Nachthexen!: The Night Witches

Fig 1: An example of a Polikarpov Po-2 from World War II

During World War II, the Night Witches were a thing of legend, or perhaps more accurately, the stuff of nightmares for the Axis Powers. Hailing from Russia, the Night Witches were an all-female bomber pilot squad that were so stealthy that their Nazi enemies only heard them at the last minute (1). Officially known as the 588th Night Bombers Regiment, these women received their terrifying nickname from their unsuspecting German victims, who called them "die Nachthexen" because the sound of their planes was reminiscent of a witch flying on a broom (1). During their peak, the 588th were some of the most famous pilots in the War, feared and despised by the Axis powers but commended and awarded by Russia and other Allied Powers (2). In fact, after the War many so-called Night Witches recalled the plethora of rumors that surrounded their regiment, including one that suggested the pilots had been injected with an unknown substance in order to gain their deadly piloting skills! (3)

Maintenance checks being performed by the 588th

Various members of the 588th. Left to right:
 Marina Raskova, unknown, Yevgeniya Zhigulenko, and
Natalya Kravtsova.

However, despite their fame, the women of the 588th Regiment, all volunteers aged 17-26, were incredibly undersupplied (4). Their planes were known as Polikarpov Po-2 (Fig 1), an older model plane made of plywood and canvas that was often nicknamed "crop duster" (4). Due to the material makeup of their planes, the 588th squad had no parachutes, no radar technology, and no guns capable of rapidly returning enemy fire; each weighed too much for the plane's frame to support (1). Even as bomber planes, the Polikarpov Po-2 model was severely archaic--it could only hold two bombs at a time (3). But despite the risk of literally catching fire, these pilots flew through enemy fire, expertly dodging attacks with dangerous deep nose dives (4). Due to the limitations of their planes, the Night Witches had to adapt and think quickly. Flying at low heights, the women of the 588th stalled their engines before target bombings to avoid being heard (3). But by the end of the war, they had dropped around 23,000 tons of bombs and completed around 30,000 sorties (the aviation term for flight missions) (1).
Although this regiment was composed of mostly students (4), they were passionate and furious.
When asked about their choices to volunteer and join the 588th many had motives of revenge (3). This was the case with Night Witch member Nadezhda Popova, who specifically requested to serve on the front lines to avenge her brother (3). Others, such as Ekaterina Budanova, simply wanted to protect their country and, as Ekaterina wrote, "kill [those] vile Nazi creatures" (3).

The 588th being debriefed.

Like most countries during World War II, Russia underwent a huge cultural change as women suddenly entered the workforce to support the war effort (3). A new feminist movement emerged and although Russian women were encouraged to support the Motherland earlier in the War, many wanted to fight their Nazi enemies directly (3). Culturally, these women were expected to be tough, courageous, stubborn and self-sacrificing--even if many of them were barred from entering combat until 1939 (2). The 588th Regiment, however, proved that best way to "embody the courageous traits of a warrior," as they were often told, was to become warriors themselves (3).
Although the last Night Witch died in 2013 (1), their stories are still relevant today, as American women only recently gained the right to fight in direct combat (5). And, like the stories of many women during World War II, the tale of the Night Witches has often been ignored in favor of the stories of men during this time--effectively erasing women from one of the most important and chaotic times in human history. Despite the societal pressures placed on them, these women flew above and beyond and became the legendary Nachthexen of Russia!

Sources:

1) Garber, Megan. "Night Witches: The Female Fighter Pilots of World War II." The Atlantic, 15 July 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/night-witches-the-female-fighter-pilots-of-world-war-ii/277779/. Accessed 1 October 2019.
2) Erikson, John. "Night Witches, Snipers and Laundresses." History Today, July 1990, pp. 29-35.
3) Nowaki, Rochelle. "Nachthexen: Soviet Female Pilots in WWII" Hohonu, Vol 13. 2014, pp. 56-62.
4) Holland, Brynn. "Meet the Night Witches, the Daring Female Pilots who Bombed Nazis by Night." History, 7 Jul 2017, https://www.history.com/news/meet-the-night-witches-the-daring-female-pilots-who-bombed-nazis-by-night. Accessed 1 October 2019.
5) Bradner, Eric. "U.S military opens combat positions to women." CNN, 3 Dec 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/03/politics/u-s-military-women-combat-positions/index.html. Accessed 17 October 2019.