During World War II,
the Soviet Union formed regiments of female pilots,
who flew wood and canvas biplanes
to attack Nazis in their sleep.
They were so terrifying,
the Germans took to calling them the Night Witches.
- We have found a witch.
May we burn her?
- [Crowd] Burn her, burn her!
- In 1941, a Soviet pilot named Marina Raskova
lobbied Josef Stalin to allow women to join the fight.
Finally, she got what she wanted.
Yes, sister!
Stalin ordered the establishment
of all-female air regiments.
The most famous of which
was the 588th Night Bomber Regiment,
where everyone from the pilots to the mechanics were women.
The biplanes were made mostly of wood and canvas,
and if hit by tracer bullets, would ignite like paper.
I mean, the pilot and navigator sat in open cockpits,
with only small glass windshields to protect them
from the savage Soviet winters.
To top it all off,
the aircraft carried no radio or machine gun.
I mean, the Po-2 could carry only two 220-pound bombs
at a maximum speed of 94 miles per hour.
Now, because of the weight of the bombs,
and the low altitude at which they flew,
the pilots carried no parachutes.
I mean, they also had no radar to help navigate
through the night skies, only maps and compasses.
These badass bitches used the trainer planes' shortcomings
to their advantage.
Because of the planes' primitive construction,
German radar could hardly see their approach,
so the pilots were assigned night harassment mission.
Ooh, that's when I like to attack, too.
They would idle their engines as they neared the targets,
and glide their way to the bomb release points.
As a result, their planes made little more
than soft whooshing noise as they flew by.
Until, that is, they dropped their bombs
right in the middle of sleeping Nazi formations.
- [Crowd] Oh!
- The Germans became terrified of what they called
Night Witches and spread wild rumors that the women
were given special injections
that gave them feline-perfect night vision.
Soldiers often would refuse to go outside
to even smoke a cigarette,
for fear of letting the bombers know where they were,
which is my favorite smoking deterrent so far.
The Night Witches were so effective and so elusive,
that German pilots received the Iron Cross and a cash award
of 2,000 Reichsmarks if they shot one of them down.
Dealing with daily sexual harassment on the ground
and grueling night runs, sometimes up to 18 per night,
the women were hardened and grew to fear very little.
Their greatest concern was what might occur
if they were grounded and captured alive.
They took a drastic measure to prevent this scenario.
Each crew member was trained to shoot herself
rather than be caught.
As a regiment, they flew more than 24,000 combat missions,
and dropped 26,000 incendiary bombs.
The leader of the 588th Regiment, Irina Sebrova,
became one of the most decorated pilots in the Soviet Army,
and was awarded the distinction
of Hero of Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.
Sebrova also received three Orders of the Red Banner,
the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st and 2nd class,
the Order of the Red Star, and various other medals.
The Night Witches didn't have great planes, 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.
No broomsticks needed.
Oh, and by the way, if you love World War II videos,
make sure you check out this one about four Marines
who killed so many Germans,
the Nazis thought they were an entire allied battalion.
August 1st, 1944, less than two months after D-Day,
Marine Major Peter J. Ortiz, six Marines,
and an Army Air Corps officer parachuted into France,
to assist the French resistance fighters
known as The Maquis.
The link is in the comments below.