Since the man began to conquer the sky, the fair sex tried to keep up with men, and at the beginning of the twentieth century the first women aviators appeared in the world. Still not even equal in political and civil rights with men, the fair sex began to storm the sky.
For the first time in history, a woman, independently at the helm of an airplane, took off in October 1909, but in Russia it happened in 1911. But first things first, and before us is the most famous female aviator in the history of world aviation.
1
Raymond de Laroche
We can say that a woman first flew into the sky by accident. On October 22, 1909, the owner of the airplane, Charles Voisin, gave his friend Raymond a ride on the airfield of Le Bourget.
Naturally, the woman could not resist the temptation to fly and lifted the airplane into the sky. Flying at a six-meter height a little more than three hundred meters, Raymond safely landed the car.
After this incident, the former successful actress became a pilot, and set several records among women in range and altitude. She died in a plane crash in 1919, but on that tragic flight the pilot was a man, and the brave girl was only a passenger.
2
Theresa Peletier
Another Frenchwoman can rightfully be called the first woman aviator in the world. She first flew into the sky in July 1908, as a passenger.
Then she had no rights to control the aircraft, and her friend Leon Delagrange was at the helm. But some researchers claim, based on eyewitness accounts, that Lon gave his girlfriend a “steer” of the aircraft.
Despite the fact that the flight was only two hundred meters, this does not detract from the merits of a brave woman, and she went down in history as a real hero.
3
Helene Dutrieux
The Belgian Helen was born in 1877 in the family of a cyclist, and from childhood she became interested in racing. She participated in bicycle races, where she won awards and set records.
In addition to the hobby for cycling, the young girl fell in love with the sky. In December 1908, she made an unauthorized flight, but crashed her Santo Dumone airplane. After that, she decided to become a pilot, and in 1913 Helen set several records, for which she was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. Participated in the First World War, and successfully fought in the sky over Paris with German pilots.
Note that Helene Dutrieux was the first of the women to fly to the sky, but de Laroche gave the championship because she did not crash her airplane, and the flight was recorded as the first successful one.
4
Domnikiya Kuznetsova-Novoleynik
A citizen of the Russian Empire with the beautiful name Domnikia became the first woman in Russia to fly an airplane into the sky. This happened during the demonstration flights at the International Aeronautics Week, which was held in St. Petersburg in 1911.
The woman knew only the theory of aeronautics and had distant ideas about the control of aircraft. But the fearless Domnikia on her husband’s airplane flew up to the sky. The girl lost control, and the car crashed to the ground.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but Domnickia did not become a pilot, remaining in history a "non-certified flight track".
5
Lydia Zvereva
Lily became the first female aviator in Russia to receive a diploma. From childhood, the girl dreamed of flying to the sky, and after school she ran away to the hills outside the city to observe the flights of balloons.
In 1911, after graduation, the girl entered the Gatchina aviation school, and on August 10 of the same year successfully passed the flight exams.
After she became a pilot, together with her husband Lydia actively participates in demonstration flights, and after moving to Riga, she opens her own school of aviators. The pioneer of Russian women's aviation died in 1916 at the age of 25. The cause of death was typhoid.
6
Harriet quimbi
But in the USA, the brave and talented Harriet Quimby received the first pilot license. In 1912, she flew across the English Channel, became the first woman to succeed.
In addition to flying, Harriet was a successful screenwriter, and in 1911 she made 7 films in her Hollywood films. In one of the films played a secondary role. But nevertheless, her real hobby was heaven.
The brave pilot died tragically in July 1912. During a flight over the Boston airfield, the plane overturned for unknown reasons, and it fell out with the passenger and crashed to the ground.
7
Bessie Coleman
In our list of remarkable women, the first dark-skinned female pilot, born in 1892 in American Texas, rightfully takes her place of honor.
While working in a hairdressing salon, young Bessie met pilots and became interested in aviation. But because of racial prejudice, she was denied admission to the flight school.
But the purposeful girl did not lose heart, and with the sponsorship of entrepreneurs, she learned to become a pilot in Paris. Fearlessly performed stunts in the air, which has become famous throughout the world. The pilot died tragically in 1926, when during the flight a stream of air threw her onto the wing of an airplane.
8
Elinor Smith
The brave Elinor became the youngest of the pilots in the world, having received a pilot license at 16 years old. At the age of 6, she flew for the first time on an airplane over the Long Island potato fields, and at age 10 she began to take her first aeronautics lessons.
In September 1927, successfully passed the exams, and began to fly independently. Her trick went down in history when a young American woman flew under her four bridges in New York on her plane.
She was the only woman to fly the Space Shuttle in flight mode. She made her last flight at the age of 83, and in March 2010 the legendary aviator died.
9
Sabiha Gokcen
One of the eight adopted daughters of Ataturk, Sabiha chose a dangerous but exciting profession. At 23, she became the first female pilot in Turkey, and later became a military fighter pilot.
In 1935, she visited an air show with her adoptive father, and answered affirmatively to her father’s question whether she wanted to take up aviation herself. The girl began flying in 1936, and immediately took part in military operations against insurgent Kurds.
During her career, a woman of the East, who defied prejudice, piloted 22 types of aircraft, and a total of 8,000 flight hours were counted on by the brave Turkish woman, no combat flights out of 32 hours.
10
Amelia Mary Earhart
American Amelia became the first woman aviator in history to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. But before this event, the enthusiastic girl worked as a nurse, and at the aviation exhibition in Los Angeles in 1920 made her first flight.
In 1922, a brave woman took a plane to a height of 4,300 meters, which at that time was a record for female pilots. In 1928, the famous Transatlantic flight took place on a three-engine Fokker F-VI, called Friendship.
In 1937, an American tried to make a round-the-world flight on a Lockheed Model 10 Electra, but was missing somewhere in the central Pacific Ocean.
11
Beryl Markham
Beryl, a British-born pilot, received her testimony in 1933. She was the first woman to fly over the northern waters of the Atlantic from England to Canada.
For many years, Beryl worked in Kenya, flying over Africa with rescue missions.
From childhood, Beryl loved horses and was a great rider. She became the first woman in Kenya to receive an official license to teach horseback riding. Released a book of memoirs "To the West, after the night." This book formed the basis of the plot of the film about the brave British "Shadow in the Sun."
12
Beate Uze
The first, and so far the only, female stuntman in Germany of the 30s was born in 1919, and after moving to study in England, she became interested in aviation.
But parents forbade their daughter to engage in dangerous activities, and only in 1937 Beate managed to enter a flight school. Repeatedly won competitions in sports piloting.
During the war she became a carrier for the Luftwaffe. In April 1945, having found a plane without a pilot, she evacuated her sick son and the wounded from Berlin. After the war, Luftwaffe pilots were forbidden to fly, and Beate opened the first sex shop in the world.
13
Nadezhda Popova
Many of us watched Leonid Bykov’s magnificent film “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” but few know that the heroes of the film had real historical prototypes.
There was such a beauty of Masha. The director even left the hero of the film the real name of Popov. Having graduated from school, Nadezhda entered the flying club of the city of Stalin (Donetsk), and during the years of World War II she was deputy commander of a female squadron of night bombers.
"Night witches," as the pilots of the 46th regiment were called, terrified the enemy with their night raids. In 1945, Nadezhda became a Hero of the Soviet Union. She died in the 92nd year of her life and was buried in Moscow.
14
Lilia Litvyak
A small, fragile Lily was born in Moscow in 1921, when women took only the first steps in the development of the sky. At the age of 15, she already made her first flight, studying at that time in the Kherson Aviation School.
She worked as an instructor, and in 1942 achieved that she was enrolled in a combat squadron. Bravely fought in the sky over Stalingrad, shooting down German planes. On her account was the downed German ass, the baron, who had before this 30 air victories.
On August 1, 1943, in the sky above the Donbass, the girl’s plane with a white lily on the fuselage did not return from the fourth combat day on the day. Lily died before the 22nd anniversary of 17 days. Only in 1971 did Litvyak manage to find the burial place. The brave pilot was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and twice posthumously increased in rank.
15
Valentina Tereshkova
We continue our fascinating story about female pilots with an amazing and courageous woman who was the first of the fair sex to fly into space. Our site thebiggest.ru is especially sensitive to the topic of space and the history of its development, so we could not ignore this great personality.
Immediately after receiving secondary education, Valentina was forced to go to work, as her father died in the Finnish War, and it was necessary to help her mother. In 1959, enrolled in the Yaroslavl flying club, and made more than 90 parachute jumps.
But the purposeful girl did not stop there, and passed the selection to the school of astronauts. On June 16, 1963, the whole world recognized the name of the first female astronaut who made a three-day flight on the Vostok-6 ship. Without a doubt, Tereshkova is one of the most famous aviators in the world.
16
Svetlana Kapanina
And we will complete our review with the hero of our time, the charming Russian aviator Svetlana Kapanina. The brave girl is a seven-time world champion, and today an instructor in the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
As a child, Svetlana was fond of technology, drove on mopeds and motorcycles, and at school she was an active participant in all sports competitions.
In 1988, a medical doctor by training came to aviation, and achieved high achievements in this type of activity. He has numerous awards, including the Order of Courage, which he received from the hands of the President of Russia.
You can see the video with her flights below:
We presented only 16 famous female pilots, but, believe me, there are many more. One can only admire the courage and courage of these beautiful women who have defied the air element. Their achievements, records and exploits in golden letters are inscribed in the history of world aviation, and their memory is imprinted in bronze, books, movies, and also in the hearts of millions of people who sincerely love the sky.
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Article author: Valery Skiba