Born: 6 December 1916, Russia
Died: 19 July 1943
Country most active: Russia
Also known as: Екатерина Васильевна Буданова
Yekaterina “Katya” Vasilyevna Budanova was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. With five air victories, she was one of the world’s two female fighter aces, with Lydia Litvyak. There have been different versions of her aerial victory score published, with no official tally. The most common quoted is for 11 kills (6 individual and 5 shared), but according to some historians she achieved 11 individual air victories.
She enlisted in military aviation after the June 1941 German attack on the USSR and was assigned to the all-female 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, formed by Marina Raskova. It was one of three all-women units: the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 587th Dive Bomber Regiment, and the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, who were known as the Night Witches. The 586th (under the command of Major Tamara Kazarinova) saw combat in spring 1942, and Budanova flew her first combat missions in May 1942. As the Battle of Stalingrad raged, the supply of male pilots was being depleted and the Soviet High Command began dispersing selected female pilots to existing male units. On 10 September, Budanova was assigned with Lydia Litvyak, Mariya Kuznetsova, and Raisa Belyayeva to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Budanova became known for her aggressive attacking and high piloting skill, downing her first enemy aircraft on either 14 September or 6 October that year (conflicting sources contradict each other).
Budanova died when in her plane went down in a dogfight with German Bf 109s on 19 July 1943.