Mariya Smirnova was born in 1920 in Russia, to a poor family. She initially attended the local village school, but at the age of 13, she attended a teacher's college at Tver. When she graduated, Smirnova started work as a secondary school teacher. The school was located near an aerodrome, which was the first time Smirnova had seen aircraft. She began flying lessons in 1937, earning both her pilot and instructor's certificates. Once qualified, she started to train pilots for the Soviet Air Forces.
Military career
Smirnova responded to an appeal on Radio Moscow in 1941 for female pilots to join the Air Forces directly. Following training in Engels, Smirnova was assigned as the deputy squadron commander of the newly formed 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later to be nicknamed the "Night Witches". Their first mission took place on 8 June 1942. Following the death of squadron commander Lyubov Olkhovskaya during the mission, Smirnova took her place. After eight months of combat missions, the regiment was honored with the Guards designation and renamed to 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Smirnova was dedicated to the regiment, one time absconding from a recreation center she had been sent to in order to improve her health, so that she could return to the front. Flying Polikarpov Po-2s, Smirnova and the Night Witches became accustomed to attacking targets defended by anti-aircraft guns and spotlights. However, she later recalled on one flight when they were attacked by German fighters, with tracer rounds setting the canvas and paper bodies of the Russian biplanes on fire. At the end of the war, Smirnova was one of 23 members of the regiment to be recognized as a Hero of the Soviet Union. She was unable to work in civilian aviation following the war, as her declining health meant that she could not pass the required medical exams. In March 1945, she was sent alongside Yekaterina Ryabova to the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. The Commanding Officer told them to seek a civilian pursuit as he felt that their bodies would not be able to stand up to the rigors of attending the academy.
