Ludmila Gorbunova

From Turtledove

Ludmila Gorbunova
Fictional Character
Worldwar
Nationality:	Soviet Union, later Race-occupied Poland
Religion:	Atheist
Date of Birth:	1920
Date of Death:	1965
Cause of Death:	Killed in the German explosive-metal bombing of Lodz
Occupation:	Pilot
Spouse:	Heinrich Jäger
Affiliations:	Soviet Red Air Force, Soviet Communist Party

Lieutenant Ludmila Gorbunova (c 1920-1965) was a Soviet fighter pilot. At the beginning of World War II, Gorbunova flew a small biplane. When the Race's Conquest Fleet invaded Earth in 1942, Gorbunova's small biplane became an asset, as it was so small as to be beneath the Race's notice.

Originally from Kiev, Gorbunova fled to Rossosh when the Germans attacked the city. She went through Osoaviakhim flight training and was enrolled in the Soviet Air Force. When the Race came, Gorbunova was often assigned important missions to aid the Soviet war effort. In her travels, she frequently crossed paths with Heinrich Jäger, a German tank commander. The two eventually fell in love.

At the end of the war, she, Jäger and Jewish freedom fighter Mordechai Anielewicz stopped the Germans from destroying the Polish city of Lodz. During the battle, all three were exposed to nerve gas. Gorbunova was crippled by her exposure. She and Heinrich married, and settled in Lodz, but Heinrich's exposure to the gas was much heavier than Gorbunova's. He only lived a few years longer.

When Germany declared war on the Race in 1965, it deployed explosive-metal bombs against several Polish cities, including Lodz. Gorbunova died during the bombing.