Tactics used to convince Stalin
"As a record-setting pilot, and one of the first women to receive a Hero of the Soviet Union, Raskova was already in a position of influence. She is reputed (according to fellow female pilot Yevgeniya Zhigulenko of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment) to have told Stalin that patriotic women pilots were so keen to fight that they were going to the front regardless of whether they had permission or not, and that it would be better for them to go with official blessing than for them to steal airplanes and fly off into battle." (Oakey)
"[Raskova] also convinced Stalin on the benefits of having a larger fighting force. More people in combat meant outnumbering enemy armies" (Noggle). An army of men and women, increases the fighting force would allow the Soviets to execute more missions and outnumber their enemy armies.
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"Marina Raskova’s influence within Russia was one of the main reasons women were allowed to fly in the war and her record-breaking aviation feats inspired many women to join the ranks." - (Noggle 17) |