Lydia Litvyak: The Life and Legacy of the Soviet Woman Who Became World War II’s Most Successful Female Fighter Pilot
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Steve Knupp
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Altogether, the Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle in the history of warfare, and the Soviets’ decisive victory there is considered one of the biggest turning points in the entire war, and certainly in the European theater. Over the next two years, the German gains in Russia were steadily reversed, and the Red Army eventually began pushing west towards Berlin. Fittingly, the importance of Stalingrad was commemorated in several ways, from Churchill presenting Stalin with a “Sword of Stalingrad” to the Russians’ decision not to rebuild parts of the battle scarred city as a reminder of what happened there.
Partly out of dire circumstances and partly from a cultural worldview, it was the Soviet Union who first pressed female pilots into direct combat when Hitler invaded Russia. Ahead of Stalingrad, Stalin publicly declared that “women should be given the right to fly and fight for their country.” As a result, more than 800,000 women served in the Soviet military during the war years in hospitals, communication units, as road troops, anti-aircraft gunners, and snipers.
Of the Soviet female fighter pilots who fought the Nazis in the skies, led raids against ground targets, and stopped supply transports, the iconic Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak stands out as the most distinguished. The most productive and highly decorated of the Soviet Union’s female pilots, Litvyak was an expert aviator by the age of 14 and trained 45 pilots in the years leading up to the war, while still a teenager. She went on to serve in several of the elite air guard regiments, and she would be credited with numerous victories as the Soviets desperately tried to hold off the German onslaught around Stalingrad. The quirky and defiant Litvyak was described as a “silent modest beauty with a blonde shock of hair and blue eyes.” She “walked with a special gait, causing delight among others,” men in particular, and she tended to look neat at all times.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval England: The History of England from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Tudor Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Vandals: The History and Legacy of Antiquity's Most Famous Barbarians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Lydia Litvyak
Related audiobooks
Remembering the World Wars in Britain: The History and Legacy of British Commemorations and Their Social Memory of the Conflicts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1945: The Dawn Came Up Like Thunder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenegades: Hitler's Englishmen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Women Who Flew for Hitler: A True Story of Soaring Ambition and Searing Rivalry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bearing Witness: How Writers Brought the Brutality of World War II to Light Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women in the War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Berlin Airlift: The Cold War's most remarkable operation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Soldiers: Great Stories of War and Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5April 1945: The Hinge of History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJoan of Arc: The Historical Heroine of France during the French Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We're Taking Fire: A Reporter's View of the Vietnam War, Tet, and the Fall of LBJ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSTALIN: The Man of Steel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond The Sea: A Wren at War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVichy France: The History of Nazi Germany's Occupation of France during World War II Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Great Patriotic War: The History of the Fighting Between the Soviets and Germans during World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of France Under German Occupation During World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMen of 18 in 1918: Memories of the Western Front in World War One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Finest Hours of The Second World War: The Invasion of The Soviet Union Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVietnam: A War Lost and Won Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Battle of Britain: A Captivating Guide to One of the Most Critical Battles of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Taste of Longing: Ethel Mulvany and her Starving Prisoners of War Cookbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Avengers: A Jewish War Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat I Saw of Shiloh Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWomen Of Nazi Propaganda Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After Nuremberg: American Clemency for Nazi War Criminals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Military Biographies For You
1776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lives of the Twelve Caesars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SEAL of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: Can't Hurt Me - Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Napoleon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Lydia Litvyak
1 rating0 reviews