Strong is Sexy Woman of the Past: Lydia Litviak "The White Rose of Stalingrad"

I first came across this in a book, a historical fiction, and in it, this woman pilot had a series of white roses painted on the fuselage of her aircraft, each one marking a kill. Further digging into  history sites informs me they were actually lilies, but easily mistaken for roses and this led to the false nickname. Technically, she was the "White Lily of Stalingrad" and numerous sites call her one or the other.

Anyway, while America was just permitting women to ferry airplanes, Russia was allowing them to fly in combat.


-She began flying at the age of 14, even joined a club.
-She botched her flying hours to join the all female Fighter Regiment
-It's said she had 12 solo victories. *There's some debate surrounding this, but regardless, everything points to her being incredibly fierce and a force to be reckoned with*
-She had a female mechanic as well.
-She loved to buzz the aerodomes and piss off her commander.
-She was shot down at least twice in German territory before her unfortunate last flight, and each time, she managed to walk back to her own base. Even hospitalization for brief periods did not deter her from getting back in the cockpit.
-She was shot down and her body never found, though she was decorated with three medals and her mechanic and friend is said to never have gave up trying to find her body.
-She was quite proud of her femininity, continuing to dye her hair throughout the war. Pictures show a very lovely looking woman when she was off duty.

You want more? Check out this site: http://www.stalingrad.net/russian-hq/lilya-litvyak/ruslitvyak.html

Personally, I find this woman's record and persistence incredibly sexy. I mean, shot down twice, and still she got back up? That's quite brave. Many legends I found related stories about her standing up to enemy pilots, in the sky and on the ground. Not sure how true they are so I didn't relay them here. I encourage you to do a Google search.

'Til the next Woman of the Past post, be sexy and be strong. Over and out. :)