Raisa Vasilyevna Belyayeva

Raisa Vasil'evna Beliaeva was one of the first Russian female fighter pilots. She fought alongside Lydia Litvyak and was credited with three aerial victories. She died in combat, from causes unknown, in 1943.

Early life
Belyayeva attended a technical institute for tanners in Kirov. After graduation she asked her old friend Olga Yamshchikova, a Leningrad flight instructor, to teach her to fly. Belyayeva soon proved herself an enthusiastic and indefatigable alumnus. Before the war she accumulated more than a 1.000 hours flight time and a hundred parachute jumps, instructing hundreds of parachutists. She also took part in many airshows over Tushino airfield, near Moscow.