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WAR HEROINE

Born on December 18, 1922, in the village of Sharovka, Poltavka District, Omsk Region of Siberia, Mariya Ivanovna Dolina was the eldest daughter of Ukrainian peasants. In 1934 they moved back to Ukraine again, where, despite her mother's opposition, Mariya trained at a flying club of the paramilitary Osoaviakhim and, in 1940, got the pilot's licence. She entered the Engels Military Flying School, in Saratov, falsifying her documents, because, although she was one of the best pilots of her unit, she was 2 years younger than the age limit. Before the German invasion of 22 June 1941, she worked as an instructor in flying clubs in Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv, Ukraine. In July 1941, she started her military service. She initially flew the Polikarpov Po-2, liaising with infantry units. Later she became a crew member of a Petlyakov Pe-2 twin-engine, medium-range bomber, in the 587° Dive Bomber Regiment, which stood out in several combats in terms of courage and quality of its pilots, and therefore was later re-designated 125th “M.M. Raskova” Borisov Guards* Dive Bomber Regiment. Marina Raskova founded three female air regiments. Not only would the women be pilots, but also support staff and engineers. One of those regiments got the name "Night Witches" from the Germans, due to their resourcefulness and fighting spirit, especially during nocturnal blitz attacks. Dolina, even though she was judged as being “impulsive and excessively restless”, nevertheless become captain of her unit. Her squadron was actively involved in the war, bombing enemy ammunition depots, strongpoints, tanks, artillery batteries, rail and water transports, and supporting Soviet ground troops. With 72 missions on her Pe-2, it's estimated she dropped on her enemies almost 45 tons of dynamite. On August 18, 1945, "comrade" Dolina was honoured as "USSR Heroine". After the war, Dolina continued to serve in the Soviet Air Force as deputy commander of a bombing aviation regiment, and persuaded the former PCUS General Secretariat, Michail Gorbacev, to increase veterans' retirement benefits. On the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II Dolina was promoted to the rank of major by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and awarded with the title of "Honored Citizen of Kiev" by mayor of Kiev Leonid Kosakivskyi. She died at the age of 87. She is remembered even from newer generations, as many secondary schools are named after her. The several variants of the Petlyakov Pe-2 "Petya", which we are seeing in formation and 'at rest', were Soviet light bombers used throughout the World War II against the German army. It was an excellent plane. During a dive, it could reach 725 km/h without loosing stability: this feature enabled to strike the targets rather precisely. *GUARDS were Regiments with distinguished organisational qualities and combat performance.