Nina Alekseevna Kamneva (russian: Нина Алексеевна Камнева; 1916 – 1973) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

athlete and military engineer. She was best known for breaking the world record for a free fall parachute jump in 1934.

Biography

Kamneva was a military engineer who finished her career with the rank of Colonel. Kamneva was born in 1916 in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. She attended the Moscow Central Institute of Physical Education. Interested in skydiving Kamneva became one of the first instructors in the Central School of Osoaviakhim, with Tamara Ivanova and Lyuba Berlin. In 1933 at the Túshino Aerodrome she was the first woman to jump from a Polikarpov Po-2 aircraft. On 13 August 1934, she broke the women's world record for free fall. Kamneva jumped from 2,750 meters only opening the parachute at 250 meters up. She was in free fall for 58 seconds. Kamneva was the first skydiver to be awarded the title of "USSR Skydiving Master". She completed her studies at the Zhukovsky Military Air Academy and worked as a paratrooper trainer for Soviet army personnel at the Chkalov Academy. She died in 1973, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, in the Soviet Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamneva, Nina 1916 births 1973 deaths Soviet sportspeople Soviet engineers Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner