They flew 8-18 missions each night. In October of 1941 the order came down from Joseph Stalin that Raskova was to establish a trio of all-female air squads. They lost 32 pilots including sadly Marina Raskova. 587 Regiment, twin engine dive bombers 3. Thus the Germans only had a very small window of time to return fire before they had to make a wide turn to return for another run. They faced mockery and harassment from male soldiers and officers.The women of the 588th received bargain bin equipment. They were determined to fight.Marina used her personal contacts to get a message to dictator Joseph Stalin, asking for permission to form a women’s fighting battalion. Instead they navigated with low-tech items such as maps, compasses, flashlights, watches, rulers, and pencils – which doubled as eyeliners. The flimsy planes struggled under the heavy load of bombs, and they had to fly at very low altitudes, making them easy to shoot down. The 588th was so successful and deadly that the Germans came to fear them, calling them Nachthexen--night witches. They were consolidated into the 588 th Night Bomber Regiment, later redesignated as the 46 th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, and commonly known as The Night Witches. This danger is why the 588th Regiment flew only at night.Each unit had a nightly routine – the first plane would go in as bait to attract German spotlights, which illuminated the path for the other planes. links to our most popular posts and episodes. It was a name that became more apt upon discovery that this uniquely deadly payload had been delivered by women ranging from 17 to 26 years old. Yet, even in those dire times, the authorities were reluctant to use women in the front line.Women were initially barred from combat, but after repeated appeals, most notably from Major Marina Raskova, who made the case directly to Stalin, permission was granted to form female combat units. Those selected for this dangerous job moved to Engels, a small town near Stalingrad, to train at the Engels School of Aviation. On October 8 th, 1941, three female aviation units were formed, commanded by Raskova.
She traveled all over the USSR and everywhere she went, she was approached by women who wanted to fight Nazis. The women, most of them barely 20 years old, started training in Engels, a small town north of Stalingrad. These were: 1.
Things got rough in the USSR during the days and months following Operation Barbarossa, the sudden German onslaught in the summer of 1941 that came within a hair’s breadth of crushing the communist state. Furthermore, the planes sent against them were flying at much faster speeds.
588 Regiment, night bombers The “Night Witches” were a regiment of daring female fighter pilots in the Soviet military who played a crucial role in the Allied victory against Nazi Germany.The unit was formed by Marina Raskova, aka the “Soviet Amelia Earhart.” Maria was the first female navigator in the Soviet Air Force and held many long-distance flight records. The women of the 588th flew their first bombing mission on June 8, 1942. On October 8, 1941, Order number 0099 specified the creation of three women's squadrons—all personnel from technicians to pilots would be entirely composed by women. This eerie sound was the only warning Germans had that the fearless women of the 588th were about to attack; the planes were too small to show up on radar.The Nazis were so threatened by the Night Witches that any German soldier who killed one was automatically awarded the prestigious Iron Cross.The fearless Night Witches flew over 30,000 missions over the next four years, dropping 23,000 tons of bombs on advancing German armies. They were known to the Germans as Nachthexen, or the Night Witches, for the only warning they gave was the whooshing sound, reminiscent of witches’ brooms flying, before the bombs fell. There was no time to spare and the women learned in a few months what most airmen take several years to understand.
The Soviet Union was the first country to allow women on the front lines of battle.As soon as the new plan was announced, thousands of women submitted applications for 1200 positions – four hundred for each of the three units. She received the first state funeral of World War II and her ashes are buried in the Kremlin. Germans called them Nachthexen (night witches) because the whooshing sound their primitive wooden planes made sounded like a sweeping broom. The women’s mission would not be to drop bombs, but only to return fire.
Every night, the regiment sent out 40 two-person crews. 586 Regiment, Yak-1fighters 2.
The “Night Witches” were a regiment of daring female fighter pilots in the Soviet military who played a crucial role in the Allied victory against Nazi Germany. Flying at night in the Soviet winter, the female aviators endured sub-zero temperatures, fierce winds, and even frostbite. The military had to outfit them on the sly, giving them hand-me-down male uniforms to wear, including boots that were so large they had to stuff them with rags. Watching the German aggressors kill their brothers and husbands and destroy their homes and villages made these brave Russian women want to do more for their country than knit sweaters. The Soviets threw all they could lay their hands against the invaders, in a desperate attempt to stop or at least slow down the Nazis. Their planes were primitive 20 year old crop dusters made of wood and canvas, providing no shelter from the harsh elements. Then the last plane came in, idled its engine and swooped in silently for the kill. The planes were too light to carry parachutes, radar detectors, radios, or guns.
Each woman had to be trained and fully prepared to fill four roles: pilot, navigator, maintenance, and ground crew. The next plane would release a flare to light up the target. On October 8 The Night Witches utilized their slow speed to their advantage because it gave them greater ease of maneuverability. The women ranged in age from 17 to 26, and were mostly students.