Nights Witches

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The Night Witches were the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the most highly decorated female unit of the Soviet Air Forces. They flew dangerous night missions against invading German armies and became fam…

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The Germans gave them the name Nachthexen, meaning Night Witches, because the planes made soft whooshing noises that reminded them of a witch’s broomstick. The name was meant as an insult, but the pil…

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They flew the Polikarpov Po-2, a plane built mainly of plywood and canvas. It was usually used for training and crop-dusting, but the pilots used it as a bomber in war.

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The planes had a lower maximum speed than the stall speed of the Nazi planes. This meant the pilots could manoeuvre more quickly and easily than their attackers, which gave them an advantage in combat…

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They faced forty-two German bombers during the spring of 1943, at the height of World War II.

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The outnumbered Soviet pilots dived into the German group, shot back, and downed two Nazi planes before one of their own lost its wing to enemy fire. The pilot escaped by landing in a field.

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Tamara Pamyatnykh was a pilot in the Soviet Air Force and a member of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. She was the pilot mistaken for a brave lad after the dogfight with the German bombers.

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Nadezhda Popova was one of the most famous Night Witches and a commander of the squad. She flew 852 missions in total and died in 2013 at the age of 91.