Soviet Forces

Pilots

Soviet pilots from the women's 46-th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, Heroes of the Soviet Union Rufina Gasheva (left) and Natalia Meklin (right) 2 of the most successful pilots in the Soviet military. Rufina S. Gasheva (b. 1921) - navigator during the war flew 848 missions. Natalya F. Meklin (1922-2005) - 980 combat missions. After the war, both graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages. At retirement, each advanced to the rank of major.