588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment
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"Night Witches" (german: die Nachthexen; russian: Ночные ведьмы, ) was a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
German nickname for the all-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 Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The 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 During its 69-year history, the Soviet Union usually had a ''de facto'' leader who would not necessarily be head of state but would lead while holding an office such as premier or general secretary. Under the 1977 Constitution, the chairman ...
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
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". 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 Yevdokiya Davidovna Bershanskaya (Russian: Евдокия Давыдовна Бершанская; 6 February 1913, in Dobrovolnoye, Stavropol – 16 September 1982, in Moscow) was the regimental commander of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber ...
, was composed primarily of female volunteers in their late teens and early twenties. 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". Due to the weight of the bombs and the low altitude of flight, the pilots did not carry parachutes until 1944. When the regiment was deployed on the front line in June 1942, the 588th Night Bomber Regiment became part of the
4th Air Army Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
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 Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
,
2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army g ...
; in October 1943 it became the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, "Taman" referring to the unit's involvement in the Novorossiysk-Taman operations on the Taman Peninsula during 1943.


Conception

In October 1941, Major Marina Raskova was granted authority to select candidates for the 122nd Composite Air Group, an all-female aviation regiment. Raskova had already established several world records in long-distance non-stop flights and was referred to as the "Russian Amelia Earhart" for her achievements. When the Germans invaded in 1941, young women began writing Raskova letters, asking how they could best serve their country using their flight skills. Raskova used her personal connection with Stalin to obtain approval to establish the regiment. Stalin was quick to approve of the initiative, as he had a general interest in the women's "tremendous international propaganda value."


History and tactics

The regiment flew
harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
and precision bombing missions against the German military from 1942 until the end of the Second World War (1945). At its largest, it had 40 two-person crews. The regiment flew over 23,000 sorties, dropping over 3,000 tons of bombs and 26,000 incendiary shells. It was the most highly decorated female unit in the Soviet Air Force, with many pilots having flown over 800 missions by the end of the war, and twenty-three having been awarded the
Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...
title. Thirty-two of its members died during the war. The regiment flew in wood-and-canvas Polikarpov U-2 biplanes, a 1928 design intended for use as training aircraft (hence its original ''uchebnyy'' designation prefix of "U-") and for crop dusting, which also had a special U-2LNB version for the sort of night harassment attack missions flown by the 588th. The plane could only carry of bombs, so eight or more missions per night were often necessary. Although the aircraft was obsolete and slow, the pilots took advantage of its exceptional maneuverability; it also had a maximum speed that was lower than the stalling speed of both the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
and the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
, which made it very difficult for German pilots to shoot down, with the exception of fighter ace Josef Kociok, who grounded the regiment for an entire night by shooting down three or four of their planes on the night of 31 July 1 August 1943.


Original reception

Initially, this all-female aviation regiment was not welcomed into the military with open arms. Many of their male counterparts saw them as inferior and treated them with lack of respect. The women of the regiment were also given hand-me-downs of uniforms and over-sized shoes by the men, as well as rudimentary tools (such as rulers, flashlights and pencils) that lacked the "luxury" that the male soldiers received with their tools (for example, radar, guns and radios).


Timeline and operations

Members of the regiment were deployed from the Engels Military Aviation School to the Southern Front as part of the 218th Division of the
4th Air Army Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
on 23 May 1942, where they arrived on 27 May. * 12 June 1942: The regiment's baptism by fire took place on the Southern front in bombings of river crossings on the Mius, Severny Donets, and
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
rivers as well as roads in the
Sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
s and Stavropol suburbs. * August–December 1942: In the Battle of the Caucasus, the regiment defended the city of Vladikavkaz as well as bombing enemy equipment and troops in Digora, Mozdok, and Prokhladnaya. * January 1943: Assisted in the breakthrough of enemy defensive lines on the Terek River as well as offensive operations against ground troops in the Kuban River valley and Stavropol. * March – September 1943: Assisted in the breakthrough of the Kuban bridgehead and the liberation of
Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...
. * April – July 1943: Participated in an aerial campaign over
Kuban Kuban (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Pontic–Caspian steppe, ...
. * November 1943 – May 1944: Provided air support to ground troops in the Kerch–Eltigen Operation as part of the Crimean Offensive and in the city of
Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
. * June–July 1944: Bombed enemy fortifications along the Pronya River, helping to take control of
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...
, Cherven,
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, and Mogilev in Byelorussia. * August 1944: Operations over Poland in campaigns to expel the Germans from the cities of
Augustów Augustów (; lt, Augustavas, formerly known in English as ''Augustovo'' or ''Augustowo'')" is a city in north-eastern Poland with 29,729 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the ...
,
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, and
Ostrołęka , image_flag = POL Ostrołęka flag.svg , image_shield = POL Ostrołęka COA.svg , pushpin_map = Poland Masovian Voivodeship#Poland , pushpin_label_position = bottom , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = ...
. * January 1945: Participated in the East Prussian Offensive. * March 1945: Participated in offensives over Gdynia and Gdansk. * April – May 1945: Assisted in the Vistula–Oder Offensive. * 15 October 1945: The regiment was disbanded following the end of the war and service members were demobilized.


Sorties/Missions

Throughout the course of the war the regiment accumulated approximately 23,672 sorties in combat, including in the following battles: * Battle of the Caucasus – 2,920 sorties * Kuban, Taman, Novorossiysk – 4,623 sorties * Crimean Offensive – 6,140 sorties * Belarus Offensive – 400 sorties * Poland Offensive – 5,421 sorties * German Offensive – 2,000 sorties In total the regiment collectively accumulated 28,676 flight hours, dropped over 3,000 tons of bombs and over 26,000 incendiary shells, damaging or completely destroying 17 river crossings, nine railways, two railway stations, 26 warehouses, 12 fuel depots, 176 armored cars, 86
firing points A firing point is a prepared fighting position from which infantry can defend territory with minimal exposure to return fire. Construction ranges from simple sandbag walls to sophisticated, permanent fortifications. Large artillery emplacements, f ...
, and 11
searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...
s. In addition to bombings, the unit performed 155 supply drops of food and ammunition to Soviet forces.


Personnel

In total, 261 people served in the regiment, of whom 32 died of various causes during the war including plane crashes, combat deaths and
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. Twenty-eight aircraft were written off.


Leadership

*
Yevdokiya Bershanskaya Yevdokiya Davidovna Bershanskaya (Russian: Евдокия Давыдовна Бершанская; 6 February 1913, in Dobrovolnoye, Stavropol – 16 September 1982, in Moscow) was the regimental commander of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber ...
– regiment commander *
Serafima Amosova Serafima Tarasovna Amosova (; 20 August 1914 – 17 December 1992) was the deputy commander of flight operations in the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment during the World War II, Second World War. Early life Amosova was born in central ...
– deputy regiment commander *
Yevdokiya Rachkevich Yevdokiya Yakovlevna Rachkevich (; née Andriychuk; 22 December 1907 – 7 January 1975) was the deputy regimental commander and commissar of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (a.k.a., the "Night Witches") during the Second World Wa ...
commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...
* Maria Fortus and later Irina Rakobolskaya – chief of staff * Valentina Stupina and later
Khiuaz Dospanova Khiuaz Qayrkyzy Dospanova (russian: Хиуаз Каировна Доспанова, kk, Хиуаз Қайырқызы Доспанова; 15 May 1922 – 20 May 2008) was a Kazakh pilot and navigator who served during World War II in the 588th ...
– head of communications


Longstanding effects


Disciplined personnel

Senior Engineer Sofiya Ozerkova destroyed her party card to avoid being seized after she was shot down and had to escape and evade from the
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
. Following her return to the Regiment she was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in 1942 because she could not produce the card. She was later acquitted after her sentence was suspended and she was reinstated to her position. Mechanics Raisa Kharitonova and Tamara Frolova were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for dismantling a flare (used by navigators to illuminate bombing targets) and using the small silk parachutes to sew undergarments. Both of them were retrained as navigators, but Frolova was killed in action in 1943.


Honored personnel

Twenty-three personnel from the regiment were awarded the title
Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...
, two were awarded
Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...
, and one was awarded
Hero of Kazakhstan The title of People's Hero of Kazakhstan ( kk, Халық қаһарманы, Halyq qaharmany) is the highest distinction conferred by the Republic of Kazakhstan, along with the Order of the Golden Eagle. Overview According to the Law on State Aw ...
.


Heroes of the Soviet Union

*
Raisa Aronova Raisa Yermolayevna Aronova (russian: Раиса Ермолаевна Аронова; 10 January 1920 – 20 December 1982) was a Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 navigator and pilot of the Night Witches, 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later renamed 46th Guard ...
*
Vera Belik Vera Lukianovna Belik (, ; 12 June 1921 – 25 August 1944) was a flight navigator and lieutenant in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment who frequently flew with pilot Tatyana Makarova. They died when their Po-2 was shot down by ...
* Marina Chechneva *
Rufina Gasheva Rufina Sergeyevna Gasheva (; 14 October 1921 1 May 2012) was a Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 navigator during World War II who served with the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment and recipient of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Postwar, she co ...
* Polina Gelman * Tatyana Makarova *
Natalya Meklin , image = Natalya Meklin, portrait.jpg , alt = Portrait photograph of Meklin in uniform wearing one Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star, an order of the Patriotic War, and a campaign medal , birth_date = , ...
*
Yevdokiya Nikulina Yevdokiya Andreyevna Nikulina (; – 23 March 1993) was a squadron commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 26 October 1944. Early life Nikulina was born on in th ...
* Yevdokiya Nosal * Olga Sanfirova * Zoya Parfenova * Yevdokia Pasko *
Nadezhda Popova Nadezhda Vasilveyna Popova (russian: Наде́жда Васи́льевна Попо́ва, uk, Надія Василівна Попова; 17 December 1921 – 8 July 2013) was a squadron commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Regimen ...
* Nina Raspopova * Yevgeniya Rudneva *
Yekaterina Ryabova Yekaterina Vasilevna Ryabova (russian: Екатерина Васильевна Рябова; 14 July 1921 – 12 September 1974) was a Soviet World War II navigator awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on 23 February 1945 for her W ...
*
Irina Sebrova Irina Fyodorovna Sebrova (russian: Ирина Фёдоровна Себрова; – 5 April 2000) was a flight commander in the women's 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, also known as the Night Witches, during the Second World War ...
*
Mariya Smirnova Mariya Vasilyevna Smirnova (russian: Мария Васильевна Смирнова; 31 March 1920 – 10 July 2002) was a squadron commander in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (nicknamed the "Night Witches") of the Soviet A ...
* Maguba Syrtlanova * Nina Ulyanenko * Yevgeniya Zhigulenko


Heroes of the Russian Federation

*
Aleksandra Akimova Aleksandra Akimova (russian: Александра Фёдоровна Акимова; 5 May 1922 – 29 December 2012) was a Soviet squadron navigator in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment during the Second World War. In 1994 she b ...
*
Tatyana Sumarokova Tatyana Nikolaevna Sumarokova (russian: Татьяна Николаевна Сумарокова; 16 September 1922 28 May 1997) was a Soviet navigator and Guard Lieutenant in the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment during the Second ...


Hero of Kazakhstan

*
Khiuaz Dospanova Khiuaz Qayrkyzy Dospanova (russian: Хиуаз Каировна Доспанова, kk, Хиуаз Қайырқызы Доспанова; 15 May 1922 – 20 May 2008) was a Kazakh pilot and navigator who served during World War II in the 588th ...


Post-War life

In 1917, Russia was the first country to declare legal equality for women, which allowed them to enter military service. Women were inherently equal in both rights and responsibilities as a Russian citizen as social equality was a fundamental part of the Communist ideology. However, ideology was not always exhibited in practice which is seen time and time again especially through times of war whether it be prior, during, or after. In the case of after World War II, women in Russia were treated as though they always have been, especially before the 1917 law was passed. Many can see this passing as a way to get more nationalistic views for Russia, along with soldiers to fight for their country, rather than for the actual equality and treatment of women. A common dilemma for these women grew out of the social pressures of deciding to place more importance on the family instead of an aviation or military career. Irina Rakobolskaya, pilot with the 588th Regiment, rationalized the difficult reality and challenges she faced to pursue both a family and piloting career when she stated, “I think that during the war, when the fate of our country was being decided, the bringing in of women into aviation was justified. But in peacetime a woman can only fly for sport...otherwise how can one combine a career with a family and with maternal happiness?”


Other women's regiments

On 8 October 1941, Order number 0099 specified the creation of three women's regiments—all personnel from technicians to pilots would be entirely composed of women. The other two regiments were the
586th Fighter Aviation Regiment The 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment was one of the three Soviet women's aviation regiments founded by Marina Raskova at the start of the Second World War after she convinced Joseph Stalin to allow her to form three all-female aviation regiments. Th ...
, which used
Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, ...
fighters, and the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, which used twin engine
Pe-2 The Petlyakov Pe-2 (russian: Петляков Пе-2) was a Soviet Union, Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,Ethell 1996, p. 152. it also proved successful as a heav ...
dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
s. Later the unit received the Guards designation and reorganized as the 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment. Although all three regiments had been planned to have women exclusively, none remained all-female. The 586th and 588th Regiments employed male mechanics, the 586th because no women had received training to work on the Yakovlev fighter planes before the war. The 586th's woman commander, Major Tamara Aleksandrovna Kazarinova, was replaced by a man, Major Aleksandr Vasilievich Gridnev, in October 1942. The 587th Regiment was originally under the command of Marina Raskova, but after her death in 1943, a male commanding officer, Major
Valentin Markov Valentin Vasilevich Markov (russian: Валентин Васильевич Марков; 21 January 1910 1 July 1992) was the Soviet Air Force officer posted to command the women's 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment (later honored with the guards des ...
, replaced her. The 587th's Petlyakov Pe-2 dive bombers also required a tall person to operate the top rear machine gun, but not enough women recruited were tall enough, requiring some men to join the aircrews as radio operator and tail gunner. The 588th Regiment's staff driver and searchlight operatives were also male.


See also

*
Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland ''Luftwaffen-Legion Lettland'' was a unit of the German ''Luftwaffe'' that served in the Eastern Front in 1944. It was composed almost entirely of Latvian volunteers. Unit history Formation and training In September 1943 the Germans ordered ...
, a German night harassment unit on the Eastern Front during the war (outside of the usual ''Störkampfstaffel'' squadrons and ''Nachtschlachtgruppe'' groups for such duties) *
Washing Machine Charlie Washing Machine Charlie was a name given by the Allies (primarily the United States) to Imperial Japanese aircraft that performed usually solitary, nocturnal operations over Henderson Field on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign, as well as ...
, the term for Japanese night harassment aircraft during the
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...
and later *
1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment The 1077th Anti-aircraft Regiment (, ''1077-y zenith artilleriyskiy Polk'') unPolk) under Colonel Raiynin, was a unit of the Stalingrad Corps Region of the Soviet Air Defence Forces that fought during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. The Stalingr ...
, a Soviet regiment that fought in the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
composed predominantly of young female volunteers


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{cite book, last=Sakaida, first=Henry, title=Heroines of the Soviet Union: 1941–45, year=2003, publisher=Osprey Publishing , isbn=978-1-84176-598-3


External links


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