Polina Makogon

Polina Makogon (Russian: Полина Александровна Макогон; 1919 – 1943) was a squadron commander in an all-female Soviet air unit, the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, also known as the Night Witches.

Polina Makogon
Native name
Полина Александровна Макогон
Born1919
Balki, Ukraine
Died1 April 1943
Krasnodar, USSR
Allegiance Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Air Force
Years of service1941–1943
RankLieutenant
Unit46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsOrder of the Red Banner
Order of the Patriotic War

Biography

Makogon was born in 1919 in the village of Balki, located in what it now the Zaporizhia Oblast of Ukraine.[1]

Career

In 1941 she joined the Civil Air Fleet and in May 1942 she graduated from the Engels Military School.[1] She was a responsible pilot and at the time of her death was the Commander of the 3rd Squadron, 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, within the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division, part of the 4th Air Army.[1] She trained many pilots, including Meri Avidzba, who carried out three attacks with Makogon in February 1943.[2] During her time in service she participated in the Battle of the Caucasus, the Liberation of Kuban and bombed enemy facilities.[1] Missions were dangerous and navigator Yevgenia Zhigulenko recalled several near misses when she crewed with Makogon, including one instance where it was Makogon's actions that averted a crash.[3] On the night of the 31 March/1April 1943, Makogon was piloting a bomber back to base when it collided with another aircraft. Of the four people in the aircraft involved in the crash, only Khiuaz Dospanova (from the other plane) survived.[1][4] Later Zhigulenko suggested that the inexperience of the new navigator, Lydia Svistunova, may have had an effect.[3][5]

Makogon was buried in the village of Pashkovskaya, now a district of the city of Krasnodar.[6] She was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class.[7]

Legacy

In 1965 a memorial obelisk was erected in Pashkovskaya to remember Makogon and other pilots.[8]

References
  1. "Макагон Полина". tamanskipolk46.narod.ru. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  2. "Korkusuz pilot Meri Ayüdzba". abaza.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  3. Noggle, Anne, 1922-2005. (1994). A dance with death : Soviet airwomen in World War II (1st ed.). College Station: Texas A & M University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-89096-601-X. OCLC 29878340.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Макогон Полина Александровна, 01.04.1943, погиб, :: Донесение о потерях :: Память народа". pamyat-naroda.ru. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  5. Rakobolskaya & Kravtsova 2005, p. 70.
  6. "Макогон Полина Александровна, в ночь с 31.03.1943 на 01.04.1943, иная причина смерти, :: Донесение о потерях :: Память народа". pamyat-naroda.ru. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  7. Award list on the site «pamyat-naroda.ru» (archive materials of TsAMO, ф. 33, оп. 686044, д. 1635)
  8. Partnership project of the Legislative Assembly of the Tver region, the Archival department of the administration of the Tver region, Tver regional library. A.M. Gorky, Tver University Internet Center. "MILITARY HISTORICAL ARCHIVE".CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Bibliography
  • Rakobolskaya, Irina; Kravtsova, Natalya (2005). Нас называли ночными ведьмами: так воевал женский 46-й гвардейский полк ночных бомбардировщиков. Moscow: University of Moscow Press. ISBN 5211050088. OCLC 68044852.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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