Irina Sebrova

Irina Fyodorovna Sebrova (Russian: Ирина Фёдоровна Себрова; 25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1914 – 5 April 2000) was a flight commander in the all-female Night Witches during the Second World War. She was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 23 February 1945 for her first 825 bombing missions.

Irina Fyodorovna Sebrova
Native name	Ирина Фёдоровна Себрова
Born	25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1914 Novomoskovsk, Tula Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	5 April 2000 (aged 85) Moscow, Russian Federation
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Soviet Air Force
Years of service	1941–1948
Rank	Senior lieutenant
Unit	588th Night Bomber Regiment
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union

Early life

Sebrova was born on 25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1914 to an impoverished Russian family in Tetyakovka, Novomoskovsk. After completing only five grades of school in 1927 she went to trade school, and then became a locksmith and a factory worker while taking nursing courses.[1][2] She then entered an aeroclub and went on to become a flight instructor. At the age of 23, she was already an experienced flight instructor at the Frunze flight club in Moscow. In 1938, she graduated from the Moscow Aeroclub, and in 1940 she began training in military aviation.[2]

Military career

After joining the Red Army in October 1941, she completed her military aviation studies at Engels and in 1942 was assigned to the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, which was later nicknamed the "Night Witches" by German troops. The regiment was later awarded the Guards designation and became the 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment under the 4th Air Army. Sebrova joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1943.[3] During the war she flew 1,008 combat sorties[4] on the Po-2, after 825 of which she was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union which she received on 23 February 1945.[5]

Later life

Sebrova retired from the Air Force in 1948, joining the Moscow Aviation Institute. She died on 5 April 2000 and was buried in the Rakitin Cemetery.[6]

Awards

• Hero of the Soviet Union (23 February 1945)
• Order of Lenin (23 February 1945)
• Three Orders of the Red Banner (19 October 1942, 26 April 1944, and 15 June 1945)
• Order of the Patriotic War 1st and 2nd class: (11 March 1985 and 27 April 1943)
• Order of the Red Star (8 October 1943)
• campaign and jubilee medals

[6]

See also

• List of female Heroes of the Soviet Union

References

1. Cottam 1998, p. 106.
2. Noggle 1994, p. 73.
3. Shkadov, Ivan (1988). Герои Советского Союза: краткий биографический словарь II, Любовь - Яшчук [Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary II, Lyubov - Yashchuk]. Moscow: Voenizdat. p. 427. ISBN 5203005362. OCLC 247400113.
4. Sakaida, Henry (2012). Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941–45. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 9781780966519.
5. Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 215.
6. Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 216.

Bibliography

• Simonov, Andrey; Chudinova, Svetlana (2017). Женщины - Герои Советского Союза и России [Women - Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia]. Moscow: Russian Knights Foundation and Museum of Technology Vadim Zadorozhny. ISBN 9785990960701. OCLC 1019634607.
• Cottam, Kazimiera (1998). Women in War and Resistance: Selected Biographies of Soviet Women Soldiers. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co. ISBN 1585101605. OCLC 228063546.
• Noggle, Anne (1994). A Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0890966028. OCLC 474018127.