Lydia Litvyak is the best female fighter pilot of World War II. Lost in the clouds The story of Lydia Litvyak - the legendary "White Lily. The girl who dreamed of the sky

She was born on August 18, 1921 in Moscow. She graduated from 9 classes of secondary school and 2 courses of engineering college. In 1935 she entered the Kirov flying club. From May to July 1939 she worked as a collector in Transuzelproekt, on surveys of the Kirov-Kotlas line. In November 1939 she graduated flight school Tagansky district flying club of the city of Moscow, in December 1939 - a training detachment of the Aviation Department of the Moscow City Council of the Osoaviakhim of the USSR, in May 1940 - the Kherson instructor aviation school of the Osoaviakhim of the USSR, since the summer of 1940 - an instructor-pilot of the Proletarian regional flying club of the city of Moscow. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, she trained 45 pilots.

October 10, 1941 voluntarily joined the Red Army. From April 15, 1942, she led combat work in the air defense system of the city of Saratov (144th IAD, Saratov-Balashovsky air defense divisional area). She made 35 sorties on patrol and escort of transport aircraft. Since September 10, 1942 - a pilot of the 586th IAP, made 10 sorties. In the same month, she was enlisted as a flight commander in the 437th IAP (287th IAD, 8th Air Army, Stalingrad Front).

From October 10, 1942, she was under operational control of the 9th Guards IAP (by that time she had 1 personal and 2 group victories on her account). January 8, 1943 transferred to the 296th IAP (on March 21, 1943 it was transformed into the 73rd Guards IAP). In February, she won another personal victory and was soon awarded the Order of the Red Star.

On March 22, 1943, she participated in the interception of a group of Yu-88 bombers and shot down one Junkers. In the same battle, she received a shrapnel wound in her leg. The regiment returned after treatment. On May 5, not yet fully strengthened, she flew out to escort a group of bombers. In the ensuing air battle, she shot down a Me-109 fighter. May 31 destroyed the balloon spotter artillery fire. For this victory (and 4 personally shot down enemy aircraft) she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. On July 16, she was again wounded by shrapnel in her leg and shoulder. By the end of July 1943, she won 2 more victories (1 personally and 1 in a group).

On August 1, 1943, the commander of the 3rd squadron of the 73rd Guards Stalingrad Fighter Aviation Regiment (6th Guards Don Fighter Aviation Division, 8th Air Army, Southern Front) Guards Junior Lieutenant L. V. Litvyak did not return from a combat mission . By that time, she had made 138 sorties, in air battles she personally shot down 5 and as part of a group of 3 enemy aircraft, destroyed 1 spotter balloon (according to the materials of the last award list, she completed 150 sorties, shot down 6 aircraft personally and 6 in a group, more 2 knocked out; all this is not confirmed by operational documents).

For her exploits, she was presented by the command of the regiment to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. Since there was no exact data on her death yet (there were rumors that she was in captivity), the division command did not approve this idea, limiting itself to the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

The grave of L. V. Litvyak was found only in the summer of 1979 in the village of Dmitrovka, Shakhtyorsky district, Donetsk region (buried in a mass grave). After that, the veterans of the regiment renewed their petition to award her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990, Junior Lieutenant Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak of the Guards was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The Order of Lenin No. 460056 and the Gold Star medal No. 11616 were deposited with the relatives of the deceased Heroine.

Awarded with orders: Lenin (05/05/1990, posthumously), Red Banner (07/22/1943), Patriotic War 1st degree (09/10/1943, posthumously), Red Star (02/17/1943); medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" (1943).

Lydia Litvyak is called the most productive pilot during the Second World War. As a fighter pilot, she shot down many enemy planes, but one day she herself did not return from another flight ... She was less than 22 years old.

Goddess of Aviation

Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak was born in Moscow on August 18, 1921, the All-Union Aviation Day. This fact left an imprint on her entire future life. Lilya (as her relatives called her) was fond of airplanes from childhood. At the age of 14, she began to study at the Chkalov Central Aeroclub and at 15 she already made her first solo flight. Then there was the Kherson Aviation School for Pilot-Instructors. Upon graduation, Lilya went to work at the Kalinin flying club, where she personally trained 45 cadets.

With the outbreak of war, Litvyak asked to volunteer for the front. But only in 1942 she made her first sortie on the Yak-1 fighter as part of the 586th IAP. It was one of three "women's aviation regiments" under the leadership of Marina Raskova, formed on Stalin's personal order. To get there, Litvyak had to go to the trick - to ascribe to himself the missing 100 flight hours.

In September, she was transferred to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 287th Fighter Aviation Division. In the same month, she shot down a Me-109 fighter over Stalingrad. The pilot, a German baron, was taken prisoner. He turned out to be a Knight's Cross holder, an experienced pilot with 30 aerial victories. The prisoner was incredibly surprised when he found out that he was hit by a young Russian girl. According to legend, the German took off his military awards and handed it to a brave pilot ...

Lily and stars

At her request, a white lily was painted on the fuselage of the Litvyak aircraft. "White Lily-44" (according to the tail number of the aircraft) became her radio call sign. And from now on, she herself began to be called the "White Lily of Stalingrad." Soon Lydia was transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, where the best pilots served, then to the 296th IAP.

One day her own plane was shot down and she had to land in the territory occupied by the Germans. She miraculously escaped capture: one of the attack pilots opened fire on the Nazis, and when they lay down, hiding from the shelling, he went down to the ground and took the girl on board.

On February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvyak was awarded the Order of the Red Star for military merit. By that time, in addition to a white lily, eight bright red stars flaunted on the fuselage of her Yak - according to the number of aircraft shot down in battles.

On March 22, in the Rostov-on-Don region, during a group battle with German bombers, Lydia was seriously wounded in the leg, but still managed to land the damaged aircraft. She was sent home from the hospital to recover, but a week later she returned to the regiment. She flew in tandem with squadron commander Alexei Solomatin, covering him during attacks. A feeling arose between the comrades, and in April of the 43rd Lydia and Alexei signed.

In May 1943, Litvyak shot down several more enemy planes and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. But fate prepared two heavy blows for her at once. On May 21, her husband Alexei Solomatin was killed in battle. And on July 18 - best friend Ekaterina Budanova.

But there was no time to mourn. In late July - early August, the 43rd Litvyak had to take part in heavy battles to break through German defense on the river Mius. On August 1, Lydia made four sorties. During the fourth flight, her plane was hit by a German fighter, but did not immediately fall to the ground, but disappeared into the clouds ...

"Dead in action..."

After the war, former fellow soldiers tried to find traces of Lydia Litvyak. It turned out that the wreckage of a fighter with a white lily on the fuselage was found by local residents and scrapped. Later it became known that the remains of an unknown pilot were discovered near the Kozhevnya farm by local boys. On July 29, 1969, they were buried in a mass grave in the village of Dmitrovka, Shakhtersky district, Donetsk region. In 1971, the search team of the 1st school of the city of Krasny Luch managed to establish the name of the pilot - Lydia Litvyak.

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was born on August 18 - the All-Union Aviation Day. Fascinated by airplanes since childhood, the girl was incredibly proud of this fact. She was predicted an acting future, but she chose the sky.

White Lily-44

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 19-year-old courageous and in love with the sky Lydia signed up as a volunteer pilot. But initially the Soviet command did not intend to give women a significant role in aviation. And only a year later, in September 1942, the girl made her first sortie as part of the 586 IAP (fighter aviation regiment) - one of the three women's aviation regiments under the leadership of pilots Marina Raskova, which were formed on the orders of Stalin due to the large losses of professional pilots.

Lydia Litvyak. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Less than a year later, on February 23, 1943, Lydia Litvyak received one of her first military awards - the Order of the Red Star. During these months, she, as one of the best pilots, was transferred to the divisions that participated in the most important battles of the Second World War, and also became known as the "White Lily".

By that time, the fuselage of her faithful Yak-1 was adorned not only with eight bright red stars, a symbol of eight air victories, but also with a snow-white lily - a special sign of a pilot who is allowed "free hunting" - a special type of combat operations in which the fighter does not perform a specific task to cover bombers, or vice versa, protect against them, but flies, tracking down single enemy aircraft and "hunting" them.

Litvyak's call sign, "White Lily-44", was also sounded differently, according to the tail number of her aircraft. And she herself was often called not Lida, but Lily. By the way, there is an assumption that the name Lilia comes from the word "lil", which, translated from one of the ancient Eurasian languages, means "air, wind."

Two Lydia

The sky transformed Litvyak, as her colleagues claimed: the feeling of the steering wheel in her hands changed her beyond recognition and seemed to divide her into two completely different people.

"Earthly" Lydia was a silent, modest beauty with a blond mop of hair and blue eyes - she was even compared with the popular in those years actress Valentina Serova. She loved to read books and dress elegantly: she always looked neat, feminine, wore unusual things - a white balaclava, a sleeveless jacket turned out with fluff, chrome boots, a collar for a flight uniform made of fur cut from high boots (which she was then ordered to tear off and attach back to her shoes ) - and walked with a special gait, causing quiet delight among those around her.

The “heavenly” Lydia was distinguished by her determination, composure, endurance and dexterity: she literally “knew how to see the air,” as her commander said. It is no coincidence that she was called "Diana - the goddess of free hunting", and her special handwriting in piloting was compared with Chkalovsky. They admired her skill, rejoiced at her victories, marveled at her desperate courage. For example, once Lydia returned to the airfield on a plane riddled with German shells and with a wound in her leg, and, having reported on the successful completion of the mission and two downed enemy aircraft, she lost consciousness. After this battle, the male pilots recognized her as a real ace.

Probably, the combination of traits inherent in the character of Lydia Litvyak, even in childhood, contributed to her passion for aviation and the pursuit of this dream. At the age of 14, she, along with adults, attended the Chkalov Central Aeroclub, a year later she made her first solo flight and participated in a geological expedition to the Far North, and some time later she graduated from the Kherson Flight School, became an instructor pilot, and before the start of the war she managed to put on wing of 45 cadets.

Soviet pilot Lydia Litvyak with her fighter. 1943 Photo: RIA Novosti

Ace in a skirt

“We were all shocked and delighted by her act, which we told each other about. A blizzard had been raging in Engels for several days, the wind had knocked people off their feet. But it was necessary to carry a propeller from the Anisovka airfield for the plane that had crashed. Flights in such weather are prohibited, but Lilya Litvyak took off without permission and brought a propeller. Colonel Bagaev, Head of the Engels School reprimanded her for failure to comply with the order for the aviation school, and Major M. Raskova called her and said: “I am proud of my brave and courageous pilot!” ”- recalled her best friend about the White Lily, fighter pilot Ekaterina Budanova.

And in one of the first sorties over Stalingrad, the White Lily managed to shoot down two enemy aircraft. The pilot of the second German fighter was an experienced pilot and fought to the last. But in the end, his car flared up from a shell fired by Lydia and quickly headed towards the ground, and the pilot, who jumped out with a parachute, was captured. During interrogation, he asked to show him the one who brought him down, and when he saw a twenty-year-old girl, he became furious: “Why are you laughing at me? I am a pilot who shot down more than thirty aircraft. I am a holder of the knight's cross! It can't be that this girl hit me! That pilot fought masterfully.” But after Lydia showed with gestures the details of the battle known only to the two of them, he changed his face, took off his gold watch from his hand (according to another version, he tore numerous awards from his chest) and handed it to her, the winner.

Crucial moment

At the beginning of 1943, Lydia Litvyak was transferred to the 296th IAP and assigned to squadron commander Alexei Solomatin: there was a special tactic for aviation, according to which the lead pilot must go on the attack, and the follower must “cover” him. After several months of joint flights, in April of the same year, literally in the break between battles, the couple signed.

Lydia also maintained friendly relations with the pilot Ekaterina Budanova, with whom fate brought them together at the beginning combat way- in the Raskova women's air regiment - and no longer separated. Since then, they have always served together and have been best friends.

A month later, White Lily's life began to change. On May 21, 1943, in a plane crash that occurred right in front of her comrades and Lydia herself, her husband died. Less than a month later, she received many injuries and died without regaining consciousness, Budanov's best friend.

Pilots of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment Lidia Litvyak, Ekaterina Budanova, Maria Kuznetsova (left to right) at the Yak-1 aircraft. 1943 Photo: RIA Novosti

last flight

This fateful year was the last for the White Lily herself. On August 1, 1943 Litvyak made her last flight. There were terrible battles to break through the German defenses at the turn of the Mius River, which closed the road to the Donbass. For the regiment's fighters, this was already the fourth sortie of the day. Whether physical fatigue affected and emotional stress, or the weapon failed - in one of the collisions, Lydia's plane was hit by a German fighter, but did not fall right away, but entered the cloud zone and disappeared.

According to pilot Borisenko, who sent his fighter after Litvyak into the clouds, the aircraft with a white lily on the fuselage was not visible in the air, but no fiery flashes were observed on the ground either. Other eyewitnesses claimed that they saw how the fighter landed, its blond pilot girl allegedly got into an approaching car with German officers and disappeared in an unknown direction. But this version looks absolutely fantastic.

Two weeks later, Lydia Litvyak was supposed to turn 22 years old. Relatives believed that she had a premonition of her death: in one of her letters she mentioned a dream in which her husband called her on the opposite bank of a stormy river.

fight and seek

According to official data, on August 1, 1943, Lydia Litvyak did not return from a combat mission and went missing. Formal searches did not last even several years: the pilot, who approximately knew the area where the plane crashed, died, and the discovered White Lily fighter, as it turned out later, was scrapped by local residents. But then the remains could not be found.

But her relatives, close and caring fans organized their own investigations. In 1967 in the city of Krasny Luch, Lugansk region school teacher Valentina Ivanovna Vashchenko founded the RVS detachment (Scouts military glory), who also conducted searches in his region. The detachment included students of the seventh grade, in which Vashchenko was class teacher: she believed that such an experience would unite the guys and captivate them with their native history. On July 23, 1979, members of the detachment became aware that an unknown pilot was buried in one of the mass graves. The study of the remains made it possible to find out that the deceased was mortally wounded in the frontal part of the head. Further investigation established that it could only be Lydia Litvyak.

So, in 1988, 41 years after her death, an entry appeared in her personal file “died while performing a combat mission.” In 1990, the pilot was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and in 1993 - the title of Hero of Russia.

In total, in the ten months that the White Lily devoted to the defense of the Motherland, she made 186 sorties, received 3 wounds, personally shot down 11 aircraft and 3 aircraft in a group, as well as one balloon. In terms of combat flight time, she still holds the top lines in the ranking of fighter pilots, on a par with other legendary Soviet pilots, despite the fact that she fought for less than a year.

On August 1, 1943, Junior Lieutenant Lidiya Litvyak, flight commander of the third squadron of the 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, did not return from a combat mission. Neither the pilot nor the plane could be found by fellow soldiers. After the death of Alexander Evdokimov, led by Lydia Litvyak in her last battle, the search was completely stopped - only he knew where his commander's Yak fell ...

For the aviation unit, this was one of the heaviest losses in a year of hostilities: a fighter pilot, a favorite of the regiment, a skilled and fearless fighter who destroyed one spotter balloon and 14 enemy combat aircraft in air battles, died.

"Missing." This laconic and completely indefinite entry appears in the card of the military archive. “Missing” - this entry can mean that she died heroically, and voluntarily surrendered herself to captivity. This is exactly what the officials were counting on: the main thing is to play it safe, and time will do its job ...

Lilya (that was the name of her close friends) came to aviation when she was fourteen years old. She made her first solo flight at the age of fifteen. She began her career as a pilot at the Kherson Pilot School. After graduation, Litvak was transferred to the Kalinin flying club, becoming one of the best instructor pilots in it. All her flights were gambling, Lydia Vladimirovna reveled in flights. Under her leadership, forty-five boys “got on the wing”.

Lily really wanted to get to the front. While in Ufa, where the entire flying club was evacuated, she becomes aware that the formation of women's aviation regiments has begun in Moscow. The irresistible desire to fight the enemy could come true. Lily leaves for the capital. She decided that she would fight the Nazis exclusively on a fighter. However, it was not easy to achieve the set goal. It is not known how Litvak managed to add the missing hundred hours to the one he already had. In any case, but this "deception" helped to get into the combat training unit. After graduation, Lilya was enrolled in the 586th female fighter aviation regiment.

Summer 1942. Cinder in the air over Saratov. Constant raids by Heinkels and Junkers on crossings and defense enterprises. The pilots of the air defense regiment protect the city, covering it from the air. Lily, along with others, takes part in repelling enemy raids, escorts special-purpose aircraft to the front line. In September 1942, Litvyak, entering a group of girls, goes to the disposal of the 6th Fighter Aviation Division, which defended the sky of Stalingrad. For Lily Litvyak, Rai Belyaeva, Masha Kuznetsova, Katya Budanova, her fighting friends, the days of severe trials by heavy air battles begin from this time.

Yak-1 L.V. Litvyak, 296th IAP, Stalingrad Front, spring 1943

Practically during each sortie there was a tense air battle. Litvyak won her first victory on September 13th. Junkers accompanied by "Messers" flew to Stalingrad. Lily as part of her group enters the battle. On the Stalingrad front, this was her second flight. Having chosen a target, Lily approaches the Junkers from behind from below. The approach was successful: she shot the enemy plane in cold blood, as if it were happening at the training ground. Account is open! However, the fight is not over yet. Seeing that Belyaeva Raya is wrestling with the Messerschmitt, Lydia Litvyak throws her Yak to help her friend. And this help was most welcome - Belyaeva ran out of ammunition. Having taken the place of a friend, and having imposed a duel on a fascist who was trying to leave, Lily knocks him down as well. One fight - two wins! Not every combat pilot can do this.

And in the evening, Lily again saw her opponent. The pilot of the downed Messer, a captured ace from the Richthofen squadron, a German baron, wished to meet the winner. A blond, tender-looking young woman came to meet him. This simply pissed off the baron. The Russians wanted to mock him!

Two female crews, Lydia Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova, in January 1943 were enrolled in the 296th Fighter Regiment, which at that time was based near Stalingrad at the Kotelnikovo airfield.

The situation in the air in March 1943 became more complicated: groups from the famous fascist squadrons "Udet" and "Richthofen" began to invade the regiment's zone of operations. Lily, as part of the six Yakovs, took part in the interception of the Junkers-88 group in the sky of Rostov on March 22. In battle, Litvyak shoots down one of them. The six Me109, who came to the rescue of the Nazis, attacked on the move. Litvyak was the first to notice them. To disrupt a sudden enemy strike, she alone stands in the way of the group. The wounded pilot, after a fifteen-minute battle, managed to bring the crippled Yak to her airfield.

From the hospital, Lilya goes to Moscow, to her home on Novoslobodskaya Street. At the same time, they took a receipt from her that she would be treated at home within a month. However, after only a week, the capital had to be abandoned.

On May 5, not yet fully strengthened, Lily seeks direction to accompany our bombers as part of a cover group. During the flight, an air battle ensued. The Messers, which suddenly appeared from the direction of the sun, attacked our Petlyakovs, which were marching in close formation. In the ensuing battle, Litvyak shoots down another enemy aircraft. On May 7, she again “breaks out” into the sky. From the crosshairs of her sight, smoking, another "Messer" leaves.

On the sector of the front where the regiment operated, at the end of May, the Nazis "hung" an observation balloon. Artillery fire corrected by observers began to cause much more trouble for our troops. Lily goes on a mission alone. Having taken off, the pilot undertakes a cunning maneuver - deepening behind enemy lines, she enters the balloon from the side of the sun, from the depths of enemy territory. At maximum throttle, having dispersed her Yak almost to a flutter, she goes on the attack. From a distance of approximately 1000 meters, she opened fire from all points and did not stop it until she slipped near the falling balloon. June brought Lydia Litvak severe trials. Budanova Katya, her best fighting friend, died. In addition, in front of the entire regiment, the plane of Aleksey Solomatin, the only Hero of the Soviet Union in the regiment at that time, an excellent guy and Lily's beloved, crashed ...

Yak-1B L.V. Litvyak - her last car, 73rd GvIAP, summer 1943

Escorting IL-2 to the front line on July 16, 1943, six of our Yaks entered into battle with thirty-six enemy aircraft. Six "Messerschmitts" and thirty "Junkers" tried to hit our troops, but their plan was thwarted. Litvyak in this battle tore apart another Junker and, with the support of her wingman, shot down a Me-109. And again wounded. On the demand to go to the hospital, she answered with a categorical refusal: "I have enough strength." The next fight took place just three days later.

On July 21, Litvyak, together with Ivan Golyshev, the regiment commander, flew out on a combat mission. Our pair during the departure was attacked by seven "Messers". The commander "got" four fascists, the follower - three. Possessing a sense of mutual assistance, Litvyak never for a moment forgot about her commander. She managed to shoot down one "Messer" from those who were pressing on Golyshev. However, the forces were unequal. Lily's plane was shot down, and she, pursued to the ground by enemies, landed the car on the fuselage half a kilometer from the village of Novikovka.

The fame of the valor of a female fighter pilot went on all along the front. All the pilots of the regiment loved and protected Lily. However, they did not save...

On August 1, 1943, Litvyak raised her Yak three times into the sky of the war. The third battle was very difficult, it was fought with a large group of enemy fighters. Having shot down Me 109 in this battle, the pilot won the fourteenth personal victory. Lily's last sortie was the fourth on that day. Six of our fighters had to grapple with forty-two enemy aircraft. Two enemy vehicles did not return from this battle.

In the sky over Marinovka, the battle was fading away. The dispersed fascist armada was leaving to the west. Clinging to the upper edge of the clouds, our six, which did not lose a single car, headed home. At that moment, a crazy "Messer" suddenly jumped out of the white veil and, before diving into the clouds again, fired a burst at the leader of the last pair ... The Yak-1 tail number "23" did not return to the airfield. On August 4, 1943, Lieutenant Lieutenant Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, by order of the Eighth Air Army, was forever enrolled in the lists of the 73rd Guards Stalingrad Fighter Aviation Regiment. Four days later, on August 8, Litvyak was presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. She certainly deserved this award.

However, then Leela was not awarded this high rank. As a posthumous award, instead of the Golden Star, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree came ... Lily's plane fell on the territory occupied by the enemy, in a grove near the Kozhevnya farm (the village of Dmitrovka, Shakhtersky district). Who and where buried the pilot is unknown.

In 1946, local residents handed over the remains of Lily's plane for scrap. The track of the brave pilot was lost for a long time.

Fearless Lily, died the death of the brave in her native sky, was also buried in her land, but for many years she was missing. This uncertainty lasted for forty-five years. however, the trail of the brave pilot has been persistently searched for all these years. Fellow soldiers, soldiers, schoolchildren were looking for.

The newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" in 1968 tried to restore the honest name of Lily. Registration by "Komsomolskaya Pravda" presentation for assignment Litvyak L.V. the title of Hero was sent to the political department of the air force. The Air Force command supported the noble impulse of the newspaper staff, but did not forget about the principle "caution is not a hindrance." Command verdict: "Search. Find, we will talk."

In the search for Litvyak in 1971, young soldiers of the Reconnaissance Detachment of Military Glory, led by Valentina Vashchenko, a teacher at the 1st school in the city of Krasny Luch, joined. For several years, the girls and guys of the detachment "combed" the neighborhood of the village of Marinovka up and down.

Lilin's trail was found unexpectedly, almost by accident. The following became known later. The remains of an unknown pilot, discovered by accident by local boys, along with the remains of other soldiers who died in the area, were buried on July 26, 1969. The burial took place in the center of the village of Dmitrovka (Shakhtersky district). Before that, the doctors found that the remains of the pilot were female. So on the mass grave "19 s. Dmitrovka, among many surnames, "Unknown pilot" appeared.

Yak-1 Lydia Litvak

So the fighter pilot was buried! But the question is who exactly? There were two of them in the 8th Air Army at that time - Ekaterina Budanova and Lydia Litvyak. Budanova died heroically in June 1943. The place of her burial is also known. So Lily? Yes, it certainly was her. The certificate received from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense confirmed the conclusion made. The name of Lydia Litvyak was immortalized in July 1988 in the burial place, mass grave "19, located in the center of the village of Dmitrovka. In November 1988, by order of the Deputy Minister of Defense, a change was made to paragraph 22 of the order of the Main Personnel Directorate dated September 16, 1943, regarding the fate Litvyak wrote:
“Missing on August 1, 1943. It should read: she died while performing a combat mission on August 1, 1943.”

Thus, the last white spot in the fate of Lily was eliminated. After that, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR submitted a proposal for conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union L. V. Litvyak and posthumously raising her in rank. This high rank guard senior lieutenant Litvyak was awarded May 6, 1990.

List of victories won by Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvak:
Departures No. 1 and 2, 09/13/1942, Bf 109 and Ju 88 were shot down on La-5, respectively.
Departure No. 3, 27.09. 1942, Ju 88 shot down on La-5.
Departure No. 4, 11.02. 1943 FW 190A shot down on Yak-1.
Departures No. 5 and 6. 1.03. 1943 FW 190A and Ju 88 were shot down on the Yak-1, respectively.
Departures №№ 7 and 8 15.03. 1943 Yak-1 shot down one Ju 88.
Departure №9 5.05. 1943 Yak-1b no data on downed aircraft.
Departure No. 10 31.05. 1943 a balloon was shot down on a Yak-1b.
Departures Nos. 11 and 12. 1.08. 1943 Yak-1b no data on downed aircraft.