The Night Witches

Discussion in 'The Eastern Front' started by Goodygixxer, Jul 16, 2015.

  1. Goodygixxer

    Goodygixxer Senior Member

    An interesting article i discovered on the web earlier that i thought i'd share. I've never heard of this before.

    The Night Witches.
    Made up of only women, the 588th Night Bomber Regiment was trained for bombing missions behind German lines, flying 1920s-era planes built of wood and canvas with no radio or radar, their bombs held to the wings by wire. This construction gave the planes the advantage of flying below radar and surprising the enemy in the dead of night.
    Flying 15 to 18 missions per night (each!), their planes often returned, “riddled with bullets,” according to Nadezhda (Nadia) Popova. Enlisting at only 19 years old, Nadia’s motive was revenge: for her brother killed on the front, her home taken over by German soldiers, and her town destroyed by German aircrafts. When shot down in the North Caucasus in July 1942, she met another shot down pilot who would become her husband when the war was over. Lt. Col. Popova flew 852 missions and was shot down several times in the freezing cold. She was lucky though; she watched several of her friends’ burning planes fall from the sky.
    The regiment, unofficially known as “Stalin’s Falcons,” were given a much more chilling moniker by the Germans: Nachthexen, or “The Night Witches.” Sounds like the perfect name for a thriller, doesn’t it?
     
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  3. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    A very interesting subject and I have to confess that I was totally ignorant of it.

    The women fliers had an extremely hard Task to fulfil.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  4. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Hot air manufacturer

    CL1 likes this.
  5. PaulE

    PaulE Senior Member

    A good book about the Nachthexen and other Soviet women flers is Defending the Motherland by Lyuba Vonogradova , highly recommended , the girls won 23 HOSU !!
     
  6. lostinspace

    lostinspace Junior Member

    According to Bruce Myles' "Night Witches" (1981), there were three regiments of women pilots (and ground crews): 586 Fighter Regiment (Yak-1); 587 Bomber Regiment (Pe-2) and 588 Night Bomber Regiment (later elevated to 46 Guards Regiment). As I recall (it's been some time since I read the book), he interviewed quite a number of pilots and mechanics and incorporated their stories into the narrative. About the only pilot I remember is Lily Litvak of 586 Fighter Regiment, I think she had ten or so victories in 1942-43 but didn't survive the war.

    Dave
     
  7. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    The Documentary - The Night Witches of World War Two - BBC Sounds

    Orna Merchant learns how, during World War Two, a desperate Soviet Union created three all-female aerial combat units. The most celebrated of these was the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. Using Polikarpov Po-2 wooden biplanes, as the aviators approached their target they would cut their engines and glide in to drop their bombs. The eerie sight and sound of this – added to the surprise discovery of them having all women crews - led German forces to nickname them ‘Nachthexen’ - the Night Witches. Their basic Russian aircraft were not fitted with any form of protection from enemy fire, so a direct hit from defensive positions almost guaranteed they were coming down, and due to weight limits the crew of just a pilot and navigator flew without parachutes. Their mission was to cause chaos among the axis forces, keeping them awake and in fear at night. These women would go on to become celebrated in their home country. They secured distinguished honours, including Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, and Hero of Kazakhstan, and have been celebrated in books and films. (Photo: Night Witches of Russia, WW2 female fighter pilots. Credit: Nikolai Ignatiev/Alamy)

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    Polikarpov Po-2 - Wikipedia
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2023
  8. lostinspace

    lostinspace Junior Member

    Thanks for the link, great stuff!

    Dave
     

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