Leyla Alasgar gizi Mammadbeyova, née Zeynalova''Conquering the Skies''. Baku Magazine, #2 (22), March–April 2011; p. 72. ( Azerbaijani: ''Leyla Ələsgər qızı Məmmədbəyova''; 17 September 1909 – 4 July 1989), was the first

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i female

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

.The Proprietress of the Sky
by I.Gadirova. ''Nash Vek''. 7 May 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2007 She also was the first female pilot of

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

, of

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

and of

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

Career

Mammadbeyova's father Alasgar Zeynalov was the cousin of one of Azerbaijan's pioneer film actors,

Huseyn Arablinski Huseyn Arablinski (), born Huseynbala Mammad oghlu Khalafov (1881, Baku – 17 March 1919, Baku), was an Azerbaijani actor. Life and career Born to a poor family, Huseyn Arablinski lost his father at a young age. He was sent by his mother to a r ...

. Her family was arts-oriented, and as a teenager she could play the piano and the

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

. At age 14, she married former landowner Bahram Mammadbeyov of Kurdakhany, who would go on to become chief of the Professional Unions Bank in Baku. Mammadbeyova was trained as a professional aviator at the Baku Airclub and performed her first flight in 1931. She continued her education at an aviators school in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1932. On 17 March 1933, Mammadbeyova became the second woman

parachutist Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(after Nina Kamneva) having jumped from a

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 ...

aeroplane at Moscow's Tushino Airfield. In 1934 she won the

parachute jump The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a , open ...

competition held among representatives of the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

nations. By 1941 she was

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. Mammadbeyova continued her career as a pilot and instructor at the Baku Airclub. She was refused to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as at the time she was raising four children (she had six overall). Despite the Baku Airclub closing down due to war conditions, Mammadbeyova managed to launch glider and parachutist courses of her own, where she trained hundreds of combat pilots and around 4,000

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

s. Two of her students later became

Heroes 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 t ...

. Mammadbeyova performed her last flight in 1949 and worked as Vice-Chair of the

DOSAAF DOSAAF (), full name ''Volunteer Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (), was a paramilitary sport organization in the Soviet Union that was concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was establ ...

's Baku branch until 1961. Mammadbeyova's elder son Firudin fought in World War II, and her younger son Khanlar took part in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, both as combat pilots. Leyla Mammadbeyova became a living icon while still in her twenties. Her courage and skills were celebrated through media and the arts. Her character inspired the literary works of

Mikayil Mushfig Mikayil Mushfig (, born Mikayil Ismayilzade) (5 June 1908, Baku – 6 January 1938, Baku) was an Azerbaijani poet of the 1930s. Mikayil Mushfig is considered one of the founders of the new Azerbaijani poetic style. Most of his poetry is abou ...

(''Afshan'', 1933 and ''Shoyla'', 1934) and

Samad Vurgun Samad Vurgun ( ; born Samad Yusif oghlu Vekilov; March 21, 1906 – May 27, 1956) was an Azerbaijani and Soviet poet, dramatist, public figure, first People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR (1943), academician of Azerbaijan National Academy of Scie ...

(''Leyla'', 1935), as well as the movie ''Ismat'' (dir. Mikayil Mikayilov, 1934). In the latter, Mammadbeyova appeared as a stuntwoman, having performed in plane operating scenes. In 1995 a documentary on Mammadbeyova's life and career entitled '' Leyla'' and directed by Nazim Rza Israfiloglu was released by ''Azerbaijantelefilm''.AzTV / Our Films: Leyla

References

External links

İsmət movie online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mammadbeyova, Leyla Soviet military personnel of World War II from Azerbaijan Azerbaijani women aviators Paratroopers 1909 births 1989 deaths People from Baku Women air force personnel of the Soviet Union Burials at II Alley of Honor Soviet parachuting pioneers Women aviation pioneers Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour