Lydia Litvyak: The Life and Legacy of the Soviet Woman Who Became World War II’s Most Successful Female Fighter Pilot

Altogether, the Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle in the history of warfare, and the Soviets’ decisive victory there is considered one of the biggest turning points in the entire war, and certainly in the European theater. Over the next two years, the German gains in Russia were steadily reversed, and the Red Army eventually began pushing west towards Berlin. Fittingly, the importance of Stalingrad was commemorated in several ways, from Churchill presenting Stalin with a “Sword of Stalingrad” to the Russians’ decision not to rebuild parts of the battle scarred city as a reminder of what happened there. 

Partly out of dire circumstances and partly from a cultural worldview, it was the Soviet Union who first pressed female pilots into direct combat when Hitler invaded Russia. Ahead of Stalingrad, Stalin publicly declared that “women should be given the right to fly and fight for their country.” As a result, more than 800,000 women served in the Soviet military during the war years in hospitals, communication units, as road troops, anti-aircraft gunners, and snipers.

Of the Soviet female fighter pilots who fought the Nazis in the skies, led raids against ground targets, and stopped supply transports, the iconic Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak stands out as the most distinguished. The most productive and highly decorated of the Soviet Union’s female pilots, Litvyak was an expert aviator by the age of 14 and trained 45 pilots in the years leading up to the war, while still a teenager. She went on to serve in several of the elite air guard regiments, and she would be credited with numerous victories as the Soviets desperately tried to hold off the German onslaught around Stalingrad. The quirky and defiant Litvyak was described as a “silent modest beauty with a blonde shock of hair and blue eyes.” She “walked with a special gait, causing delight among others,” men in particular, and she tended to look neat at all times.