The Night Witches of World War Two
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 \u2013 added to the discovery of them having all women crews - led German forces to nickname them \u2018Nachthexen\u2019 - the Night Witches.