The 588th lost 30 pilots during the fighting, and 23 pilots, including popova. Known later as the 46th taman guards night bomber aviation regiment, a unit like this had never existed before. Jul 15, 20 the night witches were largely unique among the female combatants and even the female flyersof world war ii. The multiple nightly sorties were necessary because the modified cropdusters were capable of carrying only two bombs at a time. The soviet night witches female bomber pilots of wwii. Night witches is a roleplaying game of soviet airwomen at war. Night witches goodreads meet your next favorite book. All told, the pioneering allfemale 588th night bomber regiment dropped more than 23,000 tons of bombs on nazi targets. After the war, the 588 th night bomber regiment was disbanded. Jun 18, 2015 as the silenced bombers sailed over the nazi forces, making a light whooshing sound, german soldiers began referring to them as nachthexen, or night witches, a name the pilots of. Its a great read with wonderful insights into the trials and tribulations, victories and losses, heartbreaks and love stories of the 588th regiment.
Meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who bombed. Their operational record began at the salsk steppes and the don battles and ended in nazi germany. Each night, in general, 40 planes each crewed by two women, a pilot and a navigator would fly eight or more more missions. This amazing group of women came into play in 1941 after the soviet union was invaded by germany and the german army was closing in on moscow. The night witches were largely unique among the female combatants and even the female flyersof world war ii. The night witches harassed many german units during the red armys continued push out of its oncebesieged homeland.
Jan 15, 2018 a lot of this material is sourced from a book i love, night witches. Any german pilot who downed a witch was automatically awarded an iron cross. The women, most of them barely 20 years old, started training in engels, a small town north of stalingrad. From the depths of hell in silence cast their spells, explosive violence russian night time flight perfected flawless vision, undetected pushing on and on their. When her mother is killed during the siege, valya is left with one burning desire. Jul 20, 2017 fortunately, i found night witches by mirren hogan. Night witches was a world war ii german nickname for the all female military aviators of the. Fortunately, i found night witches by mirren hogan. It is written for the younger generation, so being old i did wish that sometimes kathryn lasky had gone into more details. Our books are available from indie press revolution, alliance, acd, gts, lion rampant, esdevium, and. The germans nicknamed them the nachthexen, or night witches, because the whooshing noise their wooden planes made resembled that of. As a member of the 588th night bomber regiment, youll answer the call of your motherland in her darkest hour. Mar 01, 2019 third reich troops already thought the sound of night wind rustling over clothcovered wings after the engines cut out sounded like a squadron of witches on broomsticksso perhaps there was a touch of supernatural dread in the nickname they gave the ladies of the 46th. Soviet night witches pilots aircrew remembered site.
Night witches is a tabletop roleplaying game about women at war. The soviet night witches female bomber pilots of wwii the. Meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who. The night witches, nachthexena in german, were actually soviet female military aviators who flew bombing missions during wwii. With clear, instructive writing and design by jason morningstar creator of fiasco and striking visual design by brennen reece the warren, the book does a great job evoking the ww2 eastern front milieu and lets players tell exciting stories of these underdog heroines.
The female fighter pilots of world war ii the atlantic. They were feared and hated by the nazis that any pilot who luckily downed a witch was automatically awarded an iron cross. Filmmaker klayman pays tribute to soviets night witch in. To the germans they were simply nachthexennight witches. I had never heard of the night witches, nor had i ever read a book on wwii based in russia. The title night witches is a bit misleading for great patriotic war buffs. Officially, the heroic pilots were members of the 46th guards night bombing regiment. The german soldiers at the other end of their fury would later report that the only sound they could here before death rained down upon them was a slight whooshing noise that sounded like a sweeping broomstick, which led to the 588th regiments nickname the the nachthexen, or night witches. A 1928 design intended for use as a training aircraft and for cropdusting, to this day it is the mostproduced biplane in all of aviation history. The 588th was so successful and deadly that the germans came to fear them, calling them nachthexen night witches. They owned the hell out of that name while harassmentbombing nazi forces all night, every night. Their nickname night witches comes from the characteristic sound of their bomb planes that was all that could be heard during their nightly raids since they set their engines to idle and would glide through the night to their target.
Night witches by kathryn lasky nook book ebook barnes. Jun 07, 2019 the germans nicknamed them the nachthexen, or night witches, because the whooshing noise their wooden planes made resembled that of a sweeping broom. Some of the members returning to civilian life, and some stayed on in the soviet air force. Jun 25, 2015 as the silenced bombers sailed over the nazi forces, making a light whooshing sound, german soldiers began referring to them as nachthexen, or night witches, a name the pilots of. The night witches were a highlyskilled and cunning unit. These women were referred to as nachthexen,night witches, a decidedly mild moniker bestowed on them by germans troops that indicated the endearment. Night witches is the english translation of nachthexen, a world war ii german nickname russian, nochnye vedmy for the female military aviators of the 588th night bomber regiment, known later as the 46th taman guards night bomber aviation regiment, of the soviet air forces. If youre interested in graphic novels, garth ennis has created a fictional story about the night witches based on the real history. Mar 25, 2017 if youre interested in graphic novels, garth ennis has created a fictional story about the night witches based on the real history. Reading the graphic novel the night witches, about female pilots who flew for the.
From mechanics to navigators, pilots and officers, the 588th regiment was composed entirely of women. As a member of the 588th night bomber regiment, youll answer the. Namely, the night witches, an allfemale squadron of bomber pilots who ran. Night witches is a fictional novel, telling the story of the night witches through the eyes of one pilot, nadia valinsky. Night witch captain nadezhda popova, pilot, in 2009 jan adkins is a superb storyteller as well as a talented illustrator and he is now available for classroom visits throughout the country. Nevertheless, they were dubbed nachthexen by the germans for their deadly silence and precision. Popova was a member of a renowned unit of deadly female soviet pilots called the night witches by german invaders because of the sound their plywood planes made. The actual night witches a german coinage for the women night bomber pilots and navigators are only one third of the story. The 588th was so successful and deadly that the germans came to fear them, calling them nachthexennight witches.
With outdated biplanes, no radio, lights, defenses nor parachutes, these ww2 soviet pilots terrorized the germans. Film will be based on the female flying unit that fought in the battle of moscow. Brave women bomber pilots of world war ii women and war. But to the harried and demoralized invaders below, they were nachthexen, or night witches, dreaded for the broomsticklike whooshing noise heard just before bombs exploded after being dropped from their treetopflying polikarpov po2 airplanes. The night witches is 90some pages of world war ii reality and is at home in a class studying the war, the psychology of war, or the female rights movement. Operation nachthexen, a story in commando issue 4599 may 20, was reputedly the first. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale. Jun 24, 2017 the germans nicknamed these pilots nachthexen or night witches because their light planes made a soft swishing sound, like that of what they imagined a witchs broomstick would make. They were feared and hated by the nazis that any pilot who luckily downed a witch was.
Given that level of study, the night witches is an outstanding title to dissect and discuss. Night witches by kathryn lasky night witches is set in stalingrad, russia in 1942 and is a fictional account of a young girl who joins 588th night bomber regiment of the soviet airforce. Taking inspiration from the night witches crimereads. While these women were courageous, tough, and even. Because of the brutality, it would likely need to be a collegelevel class. Mar 26, 2010 the night witches is 90some pages of world war ii reality and is at home in a class studying the war, the psychology of war, or the female rights movement. The amazing tale of the night witches of wwii mysterious. May 26, 2018 night witches is a roleplaying game of soviet airwomen at war. I have many different historical interests and one of them happens to be the soviet unions night witches of world war ii. See more ideas about wwii, female pilot and world war. Its the germans who dub the women flyers nachthexen.
Dropped food and medicine to russian marines trapped on the beach at malaya zemlya novorossiysk in the caucasus. He is a member of inks authors on call which uses field trip zoom, a technology that requires only a computer, wifi, a webcam, and a roomful of enthusiastic children. With tatyana arntgolts, elizaveta nilova, denis nikiforov, evgeniy ganelin. The book gave examples of young women using their feminine wiles to gain entry into combat training. Thank you to the publisher for sending a free copy of the book. The 588th night bomber regiment was set up after the famous russian woman aviator, marina raskova urged stalin to allow women to become fighter pilots. Third reich troops already thought the sound of night wind rustling over clothcovered wings after the engines cut out sounded like a squadron of witches on broomsticksso perhaps there was a touch of supernatural dread in the nickname they gave the ladies of the 46th. On 8th october 1941, stalin issued a secret order forming a female aviation unit. Russian night time flight perfected flawless vision, undetected pushing on and on, their planes are going strong air forces number one somewhere down below theyre looking for the foe bombers on a run you cant hide, you cant move, just abide their attacks been proved raiders in the dark silent through the night the witches join the fight. The night witches were largely unique among the female combatants and.
To the red army air force they were an infuriating feminist sideshow. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale force in. The women of the regiment were nicknamed nachthexen or night witches, because as they approached their targets, they idled their engines and swooped in quietly. As the silenced bombers sailed over the nazi forces, making a light whooshing sound, german soldiers began referring to them as nachthexen, or night witches, a name the pilots of. They were dubbed night witches by the frightened german soldiers because of the deadly stealth of their light planes. The amazing story of russias women pilots in world war ii by bruce myles. A lot of this material is sourced from a book i love, night witches.
Members of the 588th night bomber regiment decorated their planes. And in doing so, they became a crucial soviet asset in winning world war ii. By the end of the war, the night witches had flown somewhere in the vicinity of 30,000 bombing raids, delivering around 23,000 tons of munitions right to nazi s. The night witches, by garth ennis and russ braun garth ennis new graphic novel creates a fictional character to flesh out the stories of the real night witches, soviet female. Night witches is the english translation of nachthexen, a world war ii german nickname russian, for the female military aviators of the 588th night bomber regiment, known later as the 46th taman guards night bomber aviation regiment, of the soviet air forces. In kathryn laskys novel night witches, the protagonist sets out to enlist in the unit, her older sister already serving as a night witch. But since the germans surrounded stalingrad, valyas been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble. The german military called her one of the nachthexen, or night witches she flew 852 decoy missions in a canvas winged plane. So the nazis began calling the female fighter pilots nachthexen. Told as the personal recollections of sixteenyearold valya, night witches is the story of the brave female pilots who helped the russians defeat the nazi invasion during world war ii. The regiment was formed by colonel marina raskova and led by major yevdokia bershanskaya. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The women would fly twelve or more missions per night, dropping bombs on nazi encampments, keeping them awake and on edge at all hours. They were so feared by the germans that a pilot who shot down a night witch was awarded the iron cross.
Last july 20, i happened upon the obituary of captain nadezhda popova. It is about the coming of age of a young russian woman who becomes a night witch. The night witches nacht hexen is what german ww2 soldiers would call a squadron of. Though women were initially barred from combat, major marina raskova used her position and personal. The night witches flew in wood and canvas polikarpov po2 biplanes similar to the one shown here.
The nazis, then, started calling them nachthexen, the german term for night witches. Ive seen documentaries and read books only fictional books though about them before but that didnt stop me from diving into this newly published history titans book because im just too damn fascinated by the night witches and i finally got to read a nonfiction about them. Valya and her family are in stalingrad when it is besieged by the nazis. Well, full disclosureeg dad found hogan and her novel at supanova sydney 2017 and knew it was exactly the type of book i would love to read. It occurred to me, somewhere around the first quarter, that i had never read a wwii fiction book that took place in the ussrrussia and i need to read more in the future, because the combination of that and night witches fascinated me so much. Night witches is a game in the powered by the apocalypse style, set in world war ii and about the allfemale russian bomber squadron named nachthexen or night witches by the germans.
801 1463 495 958 878 449 778 800 418 253 56 362 346 295 399 1198 630 1298 1391 1280 1613 1065 622 604 1480 1419 223 768 579 445 514 1369 884 142 1188 1383 19 90 1025 177 928 397 533 34 942 1061 313