Defending the Motherland: The Soviet Women Who Fought Hitler’s Aces by Lyuba Vinogradova (PDF)

Description

Plucked from every background and led by an NKVD Major, the new recruits who boarded a train in Moscow on October 16, 1941, to go to war had much in common with millions of others across the world. What made the members of the 586th Fighter Regiment, the 587th Heavy-Bomber Regiment, and the 588th Regiment of light night-bombers unique was their gender: the Soviet Union was creating the first all-female active combat units in modern history.Drawing on original interviews with surviving airwomen, Lyuba Vinogradova weaves together the untold stories of the female Soviet fighter pilots of the Second World War. From that first train journey to the last tragic disappearance, Vinogradova’s panoramic account of these women’s lives follows them from society balls to unmarked graves, from landmark victories to the horrors of Stalingrad. Battling not just fearsome Aces of the Luftwaffe but also patronizing prejudice from their own leaders, women such as Lilya Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova are brought to life by the diaries and recollections of those who knew them, and who watched them live, love, fight, and die.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Russian historian Vinogradova dove deeply into the archives and conducted an admirable amount of legwork to craft this revelatory study of Soviet female fliers during WWII. Any sexist misconceptions about women on the front lines will be set aside upon reading these painstakingly researched stories about the many female pilots, navigators, and mechanics who lived and died in jobs in which few expected them to succeed.”―Booklist (Starred Review) “The story of a squadron of female fighter, bomber, and support pilots during World War II, focusing on the lives of those who responded to calls of patriotism and took to the skies in defense of their homeland . . . Following these women’s stories with a focused lens and allowing the background themes to add to the narrative without shifting emphasis, this engaging work adds to the knowledge of the Soviet military effort of World War II, profiling its lesser-known heroines while also offering a straightforward critique of Soviet culture.”―Library Journal”What has been missing until now is a thoroughly researched account of all these pilots’ wars, based on primary sources and stitched into the larger picture of the epic battle for what Hitler called the ‘world island’ of central Russia. Defending the Motherland fills that void.”―Giles Whittell, The Times”Brings to light the fascinating story of the world’s first and only all-female aviation regiments . . . Not for the first time, one can’t help being flabbergasted by the heroic achievements of the poverty-stricken and hounded peoples of the USSR.”―Charlotte Hobson, Spectator”[Vinogradova’s] assiduous research, including numerous interviews with elderly veterans, has uncovered fascinating nuggets about the young female pilots’ experience.”―Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times”A gripping, unforgettable and heart-breaking story of female heroism in war and terror, written elegantly, filled with new research–archival and oral–and told here fully for the first time. Not just a tale of amazing derring-do, but a terrifying window into Stalinist Russia. Simply superb.”―Simon Sebag Montefiore”Lyuba Vinogradova tells the poignant story of the determined young women who fought and died in the air above Stalingrad and elsewhere in the epic struggle to expel the German invaders from their country. It is an absorbing and meticulously researched account.”―Sir Rodric Braithwaite, author of Armageddon and Paranoia: The Nuclear Confrontation Since 1945″Remarkable . . . Vinogradova tells the stories of Russian pilots with verve.”―Erica Wagner, The New Statesman”A feat of historical research and a wonderful, stirring read.”―Rachel Polonsky, author of Molotov’s Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History”Superbly written and researched . . . Vinogradova takes her place in the top flight of Russian historians.”―Anna Reid, author of Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II”The story of the Soviet airwomen is well told by Lyuba Vinogradova . . . She has done a huge amount of research, which shines through the pen portraits of the aviators and some of the vivid descriptions of the aerial battles.”―Leo McKinstry, Literary Review”Vinogradova is excellent on the technical aspects and experience of flying the various aircraft . . . She is at her best, though, in bringing alive the quotidian details of wartime.”―Wendy Slater, Times Literary Supplement About the Author Dr. Lyuba Vinogradova was born in Moscow in 1973. After graduating from the Moscow Agricultural Academy with a PhD in microbiology, she took a second degree in foreign languages. In 1995 she was introduced to Antony Beevor and helped him research Stalingrad. Since then she has worked on many other research projects, and is the coauthor (together with Beevor) of A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Obviously written in Russian and translated. The result is acceptable but makes for hard reading. A good story and if you read between the lines, confirms all the unfair and unreasonable treatment suffered by Russian Military members during WWII at the hands of the Security apparatus at the time. The technical detail is refreshing as well as the introspection into each of the featured persons’ lives described in the book. Worth keeping if you are a Military History Collector.

⭐This book is an almost day by day description of the female pilots that virtually forced their way into the Soviet air force during the early half of the air war, starting with the initial attacks of the German war machine in 1942 and 1943. There were three Russian air groups that included a light biplane bomber squadron that flew each night over the German front lines, a twin-engine bomber group that fought during the day, and a fighter organization consisting of the Russian that fought the German Luftwaffe’s fighter and bomber squadrons.The book is made up of hundreds of well researched stand-alone stories that are weaved together in aninteresting narrative of the lives of the 18-23-year-old female pilots that literally pushed their way into the cockpits of Russian aircraft showing their skills as combat until most of them met their deaths.The life and death of Lilya Litvyak the beautiful and now-famous fighter ace who holds the world record of most kills (15) for a female pilot is treated as just one of the team. Only verifiable information is in the book which is good. This is not a combat narrative, but instead is a record of the lives, loves, and lives and deaths they met. It would be a good idea to look up on You Tube the aircraft that appear in the narrative — (for example what is a Heinkel 111 or a Yak-1). This will give you an idea of what when on in the air as well as the ground.

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