Marina Popovich
Marina Popovich | |
|---|---|
Popovich in 2014 | |
| Born | Marina Lavrentyevna Vasilyeva 20 July 1931 Leonenki, Velizhsky District, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 30 November 2017 (aged 86) Krasnodar, Russia |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation(s) | Pilot, author |
| Known for | 102 world records |
| Spouse(s) |
Boris Zhikhorev |
| Children | 2 daughters |
Marina Lavrentyevna Zhikhoreva (Russian: Марина Лаврентьевна Жихорева; formerly Popovich [Попович]; née Vasilyeva [Васильева]; 30 July 1931 – 30 November 2017) was a Soviet Air Forces colonel, engineer, and decorated Soviet test pilot. In 1964, she became the third woman and the first Soviet woman to break the sound barrier. Known as "Madame MiG", for her work in the Soviet fighter, she set more than one hundred aviation world records on over 40 types of aircraft over her career.