In the still of the night, German forces are bombarded by a Soviet army of women. Their goal? To both scare and sabotage their enemy. Their official name was the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, but German soldiers nicknamed these women Nachthexen; in English, “Night Witches.” While this name was not kindly given, it was a title the women happily kept. The Night Witches were the first women military combat pilots and were led by Major Marina Raskova. Flying Polikarpov Po-2 planes made mostly of wood and canvas, the Night Witches would carry out over 23,000 missions between 1942 and 1945.
The Polikarpov Po-2 was an airplane meant for training and crop dusting, which meant it had to fly low and slow. Each plane held a team of two, had little storage, and no parachutes. The open cockpit exposed the pilots to the air and often bitterly cold weather. With very little room for error, a successful mission meant everyone would have to work together as a team.
Flying multiple times a night, the pilots and navigators would drop bombs and then return to a temporary base camp. There, the support team of female mechanics and ground crew would refuel, restock, repair, and treat any medical needs, then whoosh, back up into the air the Night Witches would go.
A typical night could involve anywhere from eight to 18 flights back and forth. Despite the anxiousness and discomfort they felt, the women’s bravery continued. During World War ll, 22 Night Witches were awarded their country’s highest military honor, the Hero of the Soviet Union award. Their efforts to damage both the targets and the morale of the German forces had been successful. Their unique accomplishments helped pave the way for women in the military throughout the world.