Ekaterina Zelenko Bomber pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Date of Birth: 14.09.1919 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Ekaterina Zelenko

Early Life and Education
Ekaterina Ivanovna Zelenko was born on September 14, 1916, in the village of Koroshchin in the current Belsk district of the Rovno region. She completed 7 grades of an incomplete secondary school in Kursk. After her mother moved to Voronezh, she enrolled in the Voronezh Aviation Technical School. In October 1933, she graduated from the Voronezh Aero Club and was sent to the 3rd Orenburg Military Aviation School for Pilots and Observers named after K.E. Voroshilov.

Military Career
In December 1934, Zelenko graduated from the aviation school with honors and was sent to the 19th Light Bomber Aviation Brigade in Kharkov. In addition to her service in the brigade, she also tested aircraft and aviation equipment, mastering seven different types of planes in four years. She participated in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940 as the only woman among the pilots. She fought as part of the 3rd Squadron of the 11th Light Bomber Aviation Regiment. Zelenko completed 8 combat missions on the R-Z bomber, destroying an enemy artillery battery and an ammunition depot, for which she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

During the Great Patriotic War, Zelenko flew on the front lines from the very first day. She completed 40 combat missions, including night flights, and participated in 12 aerial battles with enemy fighters. Zelenko's heroic actions during a military operation in July 1941, where her bomber group destroyed 45 tanks, 20 vehicles, and an enemy battalion without any losses, were particularly noteworthy.

The Last Mission and Death
On September 12, 1941, Zelenko embarked on two reconnaissance missions. During the second flight, her Su-2 aircraft was damaged. After receiving a report that German tanks had broken through the front lines, Zelenko urgently needed to gather intelligence in the area of Romen-Nizhyn-Pryluky-Pyatikhatky-Lubny. Zelenko, accompanied by Lieutenant N. Pavlyk as the observer, took off on the deputy commander of the regiment A.I. Pushkin's plane, along with Captain Lebedev's crew. Upon their return from the mission, they were attacked by seven enemy Me-109 fighters near the town of Romny. Our pilots engaged in an unequal air battle, but lost each other in the clouds. Lebedev's plane was shot down, and he left the fight. Zelenko was left alone against seven enemies. The Germans surrounded her plane. As soon as one of them was in her sights, Zelenko pulled the trigger. The "Messerschmitt" caught fire and went down. However, her Su-2 was also hit, and both members of the crew were injured. Furthermore, Pavlyk had run out of ammunition. Zelenko ordered him to leave the aircraft, while she continued to fight. Soon, she ran out of ammunition as well. She then approached the attacking German plane and maneuvered her bomber for a collision. The impact caused the "Messerschmitt" to break in half, and the Su-2 exploded, throwing Zelenko out of the cockpit. The wreckage of both planes fell near the village of Anastasiivka in the Sumy region.

Zelenko's body was discovered by local residents, M. Khomenko, A.M. Marchenko, I. Silchenko, V. Petrichenko, M. Butko, and S. Balykin, and identified by her Komsomol membership card, order book, and personal identification document. Unfortunately, they were unable to report to the regiment as the village was captured by the Germans the next day. Initially, Zelenko was buried in the center of Anastasiivka. After the war, her remains were transferred to the city of Kursk. In December 1941, she was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin for her heroism.

Legacy
Ekaterina Ivanovna Zelenko was the only woman to engage in an aerial ramming. A monument was erected at the site of her death. In Kursk, a monument and memorial plaque were dedicated to her on the house where she lived during her childhood. A monument was also erected in Berestovka, where the airfield was located from which she took her final combat flight. In honor of her bravery, a minor planet in the Solar System discovered by astronomer T. Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory was named after her - Katiusza. Her name was carried by a naval vessel, streets in Kursk, Voronezh, and Sumy, as well as schools and pioneer groups. Her Komsomol membership card was kept for a long time by the teacher of Anastasiivka school, A.M. Marchenko, and was later transferred to the Orenburg Higher Flight Military Aviation Red Banner School named after I.S. Polbin. Museums dedicated to Zelenko were established in Anastasiivka and Kursk School No. 10, where she studied. On May 5, 1990, Zelenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by the Decree of the President of the USSR. Her husband, Pavel Ignatenko, who was the commander of the 4th Squadron of the same regiment, was killed in an aerial battle in 1943.