Mariya Oktyabrskaya

Mariya Oktyabrskaya on learning that her husband was killed fighting in WW2, sold all of her possessions to donate a tank for the Red Army, the only requirement being that she would be allowed to drive it. When her tank was hit by gunfire, she would often disregard the orders and would leap out of her tank to repair it, amidst the heavy fire. She ended up becoming the 1st female tanker to be awarded the “Hero of the Soviet Union.”