Natalya Fyodorovna Meklin née Kravtsova (, ; 1922–2005) was a much decorated World War II combat pilot in one of the three women-only Soviet air regiments. They were nicknamed the 'Night Witches' by their German opponents. She was born on September 8, 1922, in Lubny, Ukraine. In 1940 she joined the glider school at the Kiev Young Pioneer Palace. When she was 19, in 1942 she joined the Night Witches, piloting a Polikarpov Po-2 light bomber, and by the end of the war had flown 980 night missions. In 1953 she graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages.
Identifier (URI) | Rank |
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dbkwik:resource/czSYcE0yi19p3hINqnYtcQ== | 5.88129e-14 |
dbr:Natalya_Meklin | 5.88129e-14 |