Polina Osipenco Pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Date of Birth: 08.10.1907 Country: Russia

1. Biography of Polina Osipenko
2. Early Life and Passion for Flying
3. The Journey to Becoming a Pilot
4. Achievements and Tragic Ending

Biography of Polina Osipenko

Polina Denisovna Osipenko was born on October 8, 1907, in the village of Novospasovka, now known as Osipenko, in the Berdyansk District of the Zaporizhia Region, in a peasant family. She completed elementary school and poultry courses and worked as the head of a collective farm poultry farm. In 1930, she joined the Red Army and in 1932, she graduated from the Kachinskaya Military Aviation School. She served as a pilot and squadron commander in the fighter aviation. In 1936-1938, she set 5 world aviation records for altitude and distance for women.

Early Life and Passion for Flying

Polina Osipenko had never seen an airplane until she turned 20. She was born into a large peasant family, living on the shores of the Azov Sea. After completing two classes in a religious school, she was sent to work as a nanny to earn money for shoes, clothes, and notebooks. As she grew older, she became a laborer. After the October Revolution, when a collective farm was organized in Novo-Spasovka, Polina was assigned to take care of birds. She spent her days and nights at the poultry farm but still found time to attend evening school. One day, two airplanes landed in a meadow near the poultry farm. If not for this forced landing, the remarkable aviator Polina Osipenko may have never appeared in our country. All the collective farm workers flocked to the planes, and Polina saw a woman among the pilots. This amazed her, and from that day on, Osipenko decided to learn to fly herself. She corresponded with a fellow villager, a cadet at the military aviation school, and soon went to visit him.

The Journey to Becoming a Pilot

Polina Osipenko began her service in aviation as a waitress in the school cafeteria. She served borscht and cutlets to the cadets and begged the school director every day to accept her for training. She convinced him with such ardor and persistence that he finally smiled and said, "Well, go for a medical examination." Polina's health could be envied by any candidate for a pilot. And so, her hair was cut, she was given military uniform, and she was assigned a room in the dormitory. She became a cadet at the aviation school. Osipenko worked diligently and was supported by her comrades. After completing the military pilot school, she was sent to serve in an aviation unit. When she was granted leave, she went to visit her hometown of Novo-Spasovka. Of course, she arrived in her pilot uniform. The collective farm workers followed her everywhere, and some of them cheekily asked, "Tell the truth, do you really fly or do you just wear the military uniform?" Osipenko said that she flew, but no one believed her, not even her mother. Then Polina decided to prove that she was a pilot. She and her mother went to her unit. The old woman was on the airfield when her daughter took off. The plane performed "Nesterov's loops," "barrels," and "spirals." The mother stood on the green field, looking at the sky and crying. When her daughter came to her after the flight, the happy mother said, "Well, now I believe that you fly. I will tell the whole village..."

Achievements and Tragic Ending

Polina Osipenko constantly strived to improve as a pilot. She was exceptionally persistent, hardworking, and diligent. In one of her flights, she reached a record altitude of 8,804 meters in an open cockpit, the highest among women at the time. In the summer of 1938, while preparing for a record flight on a seaplane with her friends Vera Lomako and Marina Raskova, it was unexpectedly discovered that Polina, who grew up on the shores of the Azov Sea, did not know how to swim. They teased her, saying, "You're not afraid to fly, but you can't swim. What kind of sailor are you? You're even the commander of a flying boat!" Osipenko made a deal with Raskova that she would swim if Raskova stayed next to her and repeated, "Stay calm, stay calm." And so, she learned to swim, despite her initial lack of skills. The three aviators embarked on a risky flight on the flying boat and had to be prepared for any unexpected situations. They had breakfast in Sevastopol and planned to have dinner in Arkhangelsk. The seaplane flew over land for the entire journey, eliminating the need for forced landings. They flew through dense clouds, often "blind." The plane iced up several times. In 10 hours and 33 minutes, they connected the Black Sea and the White Sea via an aerial route, setting a new world record. On September 24-25, 1938, together with Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova, Polina Osipenko made a record non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East (Komsomolsk-on-Amur) in the aircraft "Rodina" ("Motherland"). Soon after, in November 1938, all members of the crew were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. However, tragedy struck on May 11, 1939, when Major Polina Osipenko, who was then working in the flight inspection, was supposed to participate in the training of blind flying for commanders at the Improvement Courses for Command Personnel. On the first day, the pilots trained in a facility with a simulator. They took turns sitting in the cockpit and performing tasks based on the instructor's indications. On the second day, they flew with instructors, and only on the third day did they start flying solo. On the morning of May 11, the clouds hung low over the ground, but the flights started at the scheduled time. Each plane flew in its designated zone. On the suggestion of Hero of the Soviet Union Anatoly Serov, who was also undergoing training at these courses, the pilots split into pairs: one was in the closed cockpit, and the other, instead of the instructor, was in the open cockpit. Then they switched places. Serov took off on a mission with Polina Osipenko. At first, she was in the closed cockpit, flying blind while Serov, sitting in the open front cockpit, corrected the flight. Then she moved to the closed cockpit, and Osipenko, now in the role of the instructor, took over. The plane took off smoothly and beautifully. This was the final flight of these remarkable aviators. The crashed aircraft was found not far from the village of Vysokoe. Serov's cockpit was open. The reasons for the crash remained unknown. Our people have not forgotten their Heroes. Streets and squares in many cities of the country were named after them. Pioneer squads in many schools and special educational institutions carried the names of these Heroes for a long time. During the Great Patriotic War, one of the combat machines of the 108th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment bore the name of the renowned aviator, Hero of the Soviet Union Polina Denisovna Osipenko.