A Lasting Impact:
The 122nd Composite Air Group
3 seperate regiments would form under this
- Their 24,000 combat missions led them to destroy or damage:
- 17 river crossings
- 9 railway trains
- 2 railway stations
- 26 depots
- 12 fuel storage tanks
- 86 enemy firing positions
- During the war they lost 32 young women in air crashes and illness
- 23 airwomen were given the highest honor offered, the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Let's start at the beginning and meet the woman behind it all...
flew a total of 24,000 combat missions over 1,100 nights of combat
Major Marina Rashova (1912-1943)
The "Night Witches"
The Soviet Union's 588th Night Bomber Regiment
- Referred to as the Amelia Earhart of the Soviet Union
- She set the record for non-stop distance for women when she flew from Moscow to the Far East in 1938
- During the journey, she ended having to make a hazardeous landing in a taiga in Siberia, where she had to naviagate herself for 10 days in the dense, swamp
- This story of her bravery inspired the Soviet Union and gave her fame and influence
- She was given the "Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union" for her efforts by Stalin
- When WW2 began she joined the People's Defense Council where she recieved thousands of letters from women pleading to join the army air regiments
- This inspired her to make a proposal to the government of a all female air regiements full of volunteer women pilots which was approved
- 1000 women were chosen and they met in Moscow where they were transported to the training airdrome in Engels in October, 1941
- The 46th Guards Bomber Regiment was the only all-women staffed regiment with a total unit of 200
- They were commanded by Major Yevdokiya Bershanskaya for the entirity of the war
- She was desribed as "a real commander - austere, modest, self-possessed,” said Captain Irina Dryagina. “She never berated or praised anyone without knowing the full facts."
- The "Night Witches" were provided with old men's uniforms which were too large and baggy
- Their boots were oversized which they corrected by stuffing them with torn up bedding
- They were not provided parachutes until 1944
- Many of them cut their hair to appear like men during the war
- They even painted flowers on their planes
"A coffin with wings"
The 122nd Composite Air Group
Closing Statement:
This project was such a pleasure to put together and research. I have always been interest in the "Night Witches" as a child when I first heard about them. However I didn't know the extend of their impact. These women had to overcome a lot of adversity to defend their own country and I find that itself to be utterly inspiring.
Unfortunately, I would like to point out how difficult it was to find information on these heroic women. I think this is one corner of hsitory that is slowly being forgotten, erased. I find that disappointing and it slightly angers me. The impact and inspiration that these women had on the Soviet Union was incredible and something I won't forget.
Needless to say, I hope my "poster" has inspired you as much as it did me! Have a nice day :)
- Marley Taormina
- They flew POLIKARPOV PO-2 planes made of mostly wood
- This caused a lot of hazardeous risk with enemy fire possibly catching the plane on fire
- The planes were mostly designed for training and not for aerial combat
- Thus the plane was slower and smaller than enemy fighter planes
- They only carried a pilot in the front and the navigator-bombardier in the rear
- Pilots and navigators were on their own in the air with no communication with other pilots, nor their homebase
- Each plane could carry 6-8 bombs under both wings
- Because of how loud the planes were, when bombing enemy targets, pilots would turn off their engine to allow for the max amount of stealth to evade enemy antiaircraft guns and searchlights
- Thus they would fly at high atittudes and turn off their engines as they got closer to their targets, floating down close enough to drop the bomb and then turning on their engines in time to get out of there quickly
- The name "Night Witches came from the "whooshing" sound of their planes floating towards their targets which the Germans thought sounded like a flying broom
- They became so notorious menacies amongst Germans that any soldier that shot down one of them was immediately given an Iron Cross
- 3 regiments would form from this:
- The 586th Fighter Regiment
- The 587th Bomber Regiment
- The 588th Air Regiment
- The 588th Air Regiment would become later known as the 46th Guards Bomber Regiment and be the most famous out of three
- They were commonly referred to as "Night Witches" by German soliders