Nalalia Kravtsova Senior pilot of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Guard Lieutenant. Date of Birth: 08.09.1922 Country: Ukraine

1. Biography of Natalia Kravtsova
2. School Years and Aviation Training
3. War Experience and Achievements
4. Recognition and Works
5. Personal Life and Legacy

Biography of Natalia Kravtsova

Natalia Kravtsova was a Senior Pilot in the 46th Guard Night Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front. She was born on September 8, 1922, in Lubny, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. Kravtsova was a Lieutenant in the Guards. She was a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR and the Club of Comrades of the "Military Institute of Foreign Languages of the Red Army" (VIIA KA).

School Years and Aviation Training

Kravtsova spent her school years in Kharkiv and Kyiv. In 1940, she graduated with honors from Secondary School No. 79. She became interested in gliding during her senior years and joined the glider school at the Kyiv Palace of Pioneers. In 1941, she completed the first year of the Moscow Aviation Institute. In early October 1941, she applied to join the women's aviation unit formed by the initiative of Hero of the Soviet Union Raskova. The aviation unit consisted of three women's aviation regiments: fighter, dive-bomber, and night light bomber regiment with Polikarpov Po-2 aircraft.

War Experience and Achievements

As the leader of a flight group, Natalia Kravtsova completed 980 combat sorties. On February 23, 1945, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Medal No. 4855). After the war, Kravtsova graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in 1953. She worked as a translator and reference officer in the Information Department of the General Staff of the Soviet Army and later as a translator and editor at the Military Technical Literature Publishing House. She retired as a Major. Since 1972, she has been a member of the Union of Writers.

Recognition and Works

Natalia Kravtsova, a Hero of the Soviet Union, was decorated with the Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War, the Order of the Red Star, the Order of Honor, and 12 medals. She authored several novels, including "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Return from Flight," "From Desk to War," "Beyond the Clouds - the Sun," "Hospital Ward," and "On a Burning Plane." Her collection of novellas, "Return from Flight!," received the Medal of Faddeev.

Personal Life and Legacy

Natalia Fedorovna Kravtsova had a love for classical literature, music (Beethoven, Shostakovich), ballet ("Giselle"), and cinema ("The White Sun of the Desert," "Two Comrades Were Serving," "Quiet Flows the Don"). She admired actors such as Jean Gabin, Sophia Loren, and Galina Ulanova. Her favorite sport was artistic gymnastics. Kravtsova's name is honored in schools in Severodvinsk, Smolensk, Poltava, and Stavropol. She was an honorary citizen of Gdansk, Poland, and a member of the labor collective of Workshop No. 5 of the Production Association "Orgsintez" named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR in Volzhsky, Volgograd Region.

During the war, Natalia Kravtsova and her fellow female aviators were known as the "Night Witches" by the Germans for their courage. The 46th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 4th Air Army was awarded the title of Guards and received the honorable name "Taman." The regiment was decorated with the Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov III Class, as well as 22 commendations from the Supreme High Command. The regiment made a total of 24,000 combat sorties and dropped 3,000 tons of bombs on the enemy. Natalia Kravtsova's contribution to the war effort and her literary achievements have left a lasting legacy.