For the first time in the United States, a woman became the commander of a nuclear aircraft carrier

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle announced that the inauguration of Captain Bauernschmidt took place in a ceremony in San Diego, California. Champagne flowed like a river.

Amy Bauernschmidt, of German descent, recently turned 49 years old. She is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After women were allowed to serve aboard warships, Bauernschmidt became one of the first graduates of the Naval Academy in 1994. She then served as a naval pilot and flew over 3,000 hours in total.

In 2016, Bauernschmidt was named senior assistant in command of the USS Abraham Lincoln, the first woman in history to hold this position. From November 2019 to October 2020, she commanded the dock ship San Diego.

The USS Abraham Lincoln nuclear-powered aircraft carrier - more than 300 meters long - has been in the service of the US Navy since 1989. This vessel can carry up to 85 combat aircraft at a time.

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), there are 1.25 million seafarers in the world. There are only 1-2% of women among them, but this number is growing. In the cruise sector, their number increases to 17-18%. In general, most of the women in the navy work on passenger ships - ferries and liners. The cargo fleet accounts for only 6% of sailors. There are literally few women in the navies of different countries.

It is known from world history that in 1562 King Frederick II of Denmark issued a decree, which, in particular, contained the following wording: “Women and pigs are prohibited from accessing His Majesty's ships; if they are found on the ship, they should be immediately thrown overboard. "

Frederick II was not alone in his opinion: 150 years later, the Russian Emperor Peter I, who created the Russian military fleet from scratch, adhered to the same rules.

In our time, only in the United States are women-sailors most democratic, but even there, until 1974, only men were allowed to enter nautical schools. Now, among the cadets of American naval schools and academies, there are 10-12% of girls.

In 2014, in America, a woman became a real admiral, with four stars on each shoulder, and even vice-commander of naval operations for the entire US Navy. We are talking about African-American Michelle Howard - now she is officially considered a woman who rose to the highest rank in the navy.

And Anna Shchetinina (1908-1999) is considered the world's first female sea-going captain. Starting as a simple sailor, she became a captain at the age of 27. For many years she piloted the ships of the Baltic Shipping Company, rose to the position of the head of the port and the dean of the navigational faculty. Known for a rather paradoxical statement: "There is no place for a woman on the bridge!"

During the Second World War, Captain Shchetinina actively drove Lend-Lease, and more than once visited Canada and the United States. In 1945, Anna Shchetinina took part in a combat offensive operation. Her ship landed Soviet troops on Sakhalin.