Yevdokiya Nikulina
Yevdokiya Andreyevna Nikulina | |
---|---|
Native name | Евдокия Андреевна Никулина |
Born | 8 November [O.S. 26 October] 1917 Parfyonovo, Spas-Demensky District, Kaluga Oblast, Russian SFSR |
Died | 23 March 1993 (aged 76) Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation |
Allegiance | Soviet Union |
Service/ | Soviet Air Force |
Years of service | 1941–1945 |
Rank | Guard Major |
Unit | 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Yevdokiya Andreyevna Nikulina (Russian: Евдокия Андреевна Никулина; 8 November [O.S. 26 October] 1917 – 23 March 1993) was a squadron commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 26 October 1944.
Early life
Nikulina was born on 8 November [O.S. 26 October] 1917 in the village of Parfyonovo to a large Russian peasant family;[1] she had seven siblings. After completing her seventh grade of education in a rural school she moved to the city of Podolsk with her brother Fyodor, where she worked at a cement factory after graduating from trade school in 1933. Upon unsuccessfully attempting to enroll in the Podolsk aeroclub in 1934, she applied to the Balashov School of Pilots and Aircraft Technicians of the Civil Air Fleet, where she trained to become a mechanic for two years before transferring to the Bataysk School of the Civil Air Fleet in early 1936. After graduating from flight school in 1938 she worked as a pilot for the 205th Special Operations Squadron of the Moscow branch of the Civil Air Fleet, where she was tasked with crop dusting, delivering mail, and flying air ambulances, accumulating over 500 flight hours before the start of the war.[2][3]
Military career
After joining the Red Army in 1941 and completing her training, she was deployed to the Eastern front of the war as a squadron commander. In her duties, she defended the
Upon the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Nikulina was deployed to the front as a pilot in the Special Belarusian Aviation Group of the Civil Air Fleet, where she remained until in December 1941 she entered the women's aviation group founded by
Later life
After the war she left active duty, joining the reserve before retiring. In 1948 she graduated the Rostov-on-Don Communist Party School and graduated from the Rostov-on-Don Pedagogical Institute in 1954. She worked in the local party committee until she retired and lived the remainder of her life in Rostov-on-Don.[7]
Nikulina and her four-year-old granddaughter were attacked by robbers in her home on 2 July 1992. She recovered from the attack but died soon after on 23 March 1993. There have been false reports of her being murdered in her home.[8]
In 2015 she was honored with a star on the "Alley Of Heroes" in Rostov-On-Don.[8]
Awards
- Hero of the Soviet Union (26 October 1944)
- Order of Lenin (26 October 1944)
- Three Orders of the Red Banner (9 September 1942, 26 April 1944, and 15 June 1945)
- Order of Alexander Nevsky (25 October 1943)
- Two Order of the Patriotic War (1st class - 11 March 1985; 2nd class - 27 April 1943)
- campaign and jubilee medals
See also
References
- OCLC 247400113.
- ^ Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 139.
- ^ a b Cottam 1998, p. 69.
- ^ "Никулина Евдокия Андреевна" [Nikulina, Evdokia Andreevna]. airaces.narod.ru. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Rakobolskaya & Kravtsova 2005, p. 170-172.
- ^ Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 141.
- ^ Rakobolskaya & Kravtsova 2005, p. 149.
- ^ a b Yefimova, Polina. "В Ростове открыли "звезду" в память Дины Никулиной" [A "star" was opened in Rostov in memory of Dina Nikulina] (in Russian). Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 142.
Bibliography
- OCLC 1019634607.
- OCLC 68044852.
- Cottam, Kazimiera (1998). Women in War and Resistance: Selected Biographies of Soviet Women Soldiers. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co. OCLC 228063546.