Nights Witches

The Night Witches were the female

The Night Witches were the female pilots of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces. They were named by the Germans because their pla

This was the most highly decorated

This was the most highly decorated female unit of the Soviet Air Forces. It flew 30,000 missions over four years and dropped 23,000 tons of bombs on i

The pilots flew only at night

The pilots flew only at night, carried no parachutes, had no radar, and used only maps and compasses. Their planes had open cockpits, and they faced e

The women kept flying even after

The women kept flying even after facing bullets, cold, and exhaustion. Nadezhda Popova once flew eighteen missions in a single night and later flew 85

At first

At first, many people did not respect the women pilots and treated them as less capable. A general even complained about being sent 'a bunch of girlie