Lyolya Magometovna Boguzokova (, ; 15 February 1922 24 September 1951) was a gunner and

radio operator A radio operator (also, formerly, a wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system and the technicalities in broadcasting. The profession of radio operator has become l ...

on an

Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

of the Soviet Air Forces during

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 ...

who completed 59 missions and received commendation from

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. She was also the first Adygean woman aviator.

Early life

Boguzokova was raised by her aunt and uncle after her father was repressed in the 1930s while her mother worked in Krasnodar. After completing secondary school with excellent marks she moved to the city of Maykop where she studied at a local aeroclub since she was a member of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

while a student at pedagogical school. She had been inspired to become a pilot from reading in newspapers about the feat of women pilots

Valentina Grizodubova Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova (, ''Valentyna Stepanivna Hryzodubova''; – 28 April 1993) was one of the first female pilots in the Soviet Union awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the only female Hero of the Soviet Union to also b ...

Polina Osipenko Polina Denisovna Osipenko (, ; 8 October 1907 – 11 May 1939) was a Soviet military pilot who, with Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova on 24–25 September 1938, performed a nonstop flight between Moscow and the Sea of Okhotsk, setting a n ...

, and

Marina Raskova Marina Mikhaylovna Raskova ( rus, Мари́на Миха́йловна Раско́ва, , mɐˈrʲinə mʲɪˈxajləvnə rɐˈskovə; née Malinina; 28 March 1912 – 4 January 1943) was the first woman in the Soviet Union to achieve the diplom ...

. After completing pedagogical school she began working as a teacher in the

Chechen-Ingush ASSR When the Soviet Union existed, different governments had ruled the northern Caucasus regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia. Within the Mountain Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic, later annexed into the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Repub ...

, and in May 1942 she was appointed as the director of the Novo-Atagin school, but was evacuated from the area in August that same year due to the war.

World War II

After being evacuated from the warfront she sent in a request to be allowed to join the air force. Her request was granted in 1943, and in November she was assigned to fly as a radio operator and gunner in the 765th Assault Aviation Regiment. She flew in her first ground-attack sortie on the

North Caucasian Front The North Caucasus Front, also translated as North Caucasian Front, was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. First Creation The ...

. In the middle of the war she married pilot Pyotr Likarenko, and after their wedding ceremony they painted “From Moscow to Berlin” on the side of one of the regiment's aircraft. They had met when Pyotr completed pilot training and was informed, to his disbelief, that she would be his radio operator and gunner. Lyolya went on to fly ground-attack missions with her husband, even while she was pregnant with their son Igor during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

. During the war she completed 59 combat missions, engaged in five dogfights and shot down two enemy aircraft in the process.Журнал «Авиация и космонавтика» №3 от 1969 года

Personal life

After the war Boguzokova returned to the field of education, and after continuing her schooling at a pedagogical institute she became a Russian language teacher in Moscow. On 24 September 1951 she died from

Leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

and was buried in the Khatukai aul, her mother's hometown. Her son Igor followed in her footsteps and also held a career in military aviation, reaching the rank of colonel.

Awards

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

2nd class (1945) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

(1945) * Medal "For Courage" (1943) * campaign medals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boguzokova, Lyolya 1922 births 1951 deaths People from Teuchezhsky District Circassian people from the Soviet Union Women aviators Soviet women in World War II Deaths from leukemia Women air force personnel of the Soviet Union Soviet World War II pilots Soviet Air Force officers Deaths from cancer in the Soviet Union