Irina Rakobolskaya

Irina Vyacheslavovna Rakobolskaya (Russian: Ири́на Вячесла́вовна Ракобо́льская; 22 December 1919 22 September 2016) was a mathematician and physicist who served as the chief of staff of the women's 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment during World War II. After the war she worked as a physicist at Moscow State University and studied cosmic rays. She received numerous high state awards in her career and was awarded the title Honored Scientist of the Russian SFSR in 1990. She co-authored a book with Natalya Meklin-Kravtsova, an aviator from the regiment, titled We Were Called Night Witches about their experiences in the war, as their nickname given by their German opponents, Nachthexen, meant "night witches".

Early life Rakobolskaya was born in 1919 in the city of Dankov to a family of physics teachers; her father had graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in astronomy in 1910. After graduating secondary school in 1938 she enrolled in the MSU School of Physics.

Military career Rakobolskaya joined the military in October 1941 after the start of the Second World War; seventeen other students from the university also joined the 588th Night Bomber Regiment and trained at the Engels Military Aviation School, including Yevdokiya Pasko, Yekaterina Ryabova, and Yevgeniya Rudneva, who were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union during the war. After finishing training in 1942 she was soon appointed as the regiment's chief of staff. She had accompanied a total of 15 sorties as a navigator by the time she was demobilized with the rank of major in 1946.

Later life and contributions to science In 1946 she was demobilized from the military and finished her fourth year at the university and graduated in 1949, after defending her thesis on muons, developed under the guidance of Georgy Zatsepin and Vladimir Veksler.

From 1950 to 1963 she worked as an assistant professor, and from 1963 to 1977 as an associate professor (docent). In 1977 she became a full professor in the Department of Cosmic Rays at the Physics Department of Moscow State University. Three Orders of the Patriotic War Order of the Red Star Campaign Medals

Civilian Honored Scientist of the Russian SFSR Honored Professor of Moscow State University Order of the Badge of Honour Medal "Veteran of Labour" Medal "For Merit in the Conduct of the All-Russian Population Census"