Repeat post from last year

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Lilya Litviak-Aug.18,1921-Aug. 1,1943
Born Lidiia Vladimirovna Litviak, she died before her 22nd birthday.She was known as 'The White Rose of Stalingrad', because of a flower painted on the nose of her YAK-1. It was a little odd because the flower was actually a lily, but the name stuck.When I first read about her the first thing that came to my mind was a picture of Woody Guthrie and his guitar. He painted on his guitar, 'This guitar kills fascists'. Well a YAK-1 in the right hands doesn't do a bad job either.Lilya flew with the 586th Air Wing, someday I may post something about the all female 588th Night Bomber Group, the 'Night Witches'. Or again maybe I won't.Just as a side note. These people were fighting for their motherland against the Nazis, not for Stalin. When Lilya was younger, her father was declared an enemy of the state and executed by Stalin
http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/litvak/litvak.htm
http://vt.essortment.com/womenacespilot_rnsk.htm
http://wb586iap.r2.ru/soviet_woman_vvs.htm
Pics of the YAK-1http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter2/yak-1.htm