Mariya Mikhailovna Kuznetsova (; 14 April 1918 – 12 October 1990) was a Soviet fighter pilot who originally flew with the women's

586th Fighter Aviation Regiment The 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment () was one of the three Soviet women's aviation regiments founded by Marina Raskova at the start of the Second World War after she convinced Joseph Stalin to allow her to form three all-female aviation regiments ...

but was later transferred to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment with

Yekaterina Budanova Yekaterina Vasilyevna Budanova (), nicknamed Katya (Катя) (6 December 1916 – 19 July 1943), was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Usually credited with five or more aerial victories,Jackson 2003, p. 57. along with ...

, Lydia Litvyak, and several other members of the unit in September 1942. While she did not become an ace, she made it through

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

unlike many of her colleagues transferred there.

Civilian life

Kuznetsova was born on 4 April 1918 to a Russian peasant family in Yazvishchi village, Moscow Governorate, RSFSR. She began flying when she was 18, but her father was arrested during the

Red Terror The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...

in 1937, forcing her to note the arrest in applications and documents, resulting in her being kicked out of flight training several times for being related to an "enemy of the people"; however, her friends spoke up on her behalf and managed to convince the head of the flight school to let her stay. After the war she married Vladimir Pavlovich Zhukotsky, commander of the 802nd Fighter Aviation Regiment.

World War II

After transferring to the Red Army from Osoviahim in October 1941 she began training at Engels Military Aviation School until she was deployed to defend important structures in Saratov from German bombers with the

. In September 1942 she was transferred to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment with

, Lydia Litvyak, and Raisa Belyaeva; the reasons for the transfer are disputed among historians, ranging from the need for experienced pilots in the

battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

Tamara Kazarinova Tamara Aleksandrovna Kazarinova (; 9 July 1906 – 4 August 1956) was a Soviet pilot and the commander of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment during the Second World War until she was transferred to the General Directorate of Fighter Aviation Defen ...

wanting to get rid of the pilots who complained about her. In a postwar interview with Anne Noggle, Kuznetsova claimed to have shot down three enemy aircraft, including a Ju 87 and

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one of ...

, but there is no confirmation of this in her award sheets or regiment documents. It is confirmed that she flew over 100 sorties, providing cover for strategically valuable targets and escorting

Li-2 The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Khimki, Moscow-Khimki and, after the factory's evacuation in 1941, at the Tash ...

transport aircraft. After serving with the predominantly male fighter aviation regiment in Stalingrad she did not want to return to her original unit, the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, because it was an air defense unit that saw less intense combat; however, she was forced to do so under threat of tribunal, despite complaining that she wouldn't be "deserting" to the reserve but to the frontlines. During the war she was featured alongside Litvyak and Budanova in the military aviation newspaper ''Stalinsky Sokol.''

Awards

* Two

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 (21 February 1944 and 1985) *

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 ...

(28 September 1944) * campaign and jubilee medals

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsova, Mariya 1918 births 1990 deaths Soviet women in World War II Soviet World War II pilots Women air force personnel of the Soviet Union