Valentina Kravchenko

Valentina Flegontovna Savitskaya née Kravchenko was a pilot and squadron navigator in the 125th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment during World War II. She was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation on 10 April 1995.

Early life
Valentina Kravchenko was born on 9 January 1917 to a Russian family in Kemerovo, Siberia. After graduating from secondary school she studied at the Tomsk aeroclub and later the Tomsk Industrial Institute before entering the Kherson Aviation School in 1935. In 1940 she began working as an instructor at the Saratov Aeroclub.

Wartime career
Kravchenko joined the Red Army in 1941 shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union and attended Engels Military Aviation School before she entered combat in January 1943 flying a Petlyakov Pe-2 dive bomber in the Battle of Stalingrad as part of the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, which was later honored with the Guards designation and renamed the 125th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment. In April and May 1943, Kravchenko participated in the bombing of enemy fortifications on the Kuban bridgehead. From in July 1943 to July 1944 she fought in the battles of Kursk, Smolensk, and the Yelnya Offensive, assisting Soviet troops in advancing in Vitebsk and Orsha and destroying enemy defensive fortifications on the Kalinin Front.

In early 1945 she flew bombing sorties against enemy targets on the Third Byelorussian Front, destroying artillery positions and attacking enemy troops in East Prussia, the Kurland Peninsula, and Skrunda-Priekule district. In the last months of the war, starting on 12 April, she participated in the final offensive to expel enemy forces from the Sambia Peninsula.

For her bombing missions during the war she qualified for the title Hero of the Soviet Union and was nominated for it, but unlike several other members of her regiment she did not receive the title.

Later life
Kravchenko retired from the military after her regiment was disbanded in 1947 after the end of the war. Shortly after leaving the military she married, changing her surname to Savitskaya. She and her husband lived in Moscow where she found employment at the Space Research Institute. Several years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union she was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation on 10 April 1995 for her contributions to the war. Savitskaya passed away on 15 February 2000 and was buried in the Mitinskoe Cemetery.