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.

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] 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.