Today In History:  19 July  [1943]   --  Soviet Air Forces fighter ace Yekaterina Budanova is shot down

Soviet Air Forces fighter pilot Yekaterina Budanova is shot down and killed in a dogfight with Messerschmitt Bf 109s over Luhansk Oblast. Although her victory total is unclear, she is commonly credited with 11 kills. She and Soviet pilot Lydia Litvyak are the only two female aces in history.

PHOTO: Yak-1 fighters, the type flown by Budanova during World War II, lined up on an airfield in 1941

Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.