A Thousand Sisters

by Elizabeth Wein

  When, not surprisingly, they didn’t get an appointment: ibid., 54.

  “Marina Raskova is forming . . . you may personally talk with her”: officer as quoted by Yevgeniya Zhigulenko in Noggle, 54.

  “spellbound” when they found themselves: Yevgeniya Zhigulenko in Noggle, 54.

  All the information was spread: Merry, 51.

  Irina Rakobolskaya, who grew up: The memories are those of Irina Rakobolskaya in Noggle, 26–27. The quotation “generation not from this universe” is Irina Rakobolskaya as quoted in Krylova 2010, 12.

  Irina was on duty: Merry, 51.

  No one who heard the summons could resist: Krylova 2010, 121; Merry, 41.

  CHAPTER 9: THE 122ND AIR GROUP

  For the young women who answered: Pennington 2001, 37.

  carrying only a small bag: A. M. Bereznitskaya in Cottam 1997, 98.

  The women from Moscow: Vinogradova 2015, 24.

  Throughout the huge nation: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 16–17.

  One of them, when Marina assigned her: A. M. Bereznitskaya in Cottam 1997, 99.

  On October 14 the girls were given military uniforms: Merry, 64; Alexandra Makunina in Noggle, 166; Pennington 2001, 38.

  “right down to the underwear”: Raisa Aronova, quoted in Pennington 2001, 38, from Raisa Aronova 2nd ed., 24; also quoted in Strebe 2009, 23.

  Even in 1943, when they received skirts: Pennington 2001, 234, note 79.

  One woman remembered: Klavdiya Ilushina in Noggle, 51.

  But it couldn’t happen in Moscow: Grossman, 60.

  Then, on October 16, 1941, a Moscow radio: Overy, 97.

  During that single chaotic night: Pennington 2001, 39.

  Aboard one of those trains: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 88.

  Marina’s recruits had to wait: Irina Sebrova in Noggle, 74; Pennington 2001 41, 234.

  They didn’t have any idea where: A. M. Bereznitskaya in Cottam 1997, 100; Merry, 50; Pennington 2001, 40.

  Their train was made up: Pennington 2001, 41; Vinogradova 2015, 45.

  At the station, in the freezing darkness: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 15, 17–18.

  In total, nearly a thousand young women: Merry, 55.

  There, they would train: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 21–22.

  During the long trip, Marina went: Merry, 55; Pennington 2001, 40.

  And the recruits started to make friends: Vinogradova 2015, 44–45, 50.

  There wasn’t a lot of food: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 92; Vinogradova 2015, 48.

  “just like rabbits . . . made us take it all back”: Valentina Kravchenko-Savitskaya, quoted in Pennington 2001, 41, from an interview by Reina Pennington on May 7, 1993; see also Pennington 2001, 235, note 97.

  “Service personnel must cover . . . have turned into mops”: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 18.

  Militsa was no-nonsense: Pennington 2001, 36.

  There were no lights showing: ibid., 41.

  Militsa, who’d graduated from the Engels Flying School: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 22; see also Vinogradova 2015, 63.

  Their hearts must have lifted: Markova 1986, 73.

  The gymnasium of the Red Army Officers’ House: Pennington 2001, 42; see also Vinogradova 2015, 63.

  “Is this some kind of a boudoir? . . . the girls don’t have them either!”: Marina Raskova as quoted by M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 22.

  Now a military representative: Markova 1986, 74; Pennington 2001, 42.

  Sidebar: Combat Boots

  Klavdiya Terekhova said that in one drill: Klavdiya Terekhova-Kasatkina in Noggle, 191.

  But the young recruits were forbidden: A. M. Bereznitskaya in Cottam 1997, 99; Klavdiya Terekhova-Kasatkina in Noggle, 191; Pennington 2001, 39.

  Combat boots in women’s sizes for British soldiers: Drury, August 30, 2012.

  In 2015, after American women soldiers: Scarborough, May 14, 2015.

  CHAPTER 10: “NOW I AM A WARRIOR”

  Marina hadn’t forgotten Militsa’s comments: Merry, 56; Pennington 2001, 42; Strebe 2009, 24.

  The haircuts drove home to everyone: Olga Yakovleva in Cottam 1997, 285; Nadezhda Popova in Noggle, 81.

  At first, headstrong, talented Lilya: Klavdiya Terekhova-Kasatkina in Noggle, 192.

  When the young women . . . Marina had to admit that it did: The story and quotations are from Inna Vladimirovna Pasportnikova in Pennington 2001, 46. They are quoted from a typescript in Pennington’s collection headed “Moi Komandir,” 1989. See Pennington 2001, 235, note 129.

  But she couldn’t let such an outrageous violation: Krylova 2010, 274–75; Inna Pasportnikova in Noggle, 195; Pennington 2001, 46.

  Hanging on to their feminity: Saywell, 138.

  Marina divided the young women: Pennington 2001, 37.

  To avoid argument, Marina made the decision: Gibson, 122.

  Marina gave these assignments: Polina Gelman in Noggle, 39; Yevgeniya Zhigulenko in Noggle, 54; Pennington 2001, 37.

  Women with physical strength: Merry, 36.

  They began lessons immediately: Gibson, 122.

  “Our days were filled . . . in the frosty air: ‘Sing!’”: Inna Pasportnikova in Cottam 1997, 313.

  Sometimes, to get people used to combat: Pennington 2001, 42.

  On November 7, 1941, less than a month: Markova 1986, 78; Markwick & Cardona 2012, 92; Pennington 2001, 42.

  “Let’s vow once more . . . beloved homeland”: Marina Raskova, quoted in Markova 1986, 79; English translation quoted in Pennington 2001, 43.

  “Now I am a warrior . . . mastering a fearsome weapon”: Zhenya Rudneva, quoted in Markwick & Cardona 2012, 93.

  Less than a month later, on December 5, 1941: Hook, 73–74.

  Meanwhile, another ferocious wind: Hook, 72–74; LaFeber & Polenberg, 251, 254.

  on December 9, 1941, under an order of Stalin: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 93.

  Marina chose Militsa Kazarinova’s sister: Alexandra Makunina in Cottam 1997, 254–55.

  Marina also assigned commanders: Pennington 2001, 48, 94.

  Marina chose Yevdokia Bershanskaya: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 27; Krylova 2010, 135; Markwick & Cardona 2012, 91; Vinogradova 2015, 107.

  But Marina wanted her to take charge: Natalya Meklin-Kravtsova in Cottam 1997, 159; Noggle, 18; Pennington 2001, 75.

  Yevdokia’s second-in-command: Krylova 2010, 12

  Irina had gone to war: ibid., 97.

  Now, when Marina Raskova told her: Irina Rakobolskaya in Noggle, 27.

  Sidebar: Units Of Measurement

  In World War II, in the USSR: Von Hardesty & Grinberg, 371.

  CHAPTER 11: WINTER TRAINING

  The winter of 1941–1942 was the coldest: Stolfi, 220.

  They covered their faces with masks: Vinogradova 2015, 89.

  Throughout that fearsome winter: Belyakov, 34; Merry, 56–57; Pennington 2001, 43.

  Beginning in January 1942: Pennington 2001, 47.

  Training in wartime meant that: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 25.

  “It was early morning . . . hands freeze to the metal”: Zoya Malkova in Cottam 1997, 298–99.

  “Other girls join in . . . you found new strength”: ibid., 299.

  The young airwomen truly: Pennington 2001, 45.

  She hummed along to Rimsky-Korsakov: Merry, 109, 152; Pennington 2001, 29, 45.

  At the end of the day’s training: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 26.

  “The Dugout”: Quoted by M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 26-27. It was written by the poet Alexey Surkov and beloved throughout the Soviet Union during the war. The English translation is my own, based on several English versions.

  And she had a sympathetic ear: Antonina Skoblikova in Cottam 1997, 66.

  Some of the women: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 27; Markova 1986, 65.

  The one thing Marina didn’t make time for: Yekaterina Fedotova in Cottam 1997, 51; Pennington 2001, 44.

  Years later, when other men: Alexievich 20
17, 113; Pennington 2001, 28.

  CHAPTER 12: GROUND CREW

  Irina Favorskaya was a student: Irina Lunyova-Favorskaya in Noggle, 209–10.

  “We had to fix instruments . . . girls laughed and made fun of me”: Irina Lunyova-Favorskaya in Noggle, 210.

  Zinaida Butkaryova came from: Zinaida Butkaryova-Yermolayeva in Noggle, 184–85; Klavdiya Terekhova-Kasatkina in Noggle, 191.

  “When one of our aircraft . . . the pilot got down safely”: Zinaida Butkaryova-Yermolayeva in Noggle, 186.

  One, Khivaz Dospanova, was from a town in Kirghiz: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 90.

  Only a third of one percent of Soviet women: ibid., 89.

  Zoya Malkova, the aircraft mechanic: Zoya Malkova in Noggle, 218.

  Life was harder for ground crew: Pennington 2001, 116.

  The young women who’d been assigned as Komsomol: Vinogradova 2015, 90–91.

  “After I was in closer contact . . . we all became like sisters”: Klavdiya Ilushina in Noggle, 49.

  Sidebar: Kitchen Duty: Another Form of Elitism

  Valentina Petrochenkova was so inspired: Valentina Petrochenkova-Neminushaya in Noggle, 175.

  “and only the instructors in the bushes could stop us!”: ibid., 175–76.

  When she’d finished her course . . . she was still sitting there: The story, and the dialogue quoted with the officer, are quoted in Valentina Petrochenkova-Neminushaya’s account in Noggle, 176.

  Finally she wore him down: ibid., 176–77.

  CHAPTER 13: THE AIRCRAFT ARRIVE

  Late in December 1941: Markova 1986, 84.

  These battered Sukhoys: Pennington 2001, 51; Vinogradova 2015, 81.

  Remember Vladimir Petlyakov: Gunston, 279.

  These Pe-2s were the planes: Krylova 2010, 126; Pennington 2001, 52.

  by the end of the war the 587th loved this aircraft: Mariya Dolina in Cottam 1997, 71; Yekaterina Fedotova in Cottam 1997, 116; Vinogradova 2015, 101.

  The aircraft for the 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment: Pennington 2001, 48.

  They were Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes: Pennington 2001, 31; Vinogradova 2015, 98.

  They were already being used at the front: Irina Rakobolskaya in Cottam 1997, 150; Vinogradova 2015, 106.

  “It sounded like a sewing machine . . . as long as the Po-2s approached”: Artur Gartner in Wasps and Witches, 39:29 ff.

  “We hated the German fascists . . . to be able to fire at them!”: Polina Gelman in Noggle, 39.

  As for the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment: Pennington 2001, 50.

  The male technicians at the factory: Levin, 29–30; Pennington 2001, 50.

  Marina decided to introduce: Pennington 2001, 51.

  “Our aerodrome kids were transformed . . . pulled themselves up”: The quotation is I. S. Levin, 29–30, English translation by Pennington 2001, 51.

  It wasn’t long before the splendid Yak-1: M. A. Kazarinova in Cottam 1997, 23; Nina Slovokhotova in Cottam 1997, 261; Pennington 2001, 51; Vinogradova 2015, 96.

  Those fighter planes only had room: Pennington 2001, 51.

  “outside when the wind was blowing . . . would be a deep blue color”: Galina Drobovich in Noggle, 190.

  Soon the young fighter pilots: Olga Yakovleva in Cottam 1997, 286.

  “The machine is splendid! . . . I learned how to turn”: Lilya Litvyak, quoted by S. Gribanov in Cottam 1997, 305.

  CHAPTER 14: NOT QUITE READY FOR WAR

  Hardly any of Marina Raskova’s pilots: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 94; Pennington 2001, 73.

  “You see this? . . . I cannot see it!”: Raisa Zhitova-Yushina in Noggle, 90.

  On March 9, 1942, it was deadly for the 588th: Vinogradova 2015, 117–18.

  “It was like flying through milk”: Yevdokia Bershanskaya, quoted in Vinogradova 2015, 117.

  Marina stayed up late: Markova 1986, 87; Pennington 2001, 48–49; Vinogradova 2015, 117–18.

  “My darlings, my girls . . . you shouldn’t be sobbing”: Marina Raskova as quoted by Klavdiya Terekhova-Kasatkina in Noggle, 194.

  “These are our first losses . . . Clench your hearts like a fist”: Marina Raskova as quoted by Klavdiya Terekhova-Kasatkina in Alexievich 2017, 564.

  The incident shook everyone: Serafima Amosova-Taranenko in Noggle, 44.

  Because of the accident: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 94; Pennington 2001, 49.

  “We are having remarkable summer-like flying . . . very confident and completely grown-up”: Lilya Litvyak in a letter, quoted by S. Gribanov in Cottam 1997, 306.

  But before they could go to war: Vinogradova 2015, 121–22.

  But when the 586th’s assignment came: Yekaterina Polunina in Noggle, 164.

  Instead, they’d be protecting the strategic city: Vinogradova 2015, 127.

  On April 16, 1942, the women: Pennington 2001, 108.

  Skylarks sang in the fields around them: Vinogradova 2015, 168.

  every night the air raid sirens wailed: Nina Slovokhotova in Cottam 1997, 259.

  The 586th’s main mission: Pennington 2001, 103, 105.

  Sometimes they also had to deliver urgent messages: Tamara Pamyatnykh in Cottam 1997, 160; Klavdiya Pankratova in Cottam 1997, 282.

  In addition to being disappointed: Vinogradova 2015, 127.

  Marina had appointed Tamara Kazarinova: Alexandra Makunina in Cottam 1997, 254.

  “fairly well . . . not bad”: Alexandra Makunina in Cottam 1997, 255.

  Tamara didn’t often fly along: Pennington 2001, 107.

  Soviet fighter pilots were alone: Merry, 104.

  Three of the 586th’s fighter pilots: Nina Potapova in Cottam 1997, 347.

  Lilya Litvyak and Katya Budanova: Inna Pasportnikova in Cottam 1997, 314–15.

  “So May has almost ended . . . thirsting for battle, especially me”: Lilya Litvyak, quoted by S. Gribanov in Cottam 1997, 307.

  There were now more than twenty-five nations: Hook, 77.

  The Americans were fighting an air and sea war: ibid., 82.

  As the snow began to melt in Russia: See Anderson, 2015, for a detailed account of the Leningrad blockade.

  But Moscow was still free: Hook, 81.

  In March, the Red Army began fighting in Crimea: ibid., 84.

  Encouraged by the warm weather: Beevor & Vinogradova in Grossman 2006, 116–17; Overy, 157–58; Pennington 2001, 79; Vinogradova 2015, 161.

  CHAPTER 15: THE 588TH: IN COMBAT AT LAST

  The 588th was sent to help: Mariya Smirnova in Noggle, 31; Serafima Amosova-Taranenko in Noggle, 44; Markwick & Cardona 2012, 96; Pennington 2001, 76.

  Marina Raskova’s young aviators: Pennington 2001, 49.

  Marina flew with the 588th: Irina Rakobolskaya in Cottam 1997, 151.

  Ten minutes before the planes: Raisa Aronova in Cottam 1997, 250.

  the surrounding orchards were foamy: Markova 1986, 91.

  When the young women climbed out: Pennington 2001, 76, referring to Raisa Aronova 1980, 52–53.

  Once again, the young women’s morale: Pennington 2001, 78.

  The pilot who checked out Mariya Smirnova: Mariya Smirnova in Noggle, 31.

  Before Marina flew back: Markova 1986, 91.

  “Standing shoulder to shoulder . . . opening up in our lives”: Natalya Meklin-Kravtsova in Cottam 1997, 158.

  On June 10, 1942, three Po-2s: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 96; Pennington 2001, 73, 78.

  The 588th’s commander, Yevdokia Bershanskaya: Natalya Meklin-Kravtsova in Cottam 1997, 159.

  As they approached the target area: Serafima Amosova-Taranenko in Noggle, 45.

  “When we landed . . . hugging and kissing us”: Serafima Amosova-Taranenko in Noggle, 45.

  But for Lyuba Olkhovskaya’s squadron: Markwick & Cardona 2012, 96; Zoya Parfyonova in Noggle, 71; Pennington 2001, 78.

  “We painted on . . . our planes . . . the Death of our Friends”: Serafima Amosova-Taranenko in Noggle, 45.

  Lyuba’s squadron had to fly: Zoya Parfyonova in Noggle, 71.

  Mariya S
mirnova, the pilot: Mariya Smirnova in Noggle, 31.

  For most of the summer: Pennington 2001, 77.

  Yevdokia Bershanskaya turned out to be: Natalya Meklin-Kravtsova in Cottam 1997, 159; Pennington 2001, 75.

  She tried to balance military discipline: Olga Yerokhina-Averjanova in Noggle, 58–59.

  Tonya Rudakova, who was tiny: Irina Rakobolskaya in Cottam 1997, 156.

  “Be careful”: Natalya Meklin-Kravtsova quoting Yevdokia Bershanskaya in Cottam 1997, 160, 199.

  That was enough to reassure: Irina Rakobolskaya in Cottam 1997, 155.

  They used two airfields: Irina Rakobolskaya in Cottam 1997, 154; Serafima Amosova-Taranenko in Noggle, 45.

  “You point your plane . . . how I hate them!”: Zhenya Rudneva, quoted in Vinogradova 2015, 109.

  The release catch wasn’t entirely reliable: Irina Rakobolskaya in Noggle, 29.

  “I am not in the least afraid . . . so wonderful to fly!”: Zhenya Rudneva in Cottam 1997, 218.

  Flying in the dark: Irina Rakobolskaya in Noggle, 30.

  Another sobering accident: Polina Gelman in Cottam 1997, 163; Vinogradova 2015, 157–58.

  The darkened nighttime airfields: Pennington 2001, 81.

  “Soon we’ll be expected to land . . . commander’s cigarette”: Irina Rakobolskaya in Cottam 1997, 155.

  CHAPTER 16: DIVE-BOMBERS FOR THE 587TH

  Back at Engels: Markova 1986, 94; Noggle, 99; Valentina Kravchenko-Savitskaya in Noggle, 101; Pennington 2001, 53, 54.

  “flying coffin”: Antonina Bondareva-Spitsina in Wasps and Witches, 36:13ff.

  “the control stick was heavy . . . tail up for takeoff”: Yekaterina Musatova-Fedotova in Noggle, 147.

  Marina Raskova was less experienced: Merry 109; Pennington 2001, 44; Pennington 2003 Vol. 2, 353.

  Katya was there to see: Yekaterina Fedotova in Cottam 1997, 51; Vinogradova 2015, 128–29.

  “Never mind, girls . . . certainly is airworthy”: Marina Raskova as quoted by Yekaterina Fedotova in Cottam 1997, 51.

  According to pilot Yelena: Yelena Malyutina in Newman, December 6, 2016.

  In the back of the aircraft: Noggle, 99.

  Now Marina ran into: Pennington 2001, 52–53.

  Tonya Khokhlova was one: Antonina Khokhlova-Dubkova in Noggle, 114.

  “but in the air it was one, two, and it was recharged!”: ibid.

  It was difficult for the armorers: Dasha Chalaya in Cottam 1997, 95.

  The Pe-2 dive-bomber contained five: Galina Volova in Cottam 1997, 93.