Womens Rank in the Great Patriotic War

[DougD]

I know that women served in quite large numbers in the Red Army in WWII...does anyone know the highest rank that one of them got? Colonel? Would Major be a very rare rank for a female during the 2nd half of the war?

DougD

[desantnik]

I know that women served in quite large numbers in the Red Army in WWII...does anyone know the highest rank that one of them got? Colonel? Would Major be a very rare rank for a female during the 2nd half of the war?

DougD

Yes, major would have been an exceptional rank for a woman. The best place to look for this answer would be at some of the female aviaition units. If I remember a few of the battalion and/or even regimental commanders were woman requiring at least major, maybe even LTC.

[DougD]

Thanks Desantnik, i'll ask Tod Rathbone about the Red Air force...but what about the regular army, would a Female Major be unheard of or just rare? Impossible by 1945?

DougD

[Al-muell]

Ia m not sure, but I think I have seen a photograph of Ludmila Pavlichenko in kontradmiral's or mjr.-genera's of the Navy uniform.
On the other hand - no regulations show women's uniforms for generals

[DougD]

That would be a great photo to see!

[UQWozza]

In a book I have "Russia's Heroes 1941-45" by Albert Axell it says the following:

• 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment - Lilya Litvak HSU- Flight Commander (amongst others).
  
• 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment - commander Kladiya Fomicheva HSU
  
• 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment - commander Major Yevdokia Bershanskaya.
  

So as Desantnik suggested these units would have had a full spectrum of female ranking officers and NCOs from the commander downwards.

Simon

[UQWozza]

Just another thought - in 1944 ~50% of the doctors and 23% of medical orderlies were women.

Some of these doctors must have held highish ranks.

Simon

[Eryk]

In “A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II” by Anne Noggle, the following is stated:

In 1941 the first women’s air unit was created, the 122nd Composite Air Group. It was split up into three air regiments in 1942. “The women’s instruction, equipment, and ultimate assingment were identical to those of their male counterparts. There is nothing in the designation of the regiments that were later formed out of the 122nd – the 586th Fighter Regiment, the 587th Bomber Regiment, and the 588th Air Regiment – to indicate these were female units.” pp. 7-8

“The 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense) was the first of the three regiments to become operational in April, 1942. … The original commander of the regiment, Major Tamara Kazarinova, an experienced military pilot, was recalled very early on in the war because of failing health. Her replacement was a male pilot, Lieutenant-Colonel A.V. Gridnev, who commanded the regiment until the end of the war.” p. 157

“The 587th Bomber Regiment was honored during the war by being designated a “Guards” regiment and officially became the 125th M.M. Raskova Guards Bomber Regiment. … The first commander of the regiment was Major Marina Raskova. When she was killed Lieutenant-Colonel V.V. M a r k o v, a male commander with extensive combat experience, was assigned to the regimant.” P. 99

“The 588th Air Regiment was activated in the summer of 1942 and was honored in 1943 by being designated a “Guards” regiment, henceforth known officially as the 46th Taman Guards Bomber Regiment. … Major Yevdokiya Bershanskaya, a civilian pilot before the war, was the regimental commander. She was the only woman to remain in command of a women’s regiment throughout the war.” p. 18

From the book it appears that there was indeed a “glass ceiling” where no woman was promoted above the rank of major, at least in the air units. (Unfortunately there is no index in the book (!), but having read it I don’t recall any mention of a higher ranking woman flier.)

[Lapa]

Ia m not sure, but I think I have seen a photograph of Ludmila Pavlichenko in kontradmiral's or mjr.-genera's of the Navy uniform.
On the other hand - no regulations show women's uniforms for generals

Al-muell,

Are you sure that it was Ludmila Pavlishenko? The one I know of (Людмила Михайловна Павличенко was a WW2 sniper with 309 kills. She climbed up to the rank of Major, and was made a HSU.

Marc

[DougD]

Thanks to all for the info..if anyone comes up with any women in senior rank (Major, Lt.Col,Col.) in non-medical ground forces (Artillery, Armor, Engineering, Signals, etc.), I'd love to hear about it!

DougD