1/8
The Night Witches. 1942.
Stalin is desperate. Germany is burning through the Soviet Union.
So he does something no military power had ever done.
He hands combat aircraft to women.
The Night Witches. 1942.
Stalin is desperate. Germany is burning through the Soviet Union.
So he does something no military power had ever done.
He hands combat aircraft to women.
2/8
Not support roles. Not ferrying planes behind the lines.
Actual bombing missions. At night. Behind German lines. Alone.
The 588th Night Bomber Regiment. Every pilot, navigator, ground crew member — a woman.
Average age: 20.
Not support roles. Not ferrying planes behind the lines.
Actual bombing missions. At night. Behind German lines. Alone.
The 588th Night Bomber Regiment. Every pilot, navigator, ground crew member — a woman.
Average age: 20.
3/8
They flew biplanes from the 1920s. Wood and canvas.
No radar. No radio. No parachutes. The planes were too small.
Bombs attached to the wings with wire.
This was what the Soviet Union gave them. And they flew anyway.
They flew biplanes from the 1920s. Wood and canvas.
No radar. No radio. No parachutes. The planes were too small.
Bombs attached to the wings with wire.
This was what the Soviet Union gave them. And they flew anyway.
4/8
To avoid German radar, they cut their engines at the target and glided in silently.
The only sound the Germans heard below was wind moving through canvas wings.
Like a broomstick cutting through the dark.
The Germans named them Nachthexen.
The Night Witches.
To avoid German radar, they cut their engines at the target and glided in silently.
The only sound the Germans heard below was wind moving through canvas wings.
Like a broomstick cutting through the dark.
The Germans named them Nachthexen.
The Night Witches.
5/8
The Germans issued a standing order across the Eastern Front.
Any pilot who shot down a Night Witch received the Iron Cross. Immediately.
That is how feared twenty year old girls in canvas planes had become.
The Germans issued a standing order across the Eastern Front.
Any pilot who shot down a Night Witch received the Iron Cross. Immediately.
That is how feared twenty year old girls in canvas planes had become.
6/8
Each pilot flew 15 to 18 missions per night.
Their planes came back riddled with bullets so often it became routine.
Over three years, the regiment flew nearly 24,000 combat missions. Dropped over 3,000 tons of bombs.
No losses of nerve. No retreats. No complaints recorded.
Each pilot flew 15 to 18 missions per night.
Their planes came back riddled with bullets so often it became routine.
Over three years, the regiment flew nearly 24,000 combat missions. Dropped over 3,000 tons of bombs.
No losses of nerve. No retreats. No complaints recorded.
7/8
Then the war ended.
The 588th was quietly disbanded. Their records buried.
The Soviet Union didn't want the world knowing that women had done what men couldn't.
For decades, almost nobody outside Russia knew they existed.
No monuments. No parades. No Hollywood film.
Nothing.
Then the war ended.
The 588th was quietly disbanded. Their records buried.
The Soviet Union didn't want the world knowing that women had done what men couldn't.
For decades, almost nobody outside Russia knew they existed.
No monuments. No parades. No Hollywood film.
Nothing.
8/8
Twenty year old girls. Canvas planes. No parachutes. No radar. No recognition.
Flying blind into the dark.
Doing it eighteen times a night.
The bravest soldiers of the Second World War have no statue.
Most people have never heard their name.
Now you have.
Twenty year old girls. Canvas planes. No parachutes. No radar. No recognition.
Flying blind into the dark.
Doing it eighteen times a night.
The bravest soldiers of the Second World War have no statue.
Most people have never heard their name.
Now you have.
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