Meri Avidzba

Meri Hafizovna Avidzba (; ; 24 January 191712 April 1986) was a Soviet military pilot and navigator and was the first female aviator from Abkhazia. She was awarded two medals for her actions in the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945), where she served as a navigator of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, known by the Germans as the Night Witches. Later in her life, she was elected a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia.

Biography Avidzba and her twin sister Hadzhera were born on 24 January 1917. She attended Sukhumi School No. 10. came to recruit aviators, Avidzba initially missed the opportunity.

Military career In 1939, Avidzba joined the Military Medical Academy in Leningrad; when she heard that war was due to be declared she volunteered to transfer to the fighter aircraft training school in Perm. From Perm she moved to the military air school in Engels. In December 1942, Avidzba was posted to the Caucasus region, as a navigator in the 46th Guards Light Bomber Night Aviation Regiment of the 4th Air Army of the 2nd Belarusian Front – beginning her career in the Night Witches.

During the war, Avidzba flew 477 combat sorties, totalling over 1000 hours of time in the air and dropped 63 tonnes of bombs onto the enemy. She fought in the North Caucasus, as well as on the 4th Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian fronts.

Later life After the end of the war, Avidzba returned to Sukhumi, where she was active in the community, particularly in memorialising the Second World War, as well as serving as governor of the school.