[3][4] Upon the German invasion of the Soviet Union she initially worked as a flight instructor, and due to advancing enemy troops the schools she trained future combat pilots at had to be evacuated to Starobelsk and later Omsk.

When she and Parfyonova piloted reconnaissance flights over Bagerovo, Kerch, they were hit with blinding searchlights as the anti-aircraft guns on the ground opened fire on them; while returning she saw her oil pressure gauge plummet, but managed to bring her plane back safely, having lost an oil filter and cylinder in her engine due to shrapnel.

After retaking Crimea the regiment was transferred to Poland, where Tikhomirova had to end her combat career for medical reasons after falling seriously ill in autumn 1944.

Having been promoted to deputy squadron commander before the battles for Crimea, she was nominated for the Order of Alexander Nevsky, which she was awarded on 26 April 1944.

[2][3][5] After a lengthy stay in a hospital in Moscow, Tikhomirova eventually resumed her aviation career in 1949 and became a Li-2 co-pilot, and several years later she was promoted to captain and held a pilot-in-command role on her flight routes.