The 125th Borisov Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment named after Marina Raskova () was one of the three Soviet women's aviation regiments founded by Marina Raskova at the start of the Second World War. The unit was founded as the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment in the 223rd Bomber Air Division, 2nd Bomber Aviation Corps of the

16th Air Army The 16th Red Banner Air Army () was the most important formation of the Special Purpose Command. Initially formed during the Second World War as a part of the Soviet Air Force, it was from its 2002 reformation to its 2009 disbandment the tactical ...

on 8 October 1941, and later honored with the guards designation, being renamed 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment in September 1943 and reorganized into 4th Guards Bomber Aviation Division, 1st Bomber Aviation Corps, 3rd Air Army, in the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It ...

. Unlike the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, which used

Polikarpov Po-2 The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2 before 1944, for its initial Glossary of Russian and USSR aviation acronyms: Aircraft designations, ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) was an all-weather multirole Soviet Union, Soviet b ...

utility aircraft, the unit was assigned modern Petlyakov Pe-2 aircraft, which caused some resentment among male units that had older aircraft. Throughout the course of the war, the unit flew 1,134 missions and dropped over 980 tons of bombs on the Axis.

Notable members

Five members of the unit were awarded the title of

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

for their service in the war:

Mariya Dolina Mariya Ivanovna Dolina (, ; 18 December 1922 – 3 March 2010) was a Pe-2 pilot and deputy squadron commander in the women's 125th “Marina M. Raskova” ''Borisov'' Guards Bomber Regiment. She was active primarily on the 1st Baltic Front durin ...

, Galina Dzhunkovskaya, Nadezhda Fedutenko, Klavdia Fomicheva, and Antonina Zubkova. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

one member of the regiment, Valentina Kravchenko, was awarded the title

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

in 1995. In addition, navigator Galina Brok-Beltsova became the last living member of the women's aviation units founded by Raskova.

References

{{Reflist Regiments of the Soviet Air Force in World War II Bomber aviation units and formations of the Soviet Air Forces Soviet women aviators Women military aviators Women in the Russian and Soviet military Soviet women in World War II