Soviet airwomen of the great patriotic war. A pictorial history

REVIEW BY KOZIMIERA J. COTTAM <<The original Italian version of Soviet Air Women of the Great Patriotic War: A Pictorial History by Gian Piero Milanetti was published by IBN Editore in Rome. An English language version of the original Italian edition produced by the same publisher appeared in early 2013. Mr. Milanetti, a schoolteacher based in Rome and the author of this interesting book, made several trips to relevant battlefields of the former Soviet Union and interviewed members of the local population in order to obtain first-hand information as a basis for his book. Although about half a dozen of authors have already published books in North America in English on this subject, Milanetti's book differs in several ways from the existing English-language literature on the subject: There are over 500 illustrations accompanied by a substantial text including comment on prominent German aces. On the whole the author's English is very good with an insignificant number of typographical errors. What is also important is that geographical names are spelled correctly. The first chapter titled "Before the War", provides the background for the subsequent chapters: 1) the original 122nd (Training) Airgroup from which three women's air regiments emerged: 1)Night Witches (46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment); 3) 586 IAP (586th Fighter Regiment); and 4) 587 BAP/125 GV BAP (125th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment). An undetermined number of women also served in otherwise all-male regiments. In addition, there are two additional chapters devoted to ace fighter pilots Lidya Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova respectively, while the final chapter deals with the survivors. All chapters are usually accompanied by useful statistics at the front and notes at the back. Also included is additional information in sections called Abbreviations and Translations, Rank Equivalences, Military Awards and Bibliography. It is noteworthy that fighter pilot Lidya Litvyak's still remains at the center of controversy concerning her fate and the actual number of kills. According to official Russian sources, both Soviet and contemporary, she was killed in combat on August 1, 1943. However, to his credit, Mr. Milanetti discovered that Senior Lieutenant Litvyak--this had been her correct final rank--was seen parachuting to safety from her disabled aircraft. There is new evidence, denied by those with vested interest in her alleged death, that Lidya Litvyak was captured by the enemy, held in a PoW camp, and possibly emigrated to Switzerland, where she married a Swede and they had three children. Interestingly, the unidentified Russian former female combat pilot who appeared on Swiss television in 2000, with the broadcast seen in Russia, had been wounded twice similarly to Litvyak. Moreover, Ekaterina Polunina, former chief mechanic of Litvyak's original unit, maintained in her book titled Devchonki, podruzhki, letchitsy (Moscow, 2004) that Litvyak's friend Ekaterina Budanova had more kills than Litvyak did. Interestingly, the ongoing controversy as to whether Litvyak was or was not in love with Solomatin, one of her regiment's squadron commanders, has not been resolved. It appears she realized she loved him only after he was killed while supposedly practicing aerobatics. (Other versions of his death assume he was killed by enemy fire.) To sum up, this unusual book should be of interest to historians, flying enthusiasts and the general reader.>> Kazimiera J. Cottam, PhD, Ottawa, Canada - Author of "Women in War and Resistance" and "Women in Air War"