Person attributes
Parachutist, athlete
Place of birth:Kostroma
Date of birth:1915-03-14
Education:Central Institute of Physical Education (Moscow). OSOAVIAKHIm Higher Parachute School.
Awards:Order of the Red Star
"The hummingbird of Soviet parachutism" - that's how foreign journalists aptly called Nadezhda Babushkina, her friends called her Nata. Graduated from the ten-year school. The Komsomol City Committee was sent to study at the Central Institute of Physical Education (Moscow). In December 1933, while studying in her second year, Nata applied for admission to the OSOAVIAKHIm Higher Parachute School. Classes began in January 1934 and she immediately began asking for jumps. Nata's first jump took place on July 23 (at the age of 19). The country was waiting for records, including in parachuting. The country gave records!
The jumps took place on June 17, 1935. Six girls successfully jumped from a height of 7035 meters. The record was set. At that time, Nata Babushkina had only 14 jumps on her account. Instantly fame came to Nata. Reports and photos on the front pages of central and local newspapers. Awarding the Order of the Red Star in the Kremlin. Speech on Moscow radio. Numerous receptions, meetings and communication with Stalin, Voroshilov, Gorky, Romain Rolland, Kosarev, Lyubov Orlova.
After jumping at a given height, she did not open the parachute. Perhaps another daredevilism has manifested itself. I wanted to impress the audience. Nata, like Valery Chkalov, was fond of risky tricks, for which she received reprimands more than once.
At some point, in front of thousands of spectators, Nata spun in a tailspin. As she herself will later say "lost the land." When she leveled off and still opened the parachute, 40 meters remained to the ground. She didn't have time to group up.
Nata did not land on her feet, but hit her back on the surface of the ground. Conscious, but with numerous bruises, she was taken to the hospital.
The girl had two operations, it seemed that her condition was improving, but even medical luminaries were powerless. On June 27, 1936, at 9:10 a.m. local time, Nata Babushkina died.
The name of the heroic parachutist was given to a square in Yoshkar-Ola, opposite the old hospital where she died, streets in her native Kostroma and in the village of Ilyinsky near Moscow, in the area of which six record holders landed in 1935. Busts and monuments were installed in many cities, today only one remains - in Yoshkar-Ola.
