Ryabova, Ekaterina Vasilievna

Childhood

Ekaterina Vasilievna Ryabova was born on July 14, 1921 in the village of Gus-Zhelezny, now in the Ryazan Region, in the peasant family of Anna and Vasily Ryabov. Russian .

Graduated from high school. Received at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University . Soon after the outbreak of World War II, she volunteered to join the Red Army.

World War II

In October 1941, Ekaterina Ryabova was enrolled in the 588th air regiment , which was completely female. She graduated from navigational courses at the Engels Military Aviation School .

May 27, 1942 as part of the regiment arrived at the front. Was appointed as a flight navigator. On December 29, 1942, for performing 151 sorties on a U-2 plane, foreman Ryabov was awarded the Order of the Red Star . For a long time she flew in the carriage of Nadezhda Popova , with whom they became very friends. On October 25, 1943, for carrying out 614 night combat missions, the navigator of the guard link, Lieutenant Ryabova was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . Since 1943, a member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU .

In 1943, to replenish the flight crew, the Guards regiment was allowed to create its own combat training squadron. In October 1943, Yekaterina Ryabova was appointed navigator of the squadron, and Marina Chechneva was appointed commander. Studying was carried out in battle. Chechneva flew on assignments with young navigators, Ryabova - with pilots. On April 26, 1944, by order of the command of the 4th Air Army for performing 685 night combat missions, the navigator of the guard squadron, Lieutenant Ryabova was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree .

Katya Ryabova and the still very young pilot Lera Rylskaya flew to bomb the enemy near the Crimean village. To get to the goal, it was necessary to fly through the Blue Line. Now she is very close. A few minutes left. And suddenly machine-gun fire from above. This enemy fighter saw their plane. The navigator commands, gives the pilot the opportunity to avoid shelling. But what is it? The fire! The plane burns like a torch. Without stopping the anti-aircraft guns from the ground, enemy fighters rush in the air, ready every second to launch a death track. And the plane continues to burn. This is where Katy Ryabova’s ability to react quickly and make the right decision was manifested. "Just to bring down the flame." Having dropped two bombs on the firing anti-aircraft guns, maneuvering, the pilot tried to shoot down the fire with a jet of air, and Katya, leaning out of the cockpit to the waist, reported the course of flight. Searchlights shone brightly, crossing their rays on a flaming plane in which two girls heroically fought death.

And suddenly the car began to fall sharply down. From the earth, it seemed a fall erratic. One by one, the floodlights turned off. Anti-aircraft gunners ceased fire.

But the plane did not fall to the ground. Imitating a fall, the girls shot down a fire, left a dive at a low altitude and headed for the Crimean village. The blow to the airfield was well-aimed. The explosions of the two bombs were so strong that their plane threw up an air wave. The flame showed that gasoline was burning. Tongues of fire spread across the earth, sweeping away everything in its path.

(T. Sumarokova. “Life for people”).

By January 1945, the pilot flew 816 sorties to bomb the enemy’s manpower and equipment. She took part in the liberation of the Caucasus, Taman, Belarus, Poland.

In February 1945, Ryabova was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union . On March 8, 1945, the award was presented to the girl by the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky .

After the war

After the war, Ekaterina Ryabova retired.

On June 10, 1945, she married twice Hero of the Soviet Union G.F. Sivkov , whom she met at the front. In July 1947, their first daughter, Natalya , was born. And five years later, in 1952 - Irina.

Having been demobilized, Ekaterina Ryabova recovered at her native faculty at Moscow State University and continued her studies. She also took part in social activities. Only during the years of study at the university she traveled with delegations to France , Italy , Finland , Korea , Bulgaria . The trips were interesting, but extremely difficult: they had to perform in a wide variety of audiences.

Combat work during the war could not but affect her health. In the summer of 1946 , when Ryabova was part of the Soviet youth delegation in Italy, she fainted. But a day later she again participated in the work. Then, for a month trip to Italy, the Soviet delegation visited 37 cities, spoke at dozens of rallies. According to the Italian press, delegates met with 700 thousand Italians.

In 1948, Ekaterina Vasilievna graduated from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University and entered graduate school, where she worked under the guidance of Professor X. A. Rakhmatulin . In 1951, she successfully defended her thesis and received the degree of candidate of physical and mathematical sciences.

She taught at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute . In 1963 - 1972 - Associate Professor of Theoretical Mechanics at the F.E.Dzerzhinsky Military Engineering Academy .

Died September 12, 1974 at the age of fifty-three. She was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery .

In recent years, Katya suffered from headaches, but tried to hide her condition from others. Only after her death did everyone find out how seriously she was ill. In her diary, Grisha read the last entry: “Doctors said that I had a constant headache from a strong blow during the war. Probably, this is when I hit the dashboard with an unsuccessful landing and lost consciousness. At that time I did not understand anything, an hour later I continued to fly. And if you recall, it has been so more than once. Grisha is not saying anything. So I don’t want to upset anyone ... "(T. Sumarokova." Fly over me after the battle ").

• By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 23, 1945, for the exemplary performance of command missions and shown courage and heroism in battles with the Nazi invaders of the guard, senior lieutenant Ryabova Ekaterina Vasilyevna was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star medal ( No. 4857);
• Order of the Red Banner ;
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree;
• Order of the Red Star ;
• medals.

• The name of Ekaterina Ryabova is immortalized in the Memorial of Glory, erected in the city of Kasimov (opened May 7, 1985 ).
• A memorial plaque is installed in the heroine’s homeland.

In the literature

The book of Tatyana Sumarokova, “Fly over me after the battle”, is devoted to the history of Ekaterina Ryabova and Grigory Sivkov (M .: Politizdat, 1976. - 112 p.).

• Ryabova Ekaterina Vasilievna // Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - S. 394. - 863 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Sumarokova T. Life - to people // Heroes: essays on women - Heroes of the Soviet Union / ed. L. F. Toropov; foreword E. Kononenko . - Vol. 2. - M .: Politizdat , 1969 .-- 463 p.

• Ryabova, Ekaterina Vasilievna (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Portrait of E.V. Ryabova (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .
• T. Sumarokova “Life is for people” (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .
• T. Sumarokova “Fly over me after the battle” (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .
• The chapter “In the Main Political Directorate” from A. A. Marinov’s book “Komsomol in a soldier’s greatcoat” (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .
• The chapter “Where are you now, friends of fellow soldiers” from Magid A. S.'s book “Taman Guards Aviation Regiment” (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .
• Air aces. Ryabova Ekaterina Vasilievna (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .
• Winged Guard - Image Gallery (Retrieved December 15, 2011) .
• Ryabova Ekaterina Vasilievna. Biography (Retrieved October 5, 2009) .