The opencockpit po2 biplane was simple enough for peasant girls to fly, and cheap to build and repair. The po2 biplanes flown by the night witches had an advantage over. Prone to attacks by night fighters, the flammable little aircraft often returned to base bulletridden and burning like paper. Witch remembered witches of night meadow book 2 by v. The night witches used the frail and little u2 planes built using plywood and percale linen and ran by 100horsepower engines. The night witchesrussian combat pilots wwiiheroines of. The actual night witches a german coinage for the women night bomber pilots and navigators are only one third of the story. Far less is written about their russian counterparts, the night witches of the 588th night bomber regiment. Shes a pilot whos always felt more at home soaring through the sky than down on earth. It is written for the younger generation, so being old i did wish that sometimes kathryn lasky had gone into more details. Reading the graphic novel the night witches, about female pilots who flew for the russians in world war ii, i thought about jane austen. The badass wwii squadron of female pilots known as the night witches. As the winter of 1941 continued into the dark days of 1942 and the soviet.
This book entails the tales of russias women pilots of world war 2, or, as they would be nicknamed by the germans, night witches. See more ideas about women in history, world war and female pilot. Although this novel is a work of historical fiction, the night witches were very real. The storys main character is lieutenant anna kharkova, once a naive teenager, who grows into a hardened combat wwii veteran for the soviet air force. In kathryn laskys novel night witches, the protagonist sets out to enlist in the unit, her. Aug 22, 2018 the most fearsome of these groups, the 588th regiment, became known as the nachthexen or, night witches, a name the women adopted with pride. Wikimedia commons a polikarpov po 2 biplane, similar to the aircraft operated by the night witches during their missions. The most fearsome of these groups, the 588th regiment, became known as the nachthexen or, night witches, a name the women adopted with pride. Thank you to the publisher for sending a free copy of the book.
Women pilots of the night witches receiving orders for an upcoming raid. The book was adapted into an unabridged audio reading by lynn redgrave, a stage play and a twopart radio dramatisation for the bbc, a 1990 film directed by nicolas roeg which starred anjelica huston and rowan atkinson, a 2008 opera by marcus paus and ole. And german fighters stalled at around 120 miles an hour. I covered the women tagged by their enemies as night witches two years ago as part of our feature on russian world war 2 women fighters. They flew po 2 biplanes, called mules and crop dusters by other pilots.
Ww2 night witches terrified the german army youtube. This novel does a great job capturing many aspects of the war on the. 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. The night witches flew in wood and canvas polikarpov po2 biplanes similar to the one shown here.
They were dubbed night witches by the frightened german soldiers because of the deadly stealth of their light planes. Meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who. One night, the germans put a night fighter in the preditable path of the po s. Amid their heroism, many of the women lost their lives when shot down by antiaircraft fire and, in some cases, fired upon by the huge german fockewolffe 90 aircraft. Many soviet women had grown weary of playing a support role during the war and wanted to be engaged in combat on the front lines.
The top speed of the po 2 biplane was 94 mph 82 knots. Her first plane was a polikarpov po2, a biplane introduced in 1927, and went up against german antiaircraft as well as threats from. In the nazioccupied soviet union, german soldiers had a very real fear of witches. But since the germans surrounded stalingrad, valyas been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble. Flying slow biplanes polikarpov po2, gasheva quickly showed one noticed talent for night navigation, mounting a successful partnership with pilot captain olga sanfirova. Soviet night witches pilots aircrew remembered site. Despite raisas desire to fly and her many hours of. A polikarpov po2, similar to the aircraft operated by the night witches 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. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale. The military provided them with outdated polikarpov po2 biplanes, 1920s cropdusters.
Eager young russian women pilots, some of them still teenagers, fearlessly fly night bombing missions at the russian front. Small wonder they called the women nachthexen or night witches. Gasheva was assigned to the 46th aviation regiment night bomber guard, a female unit known by the germans as the night witches. Heroines of the highest orderand one of the worlds most successful aircraft designsbedeviled the nazis during world war ii. In the night witches, he tells the story of an allfemale russian air force squadron and their battle against german forces. The story of the night witches is one of my faovrite tales of world war ii. The female fighter pilots of world war ii the atlantic.
Jun 07, 2019 meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who bombed nazis by night. Mar 20, 2019 the night witches by garth ennis with art by russ braun is a collection of the 3 night witch story from garth ennis battlefields, and follows one russian pilot for one heck of a story arc. The title night witches is a bit misleading for great patriotic war buffs. This is the time of stalin and the young communists league, and all russians fought. They owned the hell out of that name while harassmentbombing nazi forces all night, every night. Another factor was that among the planes still available were a large number of polikarpov po2s an open cockpit two seat 1928 biplane made of wood and fabric, mostly meant for flight training and crop dusting. The badass wwii squadron of female pilots known as the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The allfemale night witches squadron was the direct result of women in the soviet union wanting to be actively involved in the war effort. One night, the germans put a nightfighter in the preditable path of the pos. The po 2 was very slow, but it was also extremely maneuverable. Night witches by kathryn lasky nook book ebook barnes. The aircraft, the polikarpov po2, looks very fragile in this illustration.
But having recently both read a book and watched a tv series about the exploits of these wartime flyers, it. Though women were initially barred from combat, major marina raskova used her position and personal. The author also covers the day bomber crews and coolest of all the free hunter fighter pilots which include the amazing litvak. This is slower than even most world war i fighters and left them very vulnerable to enemy night fighters. The tale of the night witches and the polikarpov po2 is a fascinating bit of aviation history. The book gives a great attention to the sexism that at first existed for these women as was similar with books such as a. It is written for the younger generation, so being old i did wish that sometimes kathryn lasky had. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale force in wwii eric grundhauser june 25, 2015 1.
Series on night swallowsnight witches on amazon prime. 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. Dec 20, 2014 or should it be day witches this is my first video in 60 fps as opposed to 4k. Polikarpov po2 and the night witches simanaitis says. The top speed of the po2 biplane was 94 mph 82 knots. See more ideas about night witches, women in history, warrior woman. The po2s open cockpit exposed the pilot and navigator to frostbite, the small carrying capacity meant their two bombs were at the expense of even a radio and often a light machine gun, and so to keep up constant pressure on the nazis were forced to fly over and over again popovas record was 18 gruelling sorties in one night. The amazing story of russias women pilots in world war ii bruce myles on. These planes flew slower than the stall speed of the bf108 and the fw190 fighters, which made them devilishly difficult to shoot down. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale force in wwii. Jan 01, 1981 this book entails the tales of russias women pilots of world war 2, or, as they would be nicknamed by the germans, night witches. It is about the coming of age of a young russian woman who becomes a night witch.
The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale force in. The night witches were not a well equipped regiment. From the very inception of the war, colonel marina raskova, a pilot who was. I had never heard of the night witches, nor had i ever read a book on wwii based in russia. They had to fly polikarpov po2 aircrafttwoseated, opencockpit biplanes that were obsolete even by the standards. Wearing handmedown uniforms from male pilots boots were reportedly stuffed with paper and fabric to make them fit, they flew in aging polikarpov po2 biplanes. The young women were then given uniforms that were far too large for them, as they were meant for men. The po2 was very slow, but it was also extremely maneuverable. It was the only one of the three to remain under the control of a woman, major yedokia bershanskaya, throughout the war. The opencockpit po 2 biplane was simple enough for peasant girls to fly, and cheap to build and repair. Sure, theyd were toast if a fighter got them in its sights, but that was hard to do. The 588th flew obsolete polikarpov po2 planes that were woodenhence the night witch title that were generally used for training, and which only had the capacity to carry 2 bombs. When her mother is killed during the siege, valya is left with one burning desire. They were flying these awful po2 planes made of balsa wood and canvas and still handing the nazi german army their collective arsch.
They were a crucial soviet asset to winning world war ii. The night witches were not treated equally to their. 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. The night witches combat pilots wwii heroines of the soviet union by emma gee. On the allwomen night bomber regiment that fought the nazis. Another, terrible, episode concerning the witches themselves in their po2 is surprisingly not mentionned in the link above which is quite complete and matches and recalls finely the memory ive had of my former read. Using all her wits, valya manages to get past the german blockade and find the night witches base.
Night witches was a world war ii german nickname for the all female military aviators of the. With outdated biplanes, no radio, lights, defenses nor parachutes, these ww2 soviet pilots terrorized the germans. The night witches download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. A polikarpov po2, the aircraft type used by the regiment. Night witches and 12 related entities entities finder. The witches was originally published in 1983 by jonathan cape in london, with illustrations by quentin blake like many of dahls works.
When a german messerschmitt bf 109 me109 tried to intercept it, the night witches would throw their po2 biplanes into a tight turn at an airspeed that was below the stalling speed of. May 31, 2019 the night witches flew in wood and canvas polikarpov po 2 biplanes similar to the one shown here. Behind the book night bombers night witches soviet union taking. See more ideas about female pilot, wwii and red army. Click download or read online button to get the night witches book now. The wikipedia entry for the il 2 claims that it is the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history as well as the third most produced aircraft in history behind the cessna 172 and the polikarpov po 2, but it looks like the po 2 wasnt entirely exempt from bellicose uses.
They had to fly polikarpov po2 aircrafttwoseated, opencockpit. Image provided by mirren hogan from the book night witches by mirren hogan. This is a subreddit for war thunder, a cross platform vehicular combat mmo developed by gaijin entertainment for microsoft windows. The stories of the po2 regiment biplanes engaged in nightintruder raids and. Taking inspiration from the night witches crimereads. Jan 24, 2014 another, terrible, episode concerning the witches themselves in their po 2 is surprisingly not mentionned in the link above which is quite complete and matches and recalls finely the memory ive had of my former read. Her two brothers immediately enlist in the air corps. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The night witches who ruled the skies russia beyond. With a maximum speed below the stall speed of enemy fighters, shooting it down was difficult.
Meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who bombed. The origin of the sobriquet night witches the nazi term was nachthexen lay with the 588th air regiment. Namely, the night witches, an allfemale squadron of bomber pilots who ran. Here three of the night witches prepare to board their aircraft. Jul 15, 20 the night witches were largely unique among the female combatants and even the female flyersof world war ii. And the po2s shortfield capability allowed it to take off and land almost anywhereideal for surprisestrike night operations. Aug 16, 2015 night witches, by bruce myles is the story of russian women who flew combat missions against the german invader from 1941 to 1945 many countries, especially britain and the us, had women pilots.
If youre interested in graphic novels, garth ennis has created a fictional story about the night witches based on the real history. The other two womens regiments, flying yak1 fighters and pe 2 attack bombers, proved to be brave and capable pilots, with several women scoring impressive totals of german aircraft. Jun 18, 2015 germans capture a downed polikarpov po2 in. The amazing story of russias women pilots in world war ii. But possibly, the most extraordinary war feats of female pilots during the second world war were those executed by the russian female night bombers whom the germans called night witches. Somebody was giving away a book about the night witches and it is an extremely. The first bigselling englishlanguage book about the night witches is night witches. The book gives a great attention to the sexism that at first existed for these women as was similar with books such as a higher call, night witches delivers a fun, intriguing read. Ballad of the unknown pilot fabius maximus website. They fly outdated polikarpov po2 open cockpit biplanes converted to bombers. The night witches flew in wood and canvas polikarpov po 2 biplanes similar to the one shown here. Buy on amazon night witch farm girl to aviator in the heroic wwii russian flying unit the germans called the night witches june 1941 nineteenyear old raisa tarasovas peaceful life shatters when hitlers forces invade russia.
They fly outdated polikarpov po 2 open cockpit biplanes converted to bombers. The night witchesrussian combat pilots wwiiheroines of the. Fortunately, i found night witches by mirren hogan. The night witches achieved great success during the war, many of them receiving the honorable title of hero of the soviet union. Mar 17, 2019 the allfemale night witches squadron was the direct result of women in the soviet union wanting to be actively involved in the war effort.
The night witches were russian women who flew in combat against germany in the fight to defend their homeland. Meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who bombed nazis by night. Slow, with no optical equipment or other equipment for night flights which was preponderant in the missions. Such shortcomings aside, kritter grants the airplane its tactical advantages crucial to the night witches missions. Jun 25, 2015 the night witches didnt have great planes, or superior bombs, or even very much support for their unit, but they nonetheless became one of the most remarkable fighting forces of world war ii. Film will be based on the female flying unit that fought in the battle of moscow. In the united states, the history of the womens air service pilots wasp is reasonably well known, and their heroics are celebrated. From 1942 to 1945, this allfemale squadron dropped 23,000 tons of bombs and was feared by. The germans dubbed their fragile looking polikarpov po2u2 no, not that kind biplanes sewing machines because of. The stories of the po 2 regiment biplanes engaged in night intruder raids and enemyterritory drops are hairraising.
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