Efrosinya Alexandrovna PANINA

At the beginning of the war, she was sent to the 889th Novorossiysk Order of Kutuzov Aviation Regiment. Efrosinya Alexandrovna Panina flew on the Ilyushin Il-2 and "Kukuruzniks" (nickname of Polikarpov Po-2), was an ammunition loader. Her job was to load the plane with subammunition - bombs weighing about 100 kg. And if there were winches on the Il-2 to lift the bombs, on Kukuruznik the bombs were lifted by loaders. They also installed fuses. That operation required careful handling. The slightest inaccuracy would have cost the entire crew their lives.

During the Great Patriotic War, the personnel of the regiment, in which Efrosinya Alexandrovna served, took part in the battles for the Donbas, in the heroic defense of the Caucasus, in the liberation of Stavropol and Kuban, Novorossiysk and Taman, in the victorious battles for Kerch and Sevastopol, in the battles for Belarus, in the liberation of Poland and its capital Warsaw, was also a valiant participant in the defeat of the enemy in East Prussia and Pomerania.

Awards:
Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd class

Memories of the beginning of the war:
"At the Temryuk school, we gathered with our classmates for the graduation ball – happy and joyful we went to meet the dawn. Childhood was over, and our whole life was ahead of us. And everyone had their own road, their own dreams, and plans… But everything turned upside down at once!"