Night Witches

588th Night Bomber Regiment (1942–1943) 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (1943–1945)
A Polikarpov Po-2, the aircraft type used by the regiment
Active	1942–1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Soviet Air Forces
Role	Harassment and tactical bombing
Nickname(s)	Night Witches
Engagements	Eastern Front of World War II
Decorations	Guards designation Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov
Commanders
Regimental Commander	Yevdokiya Bershanskaya
Deputy Regiment Commander	Serafima Amosova
Commissar	Yevdokiya Rachkevich
Aircraft flown
Bomber	Polikarpov Po-2

"Night Witches" (German: die Nachthexen; Russian: Ночные ведьмы, Nochnyye Vedmy) was a World War II German nickname for the all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment (Russian: 588-й ночной легкобомбардировочный авиационный полк, romanized: 588-y nochnoy legkobombardirovochnyy aviatsionnyy polk), known later as the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Red Banner and Order of Suvorov Regiment (46-й гвардейский ночной бомбардировочный авиационный Таманский Краснознамённый и ордена Суворова полк, 46-y gvardeyskiy nochnoy bombardirovochnyy aviatsionnyy Tamanskiy Krasnoznamonnyy i ordena Suvorova polk), of the Soviet Air Forces. Though women were officially barred from combat at the time, Major Marina Raskova used her position and personal contacts with the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to obtain permission to form female combat units. "Combat facilitated and ushered in a reluctant acceptance of women in military, based more upon practicality and necessity than for equality".^[1] On October 8, 1941, an order was issued to deploy three women's air-force units, including the 588th Regiment. The regiment, formed by Raskova and led by Major Yevdokiya Bershanskaya, was composed primarily of female volunteers in their late teens and early twenties.^[2]

An attack technique of the night bombers involved idling the engine near the target and gliding to the bomb-release point with only wind noise left to reveal their presence. German soldiers likened the sound to broomsticks and hence named the pilots "Night Witches".^[2][3] Due to the weight of the bombs and the low altitude of flight, the pilots did not carry parachutes until 1944.^[4][5]

When the regiment was deployed on the front line in June 1942, the 588th Night Bomber Regiment became part of the 4th Air Army of the Southern Front. In February 1943 the regiment was honored with the Guards designation and reorganized as the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment in the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, 2nd Belorussian Front; in October 1943 it became the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment,^[6] "Taman" referring to the unit's involvement in the Novorossiysk-Taman operations on the Taman Peninsula during 1943.