Women in Air War: The Eastern Front of World War II [Paperback]

Kazimiera J. Cottam (Translator) (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1997

The theme of this book is personal experience of Soviet airwomen during World War II. This book consists of contributions of about sixty individual authors, who tell the story of three women's air wings formed by Marina Raskova, famous woman pilot/navigator. There are over sixty illustrations, mostly dating to World War II. The editor/translator of this book has taught Russian History at the University of Ottawa and was employed by the Canadian Department of National Defense. She is recipient of the 1999 Mary Zirin Prize awarded by the Association for Women in Slavic Studies (affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies).

Editorial Reviews

Review

Cottam succeeded in collecting, translating and editing unprecedented amounts of documentary evidence detailing the scope and importance of the participation of Soviet women in the war. Taken together, the four volumes capture the breadth and depth of the role of Soviet women in the war effort... The genuine value of these books and the interest they are bound to generate among specialists and general readers alike argue for their wider dissemination. The books should be made available to the wider audience they so richly deserve. (David M. Glantz, Editor, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, March 1999. (Colonel M. Glantz is founder and former director of the U.S. Army's Foreign Military Studies Office.)) -- David M. Glantz, Editor, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies

The book gives us valuable insights into the nature and courage of women we have never heard of--but should have heard of. You will read biographical sketches of women dive bomber pilots, night bomber pilots, and fighter pilots. And come to know and care about each of these women and find yourself wondering why none of this information was available to you previously. -- Leslie Blanchard, Editor, A Writer's Choice Literary Journal, April 1999

From the Publisher

Kazimiera J. Cottam is an expert military translator, editor and author. She is a PhD graduate in Russian history from the University of Toronto and a former Research Associate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a retired history professor and public servant who was employed at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow in 1988. A published author since 1972, awarded a prestigious prize for an article in the Reader's Digest, she has been researching the little known story of Soviet women in combat for many years.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 313 pages
• Publisher: New Military Publoshing; 2 edition (December 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0968270212
• ISBN-13: 978-0968270219
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,124,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Women in Air War:The Eastern Front in World War II, June 7, 2001

By 

Sasha Pursley (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women in Air War: The Eastern Front of World War II (Paperback)

This collection is outstanding. I am a doctoral candidate in history, writing my dissertation on the topic of "Soviet Women Who Fought at the Front," and without this book I would be lost. I am currently in Moscow and have made personal contact with some of the pilots and navigators covered in the book. All of my independent research has only confirmed to me what an excellent job K.J. Cottam did with this book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly researched and written, April 20, 1999

By 

[e-mail] ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women in Air War: The Eastern Front of World War II (Paperback)

Brilliantly researched and written. Canadian scholar Kazimiera J. Cottam in her Women in Air War relays to us the tales of brave women who served on the Eastern Front of WWII. While written and researched by an expert in Women's Studies whose specialty is the Russian women of WWII- this book is an easy read for all. It gives us valuable insight into the nature and courage of women we have never heard of--but should have heard of. You will read biographical sketches of women dive-bombers, night bombers, and fighter pilots. And come to know and care about each of these women and find yourself wondering why none of this information was available to you.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and inspiring, May 13, 2000

By 

Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women in Air War: The Eastern Front of World War II (Paperback)

Here is a superb collection of war-memoirs of Soviet combat-aviators from the original three female regiments organized by Marina Raskova. These were the Yak-1 equipped 586th Fighters, the Pe(Petlyakov)-2 equipped 587th Dive-bombers, and the famous 588th "night witches" who flew Po-2 biplane night-bombers. "Women in Air War" is the recently updated and revised version of K. J. Cottam's previously published "In The Sky Above the Front", translated from the Russian "V nebe frontovom". As in the previous editions, this book contains a forward by A. Mares'yev, a famous Soviet ACE and national Hero who lost both his legs in combat and recovered to fly and fight again. Mares'yev praises the courage and accomplishments of the airwomen who "fought the enemy every bit as well as the men did." These are memoirs of pilots, navigators, gunners, mechanics, armorers, political officers, and regimental and squadron commanders, all in their own words. Most of these memoirs were written very shortly after the War. A few were written during the War, including the diary of navigator Zhenya Rudneva, which ends abruptly as she perished during her 645th bombing mission. In addition there are some moving tributes to fallen comrades. Of particular interest are S. Gribanov's biography of Lidiya "Lilya" Litvyak and I. Pasportnikova's sketch of Katya Budanova. Both of these fighter-pilots had transferred to the elite (predominantly male) 73rd Stalingrad Guards Regiment commanded by N. Baranov, who was coincidentally the original commander of A. Mares'yev. Litvyak and Budanova became "Free Hunters" with the 73rd and achieved ACE status during the air battles over Stalingrad. Both were killed in action in late summer of 1943, and subsequently posthumously decorated with the highest military honor, Hero of the Soviet Union.

I find it ironic that there has recently been such an uproar over whether American women can or should participate in tactical aviation, when more than a half-century ago Soviet women did. And not out of Communist ideals or "political-correctness", but simply because their country needed them. Moreover, they acquited themselves well. The 586th held the distinction of never losing to Luftwaffe fire a bomber in the formations they escorted or a ground installation which they defended. The 588th was the first regiment of all the Night Bomber divisions to achieve Guards status, and by the end of the War each of its surviving veterans had made some 800 to 1,000 sorties. But searchlights, anti-aircraft fire, and enemy planes were not the only hurdles they had to overcome. They also faced gender-prejudice. Major V. Markov was at first indignant to be appointed Commander of the 587th Dive-bombers. This decorated officer "couldn't visualize how I could command women during war, flying [the Pe-2] bomber. I knew the aircraft, how difficult it was even for men to fly!" Markov's memoir, exerpted in this collection, relates his change of opinion as his female regiment distinguished itself and was awarded Guards status. Up until his death in 1994, Gen. (ret.) Markov remained a strong advocate of airwomen's capability in combat.