Mariya Ilyichina Tolstova
Native name
Мария Ильинична Толстова
Born15 May 1918
Mariinsk
Died8 January 2004 (aged 85)
Kolchugino
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
Years of service1942 – 1945
RankSenior Lieutenant
Unit175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsOrder of the Red Banner

Mariya Ilyichina Tolstova (Russian: Мария Ильинична Толстова; 15 May 1918 – 8 January 2004) was a flight commander in the 175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment, and one of the few women to fly the Il-2.[1][2][3]

Civilian life

Tolstova was orphaned at a young age, resulting in her attending a boarding school for much of her youth. After completing school she worked at a railway station and later as a schoolteacher before eventually becoming a flight instructor at an aeroclub. After the war she worked for the civil air fleet, flying cargo in a Po-2 until retiring from aviation in 1959.[1][2]

World War II

Despite her experience as a flight instructor and aviation background, Tolstova volunteered to become a medical officer in order to be sent to the front. She briefly served as a field medic in the 5th Guards Airborne Regiment where she assisted hundreds of wounded soldiers, before her request for a transfer to aviation was granted. Initially she worked as a flight instructor in the 11th separate training regiment, training 36 pilots while doing so, before eventually being posted to the 175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment in 1944. There, she flew 42 sorties on the Il-2 by the end of the war.[4][3]

Awards

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Толстова Мария Ильинична". airaces.narod.ru. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  2. 1 2 Ребров В.И. Первая лётчица-штурмовик Мария Ильинична Толстова // Кольчугино - город металлургов и кабельщиков / В.И. Ребров. - Владимир: Аркаим, 2011. - С. 57-58.
  3. 1 2 "Толстова Мария Ильинична". Фронтовой альбом (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  4. ↑ "Летчик 175-го гвардейского штурмового авиаполка гвардии лейтенант М.И. Толстова в кабине штурмовика Ил-2". waralbum.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  5. ↑ Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 686196, д. 5319)
  6. ↑ Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 690306, д. 3033)
  7. ↑ Jubilee card index on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ш. 58, я. 20)
  8. ↑ Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 690155, д. 6936)
  9. ↑ Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 717037, д. 36)
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