Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova (russian: Анна Александровна Тимофеева-Егорова; 23 September 1916 – 29 October 2009) was a pilot in the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She flew a total of 277 sorties that included liaison, reconnaissance and ground-attack missions before she became a prisoner-of-war when her Il-2 was shot down. She was awarded the title of

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

in 1965.

Early years

Anna Yegorova was born into a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

family in the village Volodovo (now in

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mikhai ...

). Eight of her fifteen siblings died when they were infants. Her father, Aleksandr Yegorov, fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as well as the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

as a Bolshevist. Combat stress and other hardships deteriorated his health, and in 1925 he died at 49 years of age. After seven years of school, Yegorova joined

Mosmetrostroy OJSC Mosmetrostroy ( rus, Мосметрострой, abbr. of "Moscow Metro Construction epartment) is a major Russian construction company, which deals with solving engineering problems related to performance of a wide range of under and above ...

, where she worked as a steelman, and then as a

tiler Tiler is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Brian Tiler (1943–1990), English footballer * Carl Tiler (born 1970), English footballer * Ken Tiler (born 1950), English footballer * Rebekah Tiler (born 1999), British weightlift ...

on the construction of Krasnye Vorota station. Her construction job allowed her to study at the Mosmetrostroy aeroclub. In 1938, she was recommended to attend the

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

flight school, but was soon expelled due to her brother's arrest as an "

enemy of the people The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...

". After her expulsion, Yegorova worked as a bookkeeper's assistant at a weaving factory in

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

, while tutoring members of the factory's aero club. She was then sent to attend the

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

flight school, which she graduated from in 1939. Soon afterward, Yegorova became a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

for the Kalinin municipal aero club.

Military career

After the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, the invasion of the USSR by Germany, Yegorova volunteered for combat service. From 1941 to 1942, Yegorova flew 236 reconnaissance and delivery missions for the 130th Air Liaison Squadron in a

Polikarpov Po-2 The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as an all-weather multirole Soviet biplane, nicknamed ''Kukuruznik'' (russian: Кукурузник,Gunston 1995, p. 292. NAT ...

, and was subsequently awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

for distinguished service. After an

aircrash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of f ...

, which was determined to be pilot error, Yegorova was transferred to a training air regiment. In 1943, Yegorova was transferred to the 805th Attack Aviation Regiment and flew 41 missions in the

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 ...

. These missions included the battles above the

Taman Peninsula The Taman Peninsula (russian: Тама́нский полуо́стров, ''Tamanskiy poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia, which borders the Sea of Azov to the North, the Strait of Kerch to the West and the ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. During a mission on 22 August 1944, while in an attack formation of ten aircraft over the

Magnuszew Magnuszew is a village in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Magnuszew. It lies approximately north-west of Kozienice and south-east of Warsaw. ...

bridgehead near

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Yegorova's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Her gunner, Yevdokiya "Dusya" Alekseyevna Nazarkina was killed in the attack. With her gunner killed, and the plane heavily damaged, Yegorova exited the aircraft while the plane was inverted, and suffered serious thermal burns. Yegorova's parachute only partially opened, and she was seriously wounded again upon landing. Yegorova was captured by the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

and taken to a prisoner of war camp where her wounds were treated by Dr. Georgy Sinyakov. Back at her air base, Yegorova was presumed dead and was recommended for the title of

, but she did not receive the title until 1965. On 31 January 1945, Soviet forces overran the Küstrin prisoner camp where she was being held. Yegorova was interrogated as a potential traitor for eleven days at an

NKVD filtration camp NKVD screening and filtration camps (russian: Проверочно-фильтрационные лагеря НКВД СССР), originally known as NKVD special-purpose camps / NKVD special camps (russian: лагеря специального н� ...

for returning Soviet prisoners. Eventually, she was released from custody, but was discharged into the reserve soon after.

Postwar

After being discharged from the armed forces she married Vyacheslav Timofeev, the commander of her air division, and bore two sons named Pyotr and Igor. She was the subject of a feature article in the ''

Literaturnaya Gazeta ''Literaturnaya Gazeta'' (russian: «Литературная Газета», ''Literary Gazette'') is a weekly cultural and political newspaper published in Russia and the Soviet Union. It was published for two periods in the 19th century, and ...

'' in 1961, and in 1965, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Awards and honors

(6 May 1965) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(6 May 1965) * Two

Orders of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet Union, Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War b ...

(20 February 1942 and 26 May 1943) * Two Orders of the Patriotic War 1st class (23 February 1948 and 11 March 1985) * Medal "For Courage" (4 May 1943) *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

(1960)

References

Bibliography