How the Night Witches Terrorized Nazi Forces in WWII

Eighty years ago, an all-female Soviet unit known as the Night Witches began flying daring night raids over German territory. They piloted obsolete wooden biplanes without radios or parachutes. Their stealth and precision made them one of the Wehrmacht’s most feared adversaries. The regiment formed in October 1941 under the command of Marina Raskova. Soviet leaders had tasked her with creating the world’s first all-female combat aviation unit. It consisted of 400 women aged 17 to 25, serving as pilots, navigators, mechanics, and ground crew.

They trained in wooden Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, which were nearly silent and invisible to enemy radar. Pilots and navigators endured three months of gruelling training, cramming three years of flight instruction into a short period. Every available space in the planes was used to carry bombs instead of equipment.

Their effectiveness earned them the elite title of 46th Guards Regiment in 1943. The Wehrmacht responded by offering special bounties for shooting down their planes. Historian Lyuba Vinogradova noted that the Night Witches launched a plane every four minutes, with exhausted pilots often sleeping during outbound and return flights.

By 1945, 23 members of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment had received the Hero of the Soviet Union award, the USSR’s highest honour. The Night Witches left a lasting mark on military history. Their relentless night raids disrupted German forces and demonstrated the impact of determined, skilled aviation. Twenty-three of their pilots were later recognised as Heroes of the Soviet Union for their extraordinary service.