Olga Aleksandrovna Sanfirova was a captain and squadron commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment during World War II. She was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 23 February 1945, making her the first Tatar woman awarded the title.
Olga Sanfirova
Commemorative plaque on the wall of 222 Oktyabrskaya Revolution Street in Kolomna in memory of Olga Sanfirova and other military aircraft pilots — Heroes of the Soviet Union associated with the Kolomna aeroclub
"Night Witches" was a World War II German nickname for the all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces. Though women were officially barred from combat at the time, Major Marina Raskova used her position and personal contacts with the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to obtain permission to form female combat units. "Combat facilitated and ushered in a reluctant acceptance of women in military, based more upon practicality and necessity than for equality". On October 8, 1941, an order was issued to deploy three women's air-force units, including the 588th Regiment. The regiment, formed by Raskova and led by Major Yevdokiya Bershanskaya, was composed primarily of female volunteers in their late teens and early twenties.
A Polikarpov Po-2, the aircraft type used by the regiment
Yevdokiya Bershanskaya, regimental commander.
