Wings, Women, & War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat - Book Review

Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military, Spring, 2002 by Kathryn Spurling

Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001. 304 pp. Appendices, bibliography, index. $29.95 (cloth) ISBN 0-7006-1145-2.

A True Adventure

To refer to Reina Pennington's book as a "true adventure" in no way detracts from its academic merit or historiographical value. It is a true adventure in the style of the boys adventure books, which dominated for generations. It is a true adventure insofar as through its pages it elevates us from our mundane lives to the larger than life exploits of individuals who pressed the boundaries of human endeavor. Like so many other books it traces the adventures and sacrifices of those who took to the sky in defense of their homeland during World War II. Dissimilar to all but a very isolated few, this true adventure features heroes who just happened to be women.

Pennington opens her adventure with a short background on the tradition in Russia of strong combative women. She observes that perhaps more than in any other country this tradition has been evident. Ancient burial sites dating back to the 4th or 3rd centuries were found to contain women buried with weapons. During WWI 2,000 women were recruited and volunteered for the "Battalion of Death." Whilst the stated purpose of the battalion was to "serve as an example to the army and lead the men into battle ... to shame the men in the trenches by having the women go over the top first," (p. 5) by July 1917 the Battalion of Death was involved in front line combat and suffered heavy casualties. Russian women also gained pilot's licenses from 1911 and several managed to participate during WWI as reconnaissance pilots. As Russia embraced socialism so it decreed capitalism, the class structure and gender discrimination, alien to the state. Between the wars universal military service involved women as well as men. Unfortunately, as the nation fell into the depths of Stalinism so too did Russian feminism become muted. Nevertheless, with war looming darkly on the horizon yet again, women were encouraged to join the rapidly expanding Soviet military and ironically, active support from Stalin paved the way for women in Soviet military aviation.

When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union on 22 January 1941 only a few women served in military aviation units, but there were many qualified women pilots who immediately sought to volunteer. In 1938 the Soviet people had been enthralled by the adventures of Marina Raskova, Polina Osipenko, and Valentina Grizodubova. In a twin-engine ANT-37 (a converted DB2 long range bomber) named "Rodina" the aviators set an international women's straight line distance record when they flew 5,947 km. Stalin realized the political capital in this and other aviation exploits just as a later Soviet regime would utilize the space race for much the same purpose. When Polina Osipenko was killed in an air crash in 1939 Stalin acted as a pallbearer. His support was crucial in the formation of women's combat air regiments. By 1941 Aviation Group 122 was formed. It consisted entirely of women volunteers and was commanded by Marina Raskova. Subsequently three regiments were formed under the auspices of Aviation Group 122: the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Yak 1 fighters), 587th Short Range Bomber Aviation Regiment (SU-2 bombers), and the 46th Night Bomber Regiment (PO-2 bi-planes).

The recruitment and training of aviators within Aviation Group 122 was challenging in much the same way as it was for other. Soviet aviation groups. There was an abundance of volunteers who needed to be trained in the ways of the military and become transformed into competent pilots, navigators, armourers, and support staff. A command structure needed to be implemented. Volunteers needed aircraft, armaments, uniforms and supplies at a time of unprecedented demand in a rapidly deteriorating strategic position. But whilst other Soviet aviation groups faced the same challenges, for Aviation Group 122 the challenges were greater because they involved women. Very few of those in the newly installed command structure were military career professionals, even fewer were trained military aviators. Volunteers sent for training found male instructors reluctant teachers. Uniforms were manufactured for men, and thus were ill fitting and oversized for many women. Members of Group 122 faced derision were not taken seriously, and their behaviour was closely scrutinized in the early stages. Training was stringent and demanding. Trainee mechanics spent up to fifteen hours a day in Russia's frigid winter conditions. The flight-training program that normally took three years was condensed to a physically and emotionally taxing six months.

Much of the ensuing success of the Soviet women's aviation program was due to the exhaustive efforts of Marina Raskova. She unapologetically used her hero status and personal contacts in high places to attain more and better equipment for her aviators. When the male-dominated air force hierarchy wished to relegate women volunteers to obscurity in discarded and ancient flying machines, Raskova demanded equal combat opportunities and aircraft. She normally succeeded, as with the 24 new Yak 1 aircraft she attained for the 586th regiment and the PE-2s assigned the 587th. Her belief in the women volunteers in turn inspired them and their achievements rapidly dispelled the cynicism of non-supporters.