Osipenko, Polina (1907–1939)

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Osipenko, Polina (1907–1939)

Russian aviator. Name variations: Paulina Ossipenko. Born Polina Denisovna Osipenko, Oct 8, 1907, in Osipenko, Berdansk; died in air crash on military duty, May 11, 1939; buried near Kremlin Wall in Red Square; graduate of Kacha Aviation School, 1932.

Set 5 world flight records for women; with Valentina Grizodubova and Marina Raskova, flew 3,717 miles nonstop from Moscow to the Soviet east coast near Japan (1938), a journey one-third longer than Amelia Earhart's solo flight, and crash landed, spending 10 days in the Siberian taiga until rescued. Awarded Two Orders of Lenin and Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

See also Bruce Myles, Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat (Presidio, 1981); and Women in World History.

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