×
Home Intro People Events Equipment Places Maps Books Photos Videos Other Reference FAQ About
     

World War II Database

The White Rose of Stalingrad

Author:
ISBN-10: 1849088101
ISBN-13: 9781849088107
Contributor:
Review Date:

This book is about the highest scoring Soviet female ace, Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyak, in WWII. As I do not have many books on Soviet aces let alone female ones, I thought this book would be interesting. Well, it is interesting in that the first half of the book talks about how the Soviet female pilots came to be. Their training, the key figures in female aviation and then their ultimate acceptance into combat formations. Litvyak, the namesake of the book, is talked about, though ever so briefly. At one point, so many new people were being discussed on who were training, who were friends, whose parents had been taken away, I found myself going back a few pages just to figure out who was who.

The second half of the book does talk more about Litvyak after her training and posting to a combat unit. There is talk about her victories, and then victories of other female pilots. There are some good descriptions of when she arrived around Stalingrad and of some of her early sorties. There is some talk about dog fights but I never got the feel of her being "The White Rose of Stalingrad". I felt that the book would often go off on a tangent and all of a sudden someone remembered this was a biography, and Litvyak would be tied into it, or her friends, or a superior, etc.

There is some good research in that the author talks about certain German pilots that Litvyak met in the skies on the Eastern Front and the ultimate outcome. Names and fates of the German pilots are described.

I do recommend the book if someone is looking for the history of Soviet female pilots in WWII. This book, if just written on Litvyak, could have been a lot shorter.



Back to Main | Back to Book Reviews Index




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds


Visitor Submitted Comments

1. PEYSSON Gilles says:
25 Mar 2016 01:54:27 PM

Good evening
I'm french people 56 years old
I made plastic model 1/32
I would like to assembly the Yak 1b of Lydia Litvak NĀ° 44 yellow.
Could you find me, please, if possible, some pictures of the "white rose ( Lys ) " painted on his fuselage ? because I don't find it on Internet !!!
Could you find also some picture of his Yak 1B 44 ???

Many thanks in advance !
Very Best Regards
Gilles PEYSSON

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

A review copy or review sample of this product was provided by the publisher or vendor to WW2DB; opinions expressed in this review are not influenced by this fact.

Change View
Desktop View

Search WW2DB
More on The White Rose of Stalingrad
Related Person:
» Litvyak, Lydia

Affiliated Link:
» The White Rose of Stalingrad
Famous WW2 Quote
"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."

Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!