Sunday, April 13, 2008

Women Warriors after 1850: Captain Yekaterina Budanova

The following is from the Pratt Institue website.

Captain Katya Budanova flew with Lilya Litvyak in the 296 IAP, later renamed 73 Gv. IAP (Guards IAP). In the skies over Stalingrad, she once fought with a wingman against 12 enemy aircraft, ALONE against 13, and once with 3 other fighters against 19!

She was killed in combat in July 18, 1943, when 2 Messerschmitt Me-109s attacked her. Budanova dispensed with one, but the second managed to shoot her down and escape the battle with a damaged plane. She had a final score of 11 confirmed kills. The archivist of 586 IAP, Yekaterina Polunina, accounts that "she downed over 20 aircraft".

There are some lovely photographs included on the site, so be sure to follow the above link to view them.

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