This is the beautiful flying ace Natalya Fyodorovna Meklin née Kravtsova (1922-2005), a much decorated World War II combat pilot in one of the three women-only Soviet air regiments (nicknamed the ‘Night Witches’ by their German opponents). She joined the air force at age 19 and flew 980 night missions by the end of the war. After the war, she graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages and worked as a translator until retiring. Among her many awards was the title Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.

Natalya was also a huge fan of classical literature, particularly Tolstoy, and became a writer herself.