A total of 968 combat missions were completed by Yevgeniya Andreyevna Zhigulenko during the Second World War as a pilot and navigator. Serving in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, she transitioned from navigating to piloting and eventually reached the rank of Major in the Soviet Air Forces.
Early Life and Education
Born in Krasnodar on 1 December 1920, Zhigulenko attended secondary school in Tikhoretsk until 1939. She moved to Moscow to study at the Moscow State Aviation Technological University while simultaneously training at the Moscow Aeroclub. She became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1942.
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Joining the military in October 1941, she began active combat on the Eastern Front in May 1942. Her unit, originally the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, was redesignated as the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment in 1943. Her operational theaters included campaigns in Berlin, Crimea, Kerch, Kolberg, Kuban, Mlavsko-Elbing, Mogilev, and Osowiec. By November 1944, her records showed 89 tons of dropped bombs, three destroyed artillery batteries, and 177 fires started.
Post-War Career
Following the war, she remained in the air force until 1955, graduating from the Lenin Military-Political Academy as the second woman to do so. In 1976, she completed studies at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. Her directorial career included the films In the Sky of the Night Witches, released in 1981, and Without the Right to Fail, released in 1984.
Fast facts
- Born: 1 December 1920, Krasnodar
- Died: 2 March 1994, Moscow
- Military Rank: Major
- Awarded Hero of the Soviet Union: 23 February 1945
- Total Sorties: 968
- Burial Site: Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
Questions readers ask
What military honors did Zhigulenko receive?
She was named a Hero of the Soviet Union and received the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Patriotic War in the 1st Class, two Orders of the Red Star, and the Medal for Battle Merit.
What was her role in the Soviet film industry?
After graduating from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in 1976, she worked as a film director and screenwriter, creating the films In the Sky of the Night Witches and Without the Right to Fail.
Achievements
- Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- Order of Lenin
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class
- Recorded as film director, aircraft pilot and screenwriter
