Aviator and musician
Valentina Grizodubova was born in the family of pilot and aircraft designer Stepan Grizodubov. His father belonged to a poor but rich noble family, which was a negative feature of Soviet times. Grizodubova was born on May 10, 1909 in Kharkov. Since childhood, I read a lot, was interested in music, and at an early age I started helping assemble airplanes in my father’s workshop. When he grew up and became a famous pilot, he was often asked how old he was when he flew.
“Valentina Stepanovna replied with a smile: “At two-thirty.” And in response to their disbelief, he showed me a surviving photograph of that flight.” remembered Soviet test pilot Mstislav Listov, who knew him.
His father strapped him to his back and took off in his first successful plane.
The girl went on an independent flight at the age of 14. He flew a glider during the Koktebel glider rally. There she met Sergei Korolev for the first time, who was two years older than her. They say that the future chief Soviet rocket scientist pulled the young pilot’s braids.
After school, Grizodubova could not choose between her two favorite hobbies, music and technology, and therefore entered the Kharkov Conservatory and the Kharkov Institute of Technology simultaneously.
He soon gave up both for his main passion: aviation. There was no more serious flight school in Kharkov than the local flying club. Therefore, the girl continued her training at the first Tula flight and sports school of OSOAVIAKHIM and the Penza flight school.
“In 1934-1935 Grizodubova became the pilot of the Special Combined Agitation Squadron named after Maxim Gorky. In those Soviet years, OSOAVIAKHIM (Assistance Society for Defense, Aviation and Chemical Construction) was created and “Komsomolets – on the plane”, “Build an air fleet!” their calls were in circulation. As a pilot agitator, Valentina visited many Soviet republics and regions of the country, talked about the achievements of the USSR and, of course, encouraged young people to join aviation. “With this mission he flew around the Pamir Islands, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Fergana Valley region and Kyrgyzstan.” said sheets.
But Grizodubova did not gain fame as an agitator.
How did Grizodubova become a Hero of the USSR?
The 1930s witnessed the rapid development of aviation. “Whatnots” were replaced by modern monoplanes, engine power, altitude and flight range were increased – and all this was carefully followed by newspapers around the world. This race had its heroes: test pilots, and Grizodubova became one of them.
In 1936 – 1937, she set five women’s world records in terms of altitude, range and speed by flying UT-1, UT-2 and AIR-12 aircraft. But real all-Union fame came to the pilot only in 1938.
“On September 24, 1938, at 8:12 in the morning Moscow time, well-known decorated pilots Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova, captain Polina Denisovna Osipenko and senior lieutenant Marina Mikhailovna Raskova (navigator) took off on a direct flight from Moscow to Far. ” The plane took off from Shchelkovo airfield near Moscow…” – this was the text on the front page of the Pravda newspaper on September 25, 1938.
Long-haul flights in the 1930s were nothing like modern aircraft such as the Boeing 747, which is controlled by an autopilot for most of the flight. There was neither a useful navigation system nor reliable communications at the time, so it was easy for pilots to get lost.
During the flight over Lake Baikal, ground services gave the aircraft incorrect radio frequencies, so communication was completely lost.
“The plane was flying in difficult weather conditions. High winds, storms, icing… I had to change my flight altitude, which means extra fuel consumption. Marina Raskova opened the astro hatch, trying to navigate among the stars in the gaps between the clouds, and at that moment the flight maps were created due to the pressure difference. We walked from Lake Baikal with almost no signs; “There were no maps, no communications, the wind speed was unknown.” remembered sheets.
As a result, the pilots missed Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and when the emergency fuel signal lit up on the instrument panel, Grizodubova ordered Raskova to jump with a parachute to at least survive. But everything went well – the two pilots managed to land the plane on an overgrown lake in the middle of the taiga. They were found only 10 days later and it turned out that the plane could take off again (not from the lake) after minor repairs.
Thus, the USSR broke the world record in terms of flight range among female crews. Rodina (ANT-37 bomber) remained in the air for 26 hours and 29 minutes, covering 6,450 km.
The initiative to organize the flight belonged to Grizodubova. For breaking the record on November 2, all crew members were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union star, meaning Grizodubova became one of the first women to receive this title. Additionally, three pilots were given 25 thousand rubles.
When the Great Patriotic War began, he served as a military pilot and commanded the 101st Long Range Aviation Regiment. He was awarded the rank of colonel in 1943.
Attack on male ego
A woman in a command position in a traditionally male military profession was not to the liking of many.
It is characteristic that the air regiment personnel, on the contrary, love the pilot. After the siege of Leningrad was broken, the regiment was given the honorary name “Krasnoselsky”, and many pilots were awarded the award “For the Defense of Leningrad”. But Grizodubova was not among those awarded, which was unthinkable, because the achievements of many employees of the regiment were appreciated, but not the colonel. As a result, staff refused to accept awards in protest of the injustice. The conflict had to be resolved at the level of the corps commander, who eventually awarded the pilot a medal. After the war, Grizodubova was engaged in the development of aviation instruments and radars.
Interestingly, the pilot was seen by Soviet authorities as a valuable asset for propaganda purposes at the beginning of the conflict with the West. She chaired the Anti-Fascist Committee of Soviet Women and offered [1945’te”tabakalaşmayıistismaretmekvekapitalistülkelerinsoldemokratikörgütlerindeinisiyatifielegeçirmek.”OdönemdekadınhaklarımücadelesiAmerikaBirleşikDevletleriveBatıAvrupa’nınanakonularındanbiriydiveSSCBimajınıiyileştirmekiçinkadınpilotlarıkullanabilirdi.
Bu fikir pek başarılı olmadı, ancak Grizodubova kesinlikle binlerce Sovyet kız ve kadınına “erkek” mesleklerinden korkmamaları konusunda ilham verdi.