Raisa Belyaeva

Raisa Vasilyevna Belyayeva (Russian: Раиса Васильевна Беляева; 25 December 1912 – 19 July 1943) was one of the first Russian female fighter pilots.

She fought alongside Lydia Litvyak and was credited with up to three aerial victories.

[1] Belyayeva attended a technical institute for tanners in Kirov.

After graduation she asked her old friend Olga Yamshchikova, a Leningrad flight instructor, to teach her to fly.

[2] She took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and flew as an escort pilot for Nikita Khrushchev.