Mariya Ilyichina Tolstova (russian: Мария Ильинична Толстова; 15 May 1918 8 January 2004) was a flight commander in the 175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment, and one of the few women to fly the
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 ...
.
[Ребров В.И]
Первая лётчица-штурмовик Мария Ильинична Толстова
// Кольчугино - город металлургов и кабельщиков / В.И. Ребров. - Владимир: Аркаим, 2011. - С. 57-58.
Civilian life
Tolstova was orphaned at a young age, resulting in her attending a boarding school for much of her youth. After completing school she worked at a railway station and later as a schoolteacher before eventually becoming a flight instructor at an aeroclub. After the war she worked for the civil air fleet, flying cargo in a
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 ...
until retiring from aviation in 1959.
World War II
Despite her experience as a flight instructor and aviation background, Tolstova volunteered to become a medical officer in order to be sent to the front. She briefly served as a field medic in the 5th Guards Airborne Regiment where she assisted hundreds of wounded soldiers, before her request for a transfer to aviation was granted. Initially she worked as a flight instructor in the 11th separate training regiment, training 36 pilots while doing so, before eventually being posted to the 175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment in 1944. There, she flew 42 sorties on the Il-2 by the end of the war.
Awards
* Two
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 ...
*
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...
2nd class
*
Order of the Red Star
The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) 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 193 ...
*
Medal "For Courage"
* campaign and jubilee medals
See also
*
Anna Yegorova
Anna Alexandrovna Timofeyeva-Yegorova (russian: Анна Александровна Тимофеева-Егорова; 23 September 1916 – 29 October 2009) was a pilot in the Soviet Air Force during the Second World War. She flew a total of 27 ...
*
Tamara Konstantinova
Tamara Fyodorovna Konstantinova (; 7 November 1919 – 28 July 1999) was an Ilyushin Il-2 pilot and deputy squadron commander in the Red Army Air Force, Soviet Air Force during the Second World War. On 29 June 1945, she was awarded the title of t ...
*
Lidiya Shulaykina
Lidiya Ivanovna Shulaykina (russian: Лидия Ивановна Шулайкина; 22 June 1995) was one of the few women Ilyushin Il-2 pilots and the only female ground-attack pilot in naval aviation during the Second World War. In 1993 she ...
*
Lyolya Boguzokova
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolstova, Mariya
1918 births
2004 deaths
Soviet World War II pilots
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner