Raisa Vasilyevna Belyayeva

Raisa Vasilyevna Belyayeva
Nickname	Raya
Born	25 December 1912 Kirov, Kirov Oblast
Died	19 July 1943
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Soviet Air Forces
Years of service	1941–1943
Unit	586th Fighter Regiment 437th Fighter regiment
Battles/wars	World War II

Raisa Vasil'evna Beliaeva was one of the first Russian female fighter pilots. She fought alongside Lydia Litvyak and was credited with three aerial victories. She died in combat, from causes unknown, in 1943.^[1]

Early life

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. Belyayeva soon proved herself an enthusiastic and indefatigable alumnus. Before the war she accumulated more than a 1.000 hours flight time and a hundred parachute jumps, instructing hundreds of parachutists.^[1] She also took part in many airshows over Tushino airfield, near Moscow.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Milanetti, Gian Piero (April 2011) (in Italian). Le streghe della notte (first ed.). Rome: Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone. pp. 105–109. ISBN 88-7565-100-0.

Bibliography

Milanetti, Gian Piero (2011) (in Italian). Le Streghe della Notte: La storia non detta delle eroiche ragazze-pilota dell'Unione Sovietica nella Grande Guerra Patriottica. Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, Roma, Italia. ISBN 88-7565-100-0. http://www.calameo.com/books/0007962970324ec79c522.

Persondata
Name	Vasil'evna Beliaeva, Raisa
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 December 1912
Place of birth	Kirov, Kirov Oblast
Date of death	19 July 1943
Place of death