Nina Zakharovna Ulyanenko (russian: Нина Захаровна Ульяненко; 17 December 1923 – 31 August 2005) was a navigator, pilot and flight commander in the women's

46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment "Night Witches" (german: die Nachthexen; russian: Ночные ведьмы, ) was a World War II German nickname for the all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviat ...

during

World War II 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 ...

, after which she was awarded the title

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 ...

on 18 August 1945.

Early life

Ulyanenko was born on 17 December 1923 to a working-class Russian family in Votkinsk, Sarapul district, in what is now the capital of

Udmurtiya Udmurtia (russian: Удму́ртия, r=Udmúrtiya, p=ʊˈdmurtʲɪjə; udm, Удмуртия, ''Udmurtija''), or the Udmurt Republic (russian: Удмуртская Республика, udm, Удмурт Республика, Удмурт � ...

. Due to her parents divorcing when she was only seven years old she was brought up by her mother. Amazed and fascinated by three famous women aviators

Valentina Grizodubova Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova (russian: Валенти́на Степа́новна Гризоду́бова, uk, Валентина Степанівна Гризодубова ''Valentyna Stepanivna Hryzodubova''; in Kharkov – 28 April 199 ...

, Polina Osipenko, and Marina Raskova she frequently saw in the newspapers, she decided to enroll at the local aeroclub while in ninth grade, during which she juggled evening schoolwork and studying aviation. She went on to graduate from her tenth grade of school as well as the local aeroclub in 1940, having made her first flight on 11 April 1940. From August 1940 to August 1941 she worked as a kindergarten teacher, but wanting to return to aviation, she entered the Saratov Aviation Technical School in September.

World War II career

Due to the recent German invasion of the Soviet Union, Ulyanenko voluntarily enlisted in the military in January 1942 to join the women's aviation group founded by Marina Raskova. The next month she finished a highly condensed navigator's course at the Engels Military Aviation School and was subsequently assigned to the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, the daylight dive-bomber women's aviation regiment, but was then transferred in March to the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, (which used the Po-2 light utility aircraft for night bombing missions) before being deployed with the rest of the regiment to the Southern Front in May 1942; in February 1943 the unit was honored with the guards designation and renamed to the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Later that year when the regiment was planning to retrain mechanics as navigators and navigators as pilots to form an additional squadron she expressed a desire to become a pilot in the unit, having previous experience of being a pilot from training at her aeroclub. In 1944 she became a flight commander in the regiment. She took part in battles for the Caucasus, Crimea, Poland, East Prussia and eventually in the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

. By mid February 1945, she had flown 388 sorties as navigator and an additional 530 sorties as

pilot in command The pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the captain in a typical two- or three-pilot aircrew, or "pilot" if there is only ...

of a Polikarpov Po-2; by the end of the war she had flown 905 sorties, dropping 120 tonnes of bombs, damaging ten vehicles, four ferries, and forcing four artillery batteries to retreat. For her service in the war, she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 18 August 1945.

Later life

After leaving the military at the end of the war Ulyanenko entered the Military Institute of Foreign Languages of Moscow in November 1945. In 1946 she moved to the city of

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

with her husband Nikolai Minakov, where she worked for two years as a writer for the newspaper Kurskaya Pravda. In 1948 she moved to the city of

Izhevsk Izhevsk (russian: Иже́вск, p=ɪˈʐɛfsk; udm, Ижкар, ''Ižkar'', or , ''Iž'') is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city i ...

in Udmurtia where she worked as an editor for the newspaper Udmurt Pravda. Between 1947 and 1951 she was a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

. From 1957 on she worked as a teacher and as an instructor at a local DOSAAF flying club after graduating from Udmurt State University in 1955. She died on 31 August 2005 and was buried in the Khokhryakovskoye cemetery.

Awards and honors

(18 August 1945) *

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 ...

(18 August 1945) * 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 ...

(17 June 1943 and 15 June 1945) *

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 ...

1st class and 2nd class (11 March 1985 and 29 February 1944) *

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 ...

(29 December 1942) * campaign and jubilee medals

References

Bibliography