Irina Rakobolskaya

Irina Vyacheslavovna Rakobolskaya 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".