia, bowing his head in a respectful bow.

And there is such a testimony: “In the evening, she again met with her opponent, but already on the ground. The pilot of the Messer shot down by her, a captured German baron, a colonel from the elite squadron of the Richthofen, awarded three Iron Crosses, asked to show him his winner. Could the seasoned imperial Ace have imagined that by the great Russian river retribution would come to him from the hand of a Russian girl. When he found out who shot him down, he was shocked and predicted for her, as a pilot, a great future.

Here is someone else's testimony: “One of the fascist aces miraculously escaped by jumping out of a burning plane with a parachute. During interrogation, he asked to show him that Russian who managed to defeat him, who was not defeated by anyone either in the skies of Spain, or in the skies of France and Italy.
Seeing in front of him a small, slender blond girl with dark blue eyes from hatred (it was Lilya), he shouted in a rage:
- Not true! Not! Can not be!

Lily showed the elements of the battle with gestures, and the fascist understood - she. And then, tearing off numerous awards from his chest, including four crosses, he threw them at the feet of the Soviet pilot and knelt before her, paying tribute to her courage and heroism.

Well, and so on. In general, there are different descriptions of this meeting, however, in none of them, for some reason, the specific names of the persons present at the same time, including the aforementioned general, are not indicated. It seems that all the "eyewitnesses" simply repeat the story they heard from someone, supplementing it with clearly invented details. As the saying goes, "they heard the ringing, but they don't know where it comes from." And indeed, neither in the front-line press, nor in awards, nor in other documents, there is any mention of this episode.

For example, in the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda No. 256 dated October 30, 1942, under a photograph of Litvyak, her first successes are briefly reported: “Fighter pilot senior sergeant L. Litvyak, who shot down Yu-88 in a single battle and in a group -“ Messerschmitt-109".

Almost the same thing, under another photograph of Litvyak, is written in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper No. 277 dated November 25, 1942: “The glory of the fighter pilot L. V. Litvyak is thundering: in an air duel she shot down an enemy Yu-88 aircraft, and in a group battle she shot down an Me-109 aircraft.

That's all! No mention of the downed German ace and Litvyak's meeting with him in the headquarters dugout! What if this really happened? Can you imagine how much it would have been written about in the press of those years?! In short, all descriptions of this rendezvous are exclusively in modern fiction and in modern media. Where did the beautiful legend about the young beauty come from, who defeated one of the best aces of the Luftwaffe in a duel? Judging by some publications, this story was composed in the mid-60s by the writer S. V. Gribanov, who, by the way, was born in 1935 and could not have been present at the amazing meeting.

By the way, at that time Lilya was a sergeant, not a junior lieutenant, and her eyes were green, not "dark blue with hatred."

In fairness, it must be said that on September 13, 1942, one German pilot was actually captured in the Stalingrad region: non-commissioned officer Erwin Mayer from the 53rd Ace of Spades fighter squadron, who accounted for 11 downed Soviet aircraft. But it was not Litvyak who shot him down, but the pilot of the 620th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Captain G.V. Kryukov. Here is how this is reported in the award document for Kryukov (spelling preserved): “Captain Kryukov fought an air battle over the Proleyskaya area at the end of fuel, shot down an enemy aircraft Me-109F at 10 hours 5 minutes, which fell 2 km east of Proleyskaya and without fuel landed the plane at his airport. The captured German pilot was sent by the headquarters of the 283rd IAD to the headquarters of the 16th Air Army.

However, the most striking thing is that, according to official documents, that day, Litvyak did not shoot down the Me-109: September 13 in a group battle, along with her friends - senior lieutenant R. V. Belyaeva, junior lieutenants E. V. Budanova and M M. Kuznetsova - she shot down a Yu-88 bomber. But in another air battle, she already personally shot down another Yu-88 and, indeed, finished off the Me-109 fighter, damaged by Raisa Belyaeva. But this happened, according to the same staff documents on September 27, and on that day german fighters not a single pilot was lost near Stalingrad!

In general, there was no sleek baron-colonel with a Knight's Cross or three or four Iron Crosses from the elite Richthofen squadron. No one gave Litvyak a gold watch, no one shouted furiously and threw his awards in front of her, no one stretched out in front of her, bowed his head in a respectful bow and, moreover, did not kneel before her. And all this is just one of the most beautiful front-line legends.

In modern books and media, there are many other equally beautiful legends about Litvyak. They say that after defeating the German ace on the hood of her Yak, she painted a large white lily or rose, and many German pilots, seeing this flower, evaded the fight. They say that after each downed enemy car, a young attractive Muscovite painted white lilies on the fuselage of her plane. They say that her call sign was "White Lily", that everyone called her nothing more than "White Lily of Stalingrad". Many are convinced that Litvyak, along with five other girls, created a squadron called the “White Roses of Stalingrad” and that this squadron became a real nightmare for German pilots, that Lily Litvyak herself was a thunderstorm for the Luftwaffe over Stalingrad and Rostov, the queen of aces of all times and peoples that, when they saw her plane, the frightened Germans yelled: “Akhtung! In the sky - "White lily!!!". And so on and so forth. Do I need to explain that all these rumors and high-profile titles have nothing to do with reality. For example, not a single photograph of the Litvyak aircraft with the image of a white lily was found, although front-line correspondents photographed it several times next to the aircraft. The former technician of the 73rd Guards Regiment N. I. Minkov, who served the Yak-1, on which Litvyak made 42 sorties, did not mention any drawings on the Litvyak aircraft. In particular, talking about Litvyak and her plane, he reported the following interesting details: “Two letters “LL” were scratched on the aircraft control stick (on its upper part) (that is, Lilya Litvyak, she scratched it with a knife during duty), and the word "mom" is scratched into the dashboard at the top. The color of the skin of the aircraft is greyish. The tail number of the aircraft is 18. That's all. Nothing is said about any "White Lily" ...

By the way, about the tail number of Lily's plane, on which she flew recently. As we already know from the above text, the technician of her aircraft N. I. Minkov mentioned the number 18, while other sources call the number 23 ...

And here's another, composed by someone, amazing stories about Litvyak: allegedly, in battles, she was shot down twice over enemy territory and miraculously escaped both times. The first time she allegedly made her way through the front line for three days. The second rescue was even more amazing and, in post-war literature, this story is described approximately as follows. Allegedly, the soldiers of the “field gendarmerie with dogs” tried to capture the pilot who made an emergency landing and jumped out of the cockpit. Getting bogged down in the snow, Litvyak fired back with a pistol, naturally, "saving the last cartridge for herself." The pilot was already saying goodbye to her life, when suddenly our attack aircraft flew over the heads of the enemy. Pouring fire on the Germans, he forced them to rush to the ground. Then he glided next to Litvyak and stopped, and the pilot "with a large full gypsy beard", without getting out of the cockpit, waved his hands at her. Running up to the attack aircraft, Litvyak squeezed into the cramped cockpit and perched on the pilot's lap. Under fire from enemy soldiers, the plane took off, and soon landed at the airfield of the Lilin Regiment. Then the pilot of a single-seat attack aircraft, for some reason, immediately flew away. Of course, no one had time to ask his name, and everyone somehow forgot the date of this miraculous Lily's salvation. This is such a sentimental story. True, in the award documents about the forced landings of Litvyak, it is said in a completely different way. So, according to the documents, on July 16 and 21, 1943, Litvyak did make emergency landings on the fuselage, but not on enemy territory, but on the territory occupied by Soviet troops, in the area of ​​Kuibyshevo and the village of Novikovka. Newspapers and wartime magazines also did not report anything about Lily's miraculous rescues, although they wrote about her and her exploits quite often.

By the way, about the battle on July 21. There are allegations that Litvyak was shot down in that battle, and she escaped by parachute: “... her plane catches fire from enemy fire and flies to the ground like a stone, rotating randomly. The pilot is pressed against the side of the fighter. The counter flow of air bursts into the cabin, making it difficult to breathe. Gathering her strength, Lilia fell out of the burning car and tore the parachute ring…”. However, in reality, Litvyak landed the plane “on its belly” 700-900 meters from the front line, and the emergency team managed to safely evacuate the damaged fighter at night.

In general, we again have to state that this time we are also dealing with someone's obvious writing: Lilya did not make her way through the enemy's rear for three days, the dogs with the feldgendarmes did not chase her, Lilya did not shoot at them from a pistol, did not save her an unknown attack pilot "with a large bushy gypsy beard." She also did not fall out of the burning plane and did not tear the parachute ring ...

Much attention in the press is given to one episode from Lily's combat activities, when she shot down a balloon on May 31, 1943. Moreover, everyone claims that she knocked him down alone. In fact, on a combat mission to destroy an enemy balloon, Litvyak flew out in tandem with junior lieutenant I. I. Borisenko, who finished off the balloon after Litvyak's attack. And for the successful completion of the combat mission, gratitude from the commander of the 44th Army, Lieutenant General V. A. Khomenko, was announced not only to Litvyak, but also to Borisenko.

But, perhaps, most of the legends are associated with the death of Lilia Litvyak. Many researchers and journalists believe that on the last day of her life on August 1, 1943, she "made 4 sorties, shot down 2 enemy aircraft, 1 in a group." The mechanic of her aircraft, N. I. Minkov, also claimed that on the day of her death, Litvyak managed to make three sorties, and her fatal flight was the fourth in the evening. Around the same time, at 4:35 p.m., 23-year-old German ace sergeant major Hans-Jörg Merkle from the 52nd fighter squadron shot down a Yak-1 at an altitude of 3.5 km. This was his thirtieth and last aerial victory, as a Soviet fighter he shot down rammed him and both crashed to the ground about 3 kilometers east of the village of Dmitrievka, Shakhtersky district, Donetsk region. Note that the village of Dmitrievka is literally 6 km from the Kozhevnya farm, on the outskirts of which, as we already know for sure, Lilia Litvyak's plane crashed. Knowing the indomitable temper of Lily, it is logical to assume that, apparently, mortally wounded by the line of the German ace, she decided to take revenge on him and, already dying, rammed him with her plane, having accomplished her last feat. Highly beautiful version! It is a pity, but the documents do not confirm this heroic version, according to the documents, everything happened in a completely different way. Here is an excerpt from the operational summary of the headquarters of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Division for August 1, 1943, only slightly editing it:

“During the day, the regiment covered our troops by patrolling in the air and flew out to escort the Il-2 of the 1st Guards Stalingrad Assault Aviation Division.
From the airfield of the state farm. Kalinin flew 18 Yak-1. Three air battles were carried out, in which 18 Yu-88s, 40 Me-109s, 3 Yu-87s, 4 FV-190s took part, a total of 65 enemy aircraft with our 30 Yak-1s.
Downed 3 Me-109 (Gorkhiver, Samokhvalov, Evdokimov, Ugarov)
1 Yu-88 (Borisenko)
1 Yu-87
10.40 - 11.50 am 9 Yak-1 leading guard senior lieutenant Domnin ... at an altitude of 4.500 meters met 30 Yu-88 and 18 Me-109. A battle ensued with the Messers. Guard Senior Sergeant Evdokimov shot down one Me-109. Guard Senior Sergeant Melnitsky observed the fall of one Yak-1 4-5 km east of Marinovka.
Guards junior lieutenant Litvyak, guards junior lieutenant Borisenko and guards sergeant Tabunov fought with 12 Yu-88. Borisenko lit one Yu-88 and forcedly landed in Daryevka. He lost Litvyak and Tabunov during the attack of an enemy bomber. 1 km north-east of Marinovka, I observed the fall of one Yak-1, which exploded when it hit the ground.
Guards sergeant Tabunov paired with guards junior lieutenant Litvyak were attacked by 4 Me-109s from the direction of the sun. Tabunov repulsed the first attack, did not manage to repel the second and saw how the "Messer" was shot down by Litvyak, which fell in the region of 2 km northeast of Marinovka. After that, Tabunov continued to fight along with Borisenko and lagged behind him due to a lack of fuel, made an emergency landing at the Barilokrepinskaya airfield. After refueling, he returned to his unit. Senior Sergeant Evdokimov did not return from the mission. On August 2, Evdokimov returned from forced landing at the Novoshakhtinsk airfield.
Their losses: two Yak-1s: Guards Junior Lieutenant Litvyak and Guards Sergeant Ugarov were shot down in an air battle, the pilots apparently died. One Yak-1 of the senior sergeant Fomichev's guard was shot down in an air battle. He was forced to sit on his stomach in a field, the plane needs repair, the pilot has bruises right hand and right foot».

As you can see, about the planes shot down by Litvyak in this last fight nothing is said. The time of her death also does not coincide with the memoirs of N. I. Minkov and others.

Unfortunately, the summary does not give a clear answer about the fate of Litvyak after she was shot down. Therefore, after the liberation of the territory over which the Litvyak plane was shot down, Lily's colleagues traveled to that area and looked for traces of the pilot, but could not find anything. But vague rumors spread that the pilot was captured and even began to cooperate with the enemy.

So, the pilot of the 85th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment with the characteristic surname Balamut swore that the locals told him how a Soviet fighter plane landed in the Chistyakovo area, the pilot of which was a thin, white, straight-nosed girl. Allegedly, the Nazis took her away, put her in a car and took her to their unit ...

The famous Soviet ace, Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment Vladimir Lavrinenkov, who was briefly captured in August 1943, allegedly met Litvyak there. He allegedly told Lilina about this, a former fellow soldier Klava Pankratova ...

And the commander of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gridnev, allegedly personally heard Litvyak's appeal to Soviet soldiers: “Listen, Lilya Litvyak speaks on the German radio ...” and, allegedly, he handed over the manuscript of this speech to the right person and now it is in the Moninsky archive ...

The then commander of the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Boris Eremin, recalled: “There were vague rumors about her death: they say she fought, was captured ... Then she wrote some appeals ... I don’t know ... The mere fact that these girls flew like pilots - fighters, deserves every good memory of them. There was so much nonsense - horror! There are a lot of inventions, unfortunately.”

In general, there were many rumors, and they were one more incredible than the other, as a result of which the presentation of Lilia Litvyak for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was postponed for many years ...

Even the remains of Lily found in 1979, confirmed by a forensic examination, did not convince many people who still believe that the "White Lily" is alive.

So, on the 55th anniversary of the Great Victory, television showed a TV report from Switzerland. It featured a certain Russian woman, allegedly a former pilot and "participant in the Second World War." As reported, she was wounded twice and now lives far from her homeland, the mother of three children. The TV report was seen by the former pilot of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Women's Aviation Regiment, Nina Raspopova, who recognized the woman from Switzerland as Lilya Litvyak. Raspopova shared her guess with other veterans:

“So our Lilka Litvyak is alive, let her not be afraid and come through the “Wait for me” program to meet with the surviving pilots who bravely fought and defeated the hardened enemy. Lilya Litvyak herself fought boldly. But they say that a doctor from Switzerland saved her, she was supposedly engaged to him ... And she remained to live in Switzerland ... ".

The ubiquitous media immediately picked up the sensation: “... Lila Litvyak managed to jump out of the burning plane. She was captured, released by the Americans, married a Swede, lives in Sweden, raised three children. She is embarrassed to go to Russia, they say, there is too much around my name ... And she did not receive the completely deserved Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union ... ”.

Well, what can I say? I don’t even want to argue and find out in which country Lilia Litvyak’s double lives - in Switzerland or in Sweden.

In principle, the many legends associated with the name of Lilia Litvyak are no longer surprising. There is only no answer to the question: what are the reasons for the emergence of all these legends? Indeed, among hundreds of our other female pilots, there is not a single one with whose name any legends would be associated. Why, then, are legends exclusively about Litvyak preserved in the people's memory? Is it only because it was the most productive in terms of the number of enemy aircraft shot down?

Of course, Lilia Litvyak was a brave pilot, she flew on combat missions many times and had aerial victories on her combat account. True, there are different opinions about the number of sorties, air battles and downed aircraft. So, it is officially recognized that she made 138 sorties. And according to other sources, Lily made 150 or 168 sorties. It is also claimed that Litvyak participated in 69 or even 89 air battles, but, in both cases, these figures are fantastically high. It is easy to calculate that out of the total number of sorties she made, she made more than a hundred sorties to patrol in the Saratov and Zhitkur regions, as well as to escort Li-2 transport aircraft, and at that time she had no battles with German aircraft. The same confusion is in the number of air victories. So, many argue that Litvyak shot down 16 aircraft (including four in a group) and 1 balloon. In the submission to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, it is indicated that she personally shot down 6, as part of a group of 6 aircraft and 1 balloon. There is evidence that she has 11 air victories. According to other sources, she personally shot down 5 aircraft, in the group 1 aircraft, and also 1 balloon. And according to the fundamental reference book “Soviet aces 1941-1945. Victory of Stalin's Falcons" by the well-known researcher M. Yu. Bykov, the Litvyak combat score is 5 personal air victories and 3 victories in group battles, as well as 1 balloon. Whom to believe? It seems to be given by M. Yu. Bykov, since only documents, including combat logs of all Soviet fighter aviation formations and units, served as the material for his reference book. So, we settled on the fact that personally and in groups, Lilia Litvyak won a total of 9 aerial victories (including a balloon). Is it a lot or a little? I think that's enough to call Lilia Litvyak the best pilot among women who fought in fighter jets. To paraphrase one very famous saying, one can speak about Lila Litvyak like this: “A fighter pilot, a Komsomol member, an athlete, finally, she is just a beauty!”

So maybe the reason for the emergence of legends was simply Lily's unusual appearance? Indeed, as everyone who knew her notes, Litvyak was a very romantic, gentle and attractive girl, she always carefully monitored her appearance, wore a white parachute silk scarf and kept bouquets of fresh wild flowers in the cockpit. A miniature (only 150 cm!) Slender blonde attracted everyone's attention with her sonorous laughter, had incredible charm and was a model of femininity and charm for everyone. Maybe that's why the beauty with a mysterious face is so wrapped up in a heroic halo and secrets that people are ready to believe in all the legends associated with her? After all, everyone is well aware of the truth, according to which beautiful women not only much is forgiven, but much is attributed. Is not it?