Night witches

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Nachthexen ( Russian Ночные Ведьмы , Notschnyje Wedmy) was the nickname of the Soviet 588th Night Bomb Pilot Regiment , later renamed the 46th Guard Night Bomb Pilot Regiment , from World War II , which consisted exclusively of women. The name was originally used by the German troops, but later partially adopted by the members of the regiment.

history

As a starting point, at the instigation of Marina Raskowa , Fliegergruppe No. 122 was set up in Moscow in October 1941 and relocated to Engels on October 16 . The regiment was set up there at the end of the year. The commanding officer of the unit, which consisted of all women, was Yevdokia Bershanskaya, chief of staff Irina Rakobolskaya , regimental engineer Sofia Oserkova, navigation officer Sofia Bursayeva and political commissar Yevdokia Ratschkewitsch. The pilots were recruited from members of the civilian air fleet and aeroclubs, the navigators came from OSSOAWIACHIM or were university graduates. In February 1942, the formation and training of the crews began under the designation 588th Night Bomb Pilot Regiment (588th NBAP).

On May 23, the unit was transferred to the front as part of the 218th Night Bombing Division under Dmitri Popov within the 4th Air Army . The first missions began on June 8, 1942 in the southern Donbass in the Konstantinowka – Melechowka – Rasdorska section. Further action areas were the Caucasus and the Crimea , where supply missions for the Eltigen bridgehead were also flown. On February 8, 1943, the order was issued to give the regiment the title of 46th Guards Night Bombing Regiment (46th Gw NBAP), which happened on June 10th with the award of the Guard Banner . For the achievements in the reconquest of the Taman peninsula in September / October 1943 the nickname 46th Taman Guard Night Bomb Pilot Regiment was given. During the fighting for Sevastopol, the unit was temporarily subordinate to the 2nd Stalingrad Guard Night Bombing Division under Kuznetsov, and when deployed on the 2nd Belarusian Front from summer 1944 to the 325th Night Bombing Division. The last combat missions took place near Danzig , Stettin , Köslin and against the port of Swinoujscie . In November 1945 the regiment, the bearer of the Red Banner and the Suvorowordens III. Class was dissolved.

In total, the regiment flew 23,672 missions in 28,676 flight hours and dropped around 3,000 tons of bombs. It destroyed or damaged 17 major bridges, 9 railway trains, 26 ammunition and fuel depots, 176 trucks and 86 firing positions. On average, each female pilot completed almost 1,000 missions. Of the 29 women who were given the title " Hero of the Soviet Union " in World War II , 23 were members of the Night Witch. 14 female pilots were killed in the fighting.

Other units consisting exclusively of women were the 586th fighter regiment with Tamara Kasarinowa as commander and the 587th bomber regiment under the leadership of Marina Raskowa, with only the 588th NBAP being entirely female during the entire period of its existence.

The machines

Po-2

The aircraft were Polikarpow Po-2 biplanes , a wood and fabric model developed in 1927/28 that was originally designed for training and agricultural purposes. For use in the night bomber regiment, the planes had been makeshift converted to bomber planes. There were six to eight bomb carriers under the fuselage and wings, from which steel cables led into the navigator's cabin and were triggered by pulling. For sighting, two metal rods painted with luminous paint were attached to the right side of the ship and a small target window was cut into the right wing. The bomb load carried increased in the course of the war from 180 kg to 300, later even 400 kg. The Po-2 only needed a short runway and could therefore also be used from unpaved meadows and forest clearings ( called springboards ) that were located just behind the front line.

Although, or precisely because, the guy was very slow, his maneuverability made it difficult for him to be shot down by the much faster German fighters . Since the planes could only carry a small load of bombs, they took off up to three times, sometimes even up to eight times per night. A mission usually took place in such a way that the planes approached individually at intervals of a few minutes under cover of darkness. If the target was in the vicinity, the engine was switched off and the bombs dropped while gliding . After starting the engine, the return to the base took place. Because of the surprising attacks in absolute silence at night, the German troops nicknamed the regiment "Night Witches".

The 23 "Heroines of the Soviet Union" of the regiment

First Lieutenant Yevgenia Rudneva
Nadezhda Popova (2009)

literature

  • Marina P. Chechneva: The sky is ours . Military Publishing House , Berlin 1989, ISBN 978-3-327-00703-7 (Russian: М.  П.  Чечнева: Небо остается нашим. Воениздат , Москва 1976. Translated by Helmut Heinrich).
  • A. Noggle: A Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II . ISBN 978-0-89096-601-3 .
  • Roger D. Markwick, Euridice Charon Cardona: Soviet Women on the Frontline in the Second World War . Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2012, ISBN 978-0-230-57952-1 .

Web links

Commons : Night Witches  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rainer Göpfert: Soviet women's squadron. In: Fliegerrevue X , No. 79, PPV Medien, Bergkirchen 2019, ISSN 2195-1233, pp. 60–73.
  2. ^ E. Meos, K. H. Hardt: Komsomolkas am Feind , in: Flieger Revue 10/1970, p. 432