Lydia Litvyak wasn’t just the first female fighter ace - she was one of the most lethal pilots of WWII. Known as the “White Lily of Stalingrad,” she downed 12 enemy aircraft before age 22.

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was born on August 18, 1921, to Vladimir Leontievich Litvyak (a railwayman, train driver, and clerk) and Anna Vasilievna Litvyak (a shop assistant). Young Lydia would ...