Elena Pavlovna Samsonova (1890-1958) - one of the first female pilots in Russia and the world. She entered the top five of the first certified female pilots. She was a professional chauffeur. Participant of the First World War.
Biography
Elena was the daughter of a military engineer, grew up without a mother. Perhaps this is the reason for such a love of technology, a desire for knowledge. And these two attachments never let go of the girl. Having received a gold medal after graduating from high school, Elena left for St. Petersburg to continue her education. She studied at the famous higher female Bestuzhev courses - in those days when women were not supposed to think about a career, this was practically the only educational institution in Russia where women could get a higher education.
Way to success
Therefore, women who successfully graduated from them were considered the most educated in the country. However, this was not enough for Elena Pavlovna. She decided to become a professional driver. It was almost impossible for a woman to learn this in Russia, and therefore Elena went to Warsaw. And in this direction she managed to achieve success. Within a few months, she, on an equal basis with men, participated in auto races near Moscow. But Elena did not stop at managing terrestrial transport. Now she wanted to fly. She wanted to become a cadet of an aviation school in Gatchina, but she was not accepted. The reason is that women have no place in aviation.
Samsonov was not discouraged by this refusal or stopped. She learned to fly anyway. It happened in a private Moscow aviation school. After graduation, it was necessary to pass an exam, which was taken by a whole commission. According to the conditions of the exam, Elena had to perform ten "eights" at a height of fifty meters, and then make a planning landing exactly in a circle with a diameter of fifty meters. Elena Samsonova performed all the elements at an altitude of about three hundred meters and received the official specialty "pilot". Thus, she became the fifth certified pilot in Russia.
After receiving her diploma, Elena did not have a chance to rise into the sky for a long time. Although her daily occupation, too, can not be called a woman's. She worked as a taxi driver. Maybe Elena would have chosen a less mundane job, but hunger is not her aunt - the need for money made her go to the "chauffeurs".
War
With the outbreak of the First World War, Samsonova's fate changed again. First she went to work as a nurse, or, as they said, a nurse in a hospital in Warsaw. But she did not last long there. There was too much energy in her, a thirst for activity. Therefore, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she went to where the front was. She became a driver in a motorcycle company of the 9th Army of the Southwestern Front. Of course, it was not easy at all. Especially for a woman. Elena herself admitted this in an interview with the magazine "Woman and War".
However, the woman remained in the ranks until her health failed. Samsonova was sent for treatment to Moscow, and whether she returned to the front again is unknown. According to some reports, she returned, and even served in an aviation regiment for some time. But there is no documentary evidence for this.
But when women were allowed to serve in the army - after the revolution, Elena took this opportunity. She was a pilot in the 26th Corps Aviation Unit.
There is practically no information about Samsonova concerning the period after the First World War. She lived in Georgia, in Sukhumi, worked at a school as a physical education teacher.
