The 125th Borisov Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment named after Marina Raskova () was one of the three Soviet women's aviation regiments founded by

Marina Raskova Marina Mikhaylovna Raskova ( rus, Мари́на Миха́йловна Раско́ва, , mɐˈrʲinə mʲɪˈxajləvnə rɐˈskovə; née Malinina; 28 March 1912 – 4 January 1943) was the first woman in the Soviet Union to achieve the diploma ...

at the start of the Second World War. The unit was founded as the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment in the 223rd Bomber Air Division, 2nd Bomber Aviation Corps of the

16th Air Army The 16th Red Banner Air Army (russian: 16-я воздушная Краснознамённая армия) was the most important formation of the Special Purpose Command. Initially formed during the Second World War as a part of the Soviet Air ...

on 8 October 1941, and later honored with the

guards designation Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after di ...

, being renamed 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment in September 1943 and reorganized into 4th Guards Bomber Aviation Division, 1st Bomber Aviation Corps, 3rd Air Army, in the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. I ...

. Unlike the

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 Avia ...

, which used

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. NA ...

utility aircraft, the unit was assigned modern Petlyakov Pe-2 aircraft, which caused some resentment among male units that had older aircraft. Throughout the course of the war, the unit flew 1,134 missions and dropped over 980 tons of bombs on the Axis.

Notable members

Five members of the unit were 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 ...

for their service in the war:

Mariya Dolina Mariya Ivanovna Dolina ( ua, Марія Іванівна Доліна, russian: Мария Ивановна Долина; 18 December 1922 – 3 March 2010) was a Pe-2 pilot and deputy squadron commander in the women's 125th “Marina M. Raskova� ...

, Galina Dzhunkovskaya, Nadezhda Fedutenko,

Klavdia Fomicheva Klavdia Yakovlevna Fomicheva (russian: Клавдия Яковлевна Фомичёва; 25 December 1917 6 October 1958) was a squadron commander in the 125th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment during the Second World War who was awarded the title He ...

, and

Antonina Zubkova Antonina Leontievna Zubkova (; 12 October 1920 — 13 November 1950) was a captain and squadron navigator in the women's 125th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment during World War II who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Prewar life Zubk ...

. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union one member of the regiment, Valentina Kravchenko, was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 1995. In addition, navigator

Galina Brok-Beltsova Galina Pavlovna Brok-Beltsova (russian: link=no, Галина Павловна Брок-Бельцова; born 1925) is a former Soviet bomber navigator and the last surviving member of the women's aviation regiments founded by Marina Raskova. ...

became the last living member of the women's aviation units founded by Raskova.

References

{{Reflist Regiments of the Soviet Air Force in World War II Bomber aviation units and formations of the Soviet Air Forces Women aviators Women in the Russian and Soviet military Soviet women in World War II