Rascal of the Soviet Union

  It's difficult to over-emphasize the contribution of all the badass belles of the SU during the Great Patriotic War. No other nation was so desperate and so ostensibly egalitarian, and the kickass killer ladies who came forth gave those Nazis hell! WWII showcased new, 'modern' methods of murder and mayhem that often largely or entirely scrapped the classic excuse that women weren't as combat capable as menfolk because they lacked the physical strength of men. Ha! Marina Raskova was out to prove this misguided wisdom dead wrong, and she did it with the power of the newfangled flying machines of the 20th century.

Aviatrix goggles and riveted steel.

  Even before the war the women of the Soviet Union were setting world records, and Ms. Raskova was breaking barriers in her home country too. She was the first female navigator in the Soviet Air Force, and the first to teach at the Zhukovski Air Academy. Sure sure, everyone has heard of the American Amelia Earhart, who was the first woman to fly solo ~2,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, and of her infamous disappearance while later attempting to fly around the world with only her navigator Fred Noonan. Meanwhile, in Mother Russia Marina Raskova, opera singer turned chemist turned aviatrix, navigated a flight of three ladies nonstop across Asia from Moscow to the Far East. Count 'em, that's over 4,000 miles! This flight nearly ended in the same way as Earhart's ultimate endeavor because the crew could not find the landing strip in bad weather. Fortunately, they were able to crash land and all survived. Ms. Raskova parachuted out before the crash and found herself in the wilderness of Siberia with no food or water. She wandered for 10 days before finally arriving at the airfield she'd been flying to.

Polina Osipenko, Valentina Grizodubova, and Marina Raskova with trademark grin.

   When WWII broke out, Ms. Raskova naturally advocated for her fellow ladies to help defend the Motherland. She succeeded in convincing the military to form 3 all-lady air combat groups: a fighter regiment and two bomber regiments. And not only the pilots, but the ground crews, officers, gunners and mechanics were all ladies too! Ms. Raskova herself comanded the 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment until her death in a crash landing near Stalingrad in 1943. She received the first state funeral of the war.

Ladies of the 586th all-female fighter regiment.