the Battle of the Caucasus, the regiment defended the city of Vladikavkaz as well as bombing enemy equipment and troops in Digora, Mozdok, and Prokhladnaya. January 1943: Assisted in the breakthrough of enemy defensive lines on the Terek River as well as offensive operations against ground troops in the Kuban River valley and Stavropol. March – September 1943: Assisted in the breakthrough of the Kuban bridgehead and the liberation of Novorossiysk. April – July 1943: Participated in an aerial campaign over Kuban. November 1943 – May 1944: Provided air support to ground troops in the Kerch–Eltigen Operation as part of the Crimean Offensive and in the city of Sevastopol. June–July 1944: Bombed enemy fortifications along the Pronya River, helping to take control of Białystok, Cherven, Minsk, and Mogilev in Byelorussia. August 1944: Operations over Poland in campaigns to expel the Germans from the cities of Augustów, Warsaw, and Ostrołęka. January 1945: Participated in the East Prussian Offensive. March 1945: Participated in offensives over Gdynia and Gdansk. April – May 1945: Assisted in the Vistula–Oder Offensive. 15 October 1945: The regiment was disbanded following the end of the war and service members were demobilized. Sorties/Missions Throughout the course of the war the regiment accumulated approximately 23,672 sorties in combat, including in the following battles: Battle of the Caucasus – 2,920 sorties Kuban, Taman, Novorossiysk – 4,623 sorties Crimean Offensive – 6,140 sorties Belarus Offensive – 400 sorties Poland Offensive – 5,421 sorties German Offensive – 2,000 sorties In total the regiment collectively accumulated 28,676 flight hours, dropped over 3,000 tons of bombs and over 26,000 incendiary shells, damaging or completely destroying 17 river crossings, nine railways, two railway stations, 26 warehouses, 12 fuel depots, 176 armored cars, 86 firing points, and 11 searchlights. In addition to bombings, the unit performed 155 supply drops of food and ammunition to Soviet forces. Personnel In total, 261 people served in the regiment, of whom 32 died of various causes during the war including plane crashes, combat deaths and tuberculosis. Twenty-eight aircraft were written off. Leadership Yevdokiya Bershanskaya – regiment commander Serafima Amosova – deputy regiment commander Yevdokiya Rachkevich – commissar Maria Fortus and later Irina Rakobolskaya – chief of staff Valentina Stupina and later Khiuaz Dospanova – head of communications Longstanding effects Disciplined personnel Senior Engineer Sofiya Ozerkova destroyed her party card to avoid being seized after she was shot down and had to