Nadezhda Popova

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Nadezhda Vasilyevna Popova was a Soviet pilot and squadron commander in World War II. She was born on December 17, 1921, in Shabanovka and grew up near the Donetsk coal fields in Ukraine. As a girl she loved music and dancing and dreamed of becoming an actress or a doctor, but she also loved flying. She learned to fly as a teenager, earned her flying license, and later worked as a flight instructor.

In 1941, after Stalin allowed women to serve in combat, Popova joined the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, flying old Po-2 biplanes on night missions. The Germans called them the Night Witches because of the sound of their planes. She survived several crashes and flew many dangerous missions to support front-line troops, including delivering supplies to the defenders at Malaya Zemlya.

Popova set a personal record of 18 sorties in one night and completed a total of 852 sorties during the war. For her bravery, she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on February 23, 1945. After the war, the regiment was dissolved, and Popova returned home to a hero’s welcome. She married fellow pilot Semyon Kharlamov and had a son, Aleksandr. She worked as a flight instructor for many years. Popova died in Moscow on August 8, 2013, at the age of 91.