World War II The Night Witches

The Soviet Women Pilots Who Haunted the Nazis

They flew small wooden biplanes at night over the Eastern Front. Searchlights and flak chased them. German troops called them Nachthexen. They flew again and again until dawn.

This book tells the full combat story of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later the 46th Guards. You will see how they trained at Engels, learned night tactics with the Po-2, and took on hard targets near the front. You will follow them through the Kuban, Crimea, Belarus, Poland, East Prussia, and the Oder. You will meet Marina Raskova, commander Yevdokiya Bershanskaya, pilot Nadezhda Popova, navigator Yekaterina Ryabova, and many others.

The research draws on Soviet and German logs, unit diaries, interviews, and modern studies. It checks legend against records. It shows what their raids did to bridges, rail lines, guns, and supply. It also shows cost and courage, from first flights in 1942 to victory in 1945.