1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,560 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. We have had some requests come in 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: for an episode on the Night which is over the 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,159 Speaker 1: last few days, and if you're not familiar with them, no, 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: this is not a belated Halloween episode. That was a 5 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,159 Speaker 1: nickname for the Night Bomber Regiment, which was part of 6 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: the Soviet Air Forces during World War Two, and our 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: episode that we already did on them originally came out 8 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: on March nin and honestly, it's not entirely surprising that 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: we still get requests for this one from time to time, 10 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: even though we have an episode about it already. So 11 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: many people asked for it before we originally recorded the 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: episode that I actually sound a little exasperated trying to 13 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: describe it. These new requests so gave us a great 14 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: excuse to share this episode again today. We hope you 15 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: enjoy Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a 16 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: podcast Stop Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. Today's 18 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 1: episode is probably the most requested one in Holly's in 19 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: my time on the show. It's possible, Yeah, it's possible. 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: We've said this about some other episode and at this 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: point where liars, this time, we mean it. It has 22 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: far superseded anything else we might have said that about. 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: So our first request for it actually became before we 24 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: even started hosting the show. It was from a listener 25 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: named Alison, and it was one of the last listener 26 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: emails that Sarah answered before she passed the reins over 27 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: to us, and she copied us on her answer. Uh. 28 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: Since then, just from our email that I still have 29 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: lying around, we got requests from Mallory, Zoey, Jen Erica Ford, Aaron, Suzie, 30 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,559 Speaker 1: and Jeannette. And there are many, many, many, many many 31 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: other requests that have come in by a via Facebook 32 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: and Twitter and even tumbler, but those are all way 33 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: less searchable than like the archive email locks. So I finally, 34 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: I am Holly and in all capital letters said Okay, 35 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: we're doing one on the night Witches, and I think 36 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: I said, yeah, Yeah. We weren't avoiding them before we were, 37 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: We just had other things going on well. And part 38 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: of it too, is that, you know, we try to 39 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: avoid sort of cultural redundancy. So if they're being talked 40 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 1: about a lot on other sites, like you're getting play 41 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: and so, and there have been a few times in 42 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: the last couple of years where they have sort of 43 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: there's suddenly been a lot of buzz about them. Uh 44 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: like when when there have been deaths amongst the women 45 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: that remain, you know, those kind of pop up. So 46 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: at that point it seems extraneous for us to then 47 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: add to the pile and like it's just gonna get lost. 48 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: But yeah, especially because our production timeline means that we 49 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: are like two weeks behind that. So instead of feeling like, 50 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: here's this thing that's awesome to learn about, it's more like, 51 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: here we are just a little late to the party. 52 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: So a little bit of background on this. Flying was 53 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: actually a popular hobby in the Soviet Union in the 54 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: years leading up to World War Two, and at that 55 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: point paramilitary flying clubs were training people to become pilots. 56 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: There were about a hundred and fifty of these clubs, 57 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:16,959 Speaker 1: and about a quarter of their members were actually women. 58 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: This was in part because of Marina Raskova. She had 59 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: become an idol to teenage girls and young women after 60 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: she set a record for women's NonStop distance flying in 61 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: ninety eight, and she was twenty six at that time. 62 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: Raskova had set this record along with two other women 63 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: after flying a twin engine plane about six thousand kilometers 64 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: which is roughly thirty seven hundred miles, and that was 65 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: from Moscow to Komsomolsk on Amoor, which is in the 66 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: Russian Far East. During the flight, the plane started to 67 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: ice over and the three women started to jettison everything 68 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: that they could in an effort to lighten their load 69 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: and gain altitude. But it wasn't enough. They were going 70 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: to crash, and so finally Raskova a compass heading she 71 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: marked the destination on a map, and then she jettisoned herself. 72 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: She bailed out and survived in the forest for ten 73 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: days before a hunter found her, and then she made 74 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: her way back to Moscow, where she was greeted by 75 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: a cheering throng of supporters. This attempt to set a 76 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: record and Rascova's consequent disappearance got widespread coverage on the 77 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: radio and people were absolutely glued to it. All three 78 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: of the women became heroes, and they became known as 79 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: the Winged Sisters. They were all named heroes of the 80 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: Soviet Union, but Raskova was particularly beloved. People often make 81 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: comparisons to the United States love for Amelia Earhart when 82 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: they talk about Raskova. So thanks to all this interest 83 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: in flying. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in nineteen 84 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: forty one, there were lots and lots of Soviet pilots 85 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: with lots and lots of air time who all came 86 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: to volunteer for service, and a lot of them were 87 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: teenage girls and young women. Roughly a third of the 88 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: trained Soviet pilots at this point were women. But when 89 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: it came to combat, at first all the female applicants 90 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: were rejected and sent home, but that change thanks to 91 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: Marina Roskova. It was then major Riskova who put out 92 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: the call for women to volunteer to become combat pilots. 93 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 1: They would be placed into all female regiments. Anyone interested 94 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: was instructed to write directly to her, and she got 95 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: about two thousand volunteers, a pool of candidates that she 96 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: personally sifted through, narrowed down, and she interviewed them herself. 97 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: And it wasn't just the pilots they would need frequently 98 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: the mechanics and other support personnel in these regiments would 99 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: be women as well. The volunteers traveled to Moscow from 100 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: some of the most remote parts of the Soviet Union 101 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: started in the fall of n and after gathering in Moscow, 102 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: they moved to an airfield at Angles to train, and 103 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: they came with basically whatever they thought they were going 104 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: to need for as long as they would be out 105 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: there if they made the cut, because they had they're 106 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: pretty sure that anybody who did make it in was 107 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: not going to get to go home again before they left. 108 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: Larissa Rassanova was one of the women who made it 109 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: to the interview stage, and she had actually packed one 110 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,919 Speaker 1: of her favorite dolls before leaving home, but her mother 111 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: saw it in her suitcase and said, Darling, you can't 112 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: take that with you to the war. You're eighteen years 113 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: old now, and I love that story. I do too, 114 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: but I'm like, take the doll, it's fine. Larissa Rosanova 115 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: and Ada Popova, who went by Nadia, were Raskova's first 116 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: two recruits to be officially selected. When they started their 117 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: official training in October of nineteen forty one, the female 118 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: recruits formed the hundred and twenty second Composite Air Group 119 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: and eventually they would be sorted into three all female regiments, 120 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: which were the five D eighty six Fighter Regiment, the 121 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: five eighty seventh Bomber Regiment and the five hundred eighty 122 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: eight Night Bomber Regiment. Each of them had about four 123 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: hundred women, and most of them were between the ages 124 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: of seventeen and twenty six. And we're going to get 125 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: into the d tales on these regiments and how they 126 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: were trained, but first, should we have a little word 127 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: from a sponsor, we should do that stupendous There have 128 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: been a number of news articles about them that have 129 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: circulated in recent years. A lot of them, as we 130 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: alluded to at the top of the show, followed Nadia 131 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: Popova's death. In a lot of them imply that the 132 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: entire Soviet military command saw these women recruits as a 133 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: giant joke, and that's not really accurate. The Soviet military 134 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: definitely was not prepared for a bunch of women training 135 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: training for combat. They had never done that before at 136 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,679 Speaker 1: this kind of scale, and there were of course people 137 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: who were opposed to the idea of women serving in 138 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: combat all through their banks. But a lot of the 139 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: things that modern coverage reads as a huge insult to 140 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: the women was just it was really a byproduct of 141 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: that being the first time that women in a large 142 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: group of women had been recruited into the armed forces 143 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: in the Soviet Union, and the fact that this happened 144 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: during wartime, so things were by necessity tight. So, for example, 145 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: there was no women's barracks at the airfield where they trained, 146 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: so they had to be housed in a nearby school, 147 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: and there were also no women's uniforms. They had to 148 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: make do with men's uniforms. These were generally too big 149 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: for them, although, and I love this, since many of 150 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: the women knew how to sow, they could alter those 151 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,719 Speaker 1: uniforms so that they fit more properly. The boots were 152 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: much bigger issues since they couldn't be altered. The women 153 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: would stuff the toes with magazine pages to kind of 154 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: fill them out so their foot wasn't sliding around. Yeah, 155 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: the the women who were the best at tailoring wound 156 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: up with uniforms that really looked quite smart on them. 157 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: I told Tracy, as we were looking at pictures getting 158 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: ready for this episode, that I want to be the Night, 159 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,559 Speaker 1: which is for Halloween. So yeah, and then we could 160 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: get everybody to be Night which is for Halloween. Yeah, 161 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: And then I said, step one star with men's uniforms, 162 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: that's not a prop my dad's uniform. Yes. So these 163 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: recruits went through a highly compressed six month training period, 164 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,320 Speaker 1: and although all of them knew how to fly already, 165 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: most of them had absolutely no real military experience at all, 166 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: so it really was not unusual for their classroom and 167 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: flight training plus basic military instruction to stretch beyond fourteen 168 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: hours a day. They were definitely immersed in what was 169 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: widely regarded as a world for men, which made it 170 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: very important to many of them that they maintained their femininity. 171 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: Many had brought one pretty outfit with them when they 172 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: reported for training, and they decorated their planes with flowers. 173 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: They dyed their silk under helmets in really pretty colors, 174 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: and they called one another by their first names, trying 175 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: to remember to use surnames and official ranks when the 176 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: men were about. But they kind of developed this more 177 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:59,239 Speaker 1: casual camaraderie amongst just the women. The women were assigned 178 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: into their regim monts in April of nineteen forty two, 179 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: and from there they finished their training with the actual 180 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: planes that they would be flying, so they had to 181 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: get familiar with the controls and the handling of those 182 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:16,199 Speaker 1: specific aircraft. The five eighty six Fighting Regiment flew Yakovlov 183 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: yak ones, which were the best Soviet fighters in the 184 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: first years of the war. Although the way they were 185 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: constructed made it a little hard for the more petite 186 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,559 Speaker 1: women who both reached the pedals and handled the controls, 187 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,839 Speaker 1: they got used to it, though they were all extremely adaptable. 188 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: The fighter pilots also had to get used to working 189 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: as a team while flying in airplanes by themselves. The 190 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: yak ones were single seat planes, unlike the bombers and 191 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: the train the planes that they have been training on. 192 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: The five dred and eighty seventh Day Bombing Regiment flew 193 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 1: Pola Karpov PE two's, which were armored bombers with a 194 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: bubble protected machine gun station. In both cases, their actual 195 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,439 Speaker 1: aircraft were a complete departure from what they had been 196 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:59,439 Speaker 1: training on. Not so for the night Witches. Their planes 197 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: were a car pov PO two's originally known as you two's, 198 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: and these were the same planes they had already been 199 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:09,119 Speaker 1: training on. They were never actually meant to be bombers. 200 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: These were slow, flying wooden canvas biplanes with open cockpits 201 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: that were mostly used for training and for crop dusting, 202 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: and they were so slow that they could only fight 203 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: fly missions to targets that were relatively nearby, Otherwise they 204 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: would waste way too much time getting there and getting back, 205 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 1: So the planes had to be moved from one location 206 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,559 Speaker 1: to another during the day to give the women access 207 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:34,439 Speaker 1: to their targets at night. Because these were training planes 208 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: that have been pressed in the military service, they had 209 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: complete sets of controls for both the front and back seats. 210 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: They were retrofitted with bomb racks and a small machine 211 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: gun at the rear seat. Those same news articles we 212 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: referenced earlier will often say that the PO two's could 213 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: only carry two bombs, but in fact some of them 214 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: could carry up to eight. So while there were three units, 215 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: our focus really here is on the night which is 216 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: so we're gonna talk just about their time in World 217 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: War two for a little bit. Although they became more 218 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,959 Speaker 1: famous than either of the two women's regiments, they didn't 219 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: really get off to the greatest start. All of these 220 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: women were really capable pilots, but their military experience at 221 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: this point was frankly pretty minimal. While flying to the 222 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: front to report for duty, three fighters that had been 223 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: tasked with escorting the night which is dived through their formation, 224 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: and most of the women believed they were under attacked 225 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 1: by the Germans, and so they panicked and scattered. This 226 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,679 Speaker 1: was basically a test, and they did not pass it. 227 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,080 Speaker 1: They arrived safely at their destination, but most of the 228 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:38,959 Speaker 1: women hadn't seen the fighters coming or recognized them as 229 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: Soviet planes. They panicked instead of maintaining their formation. When 230 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: they were inspected the next morning, their commander told them 231 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: that they were not ready for combat. So The Night 232 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: which Is spent another two weeks in training. To make 233 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: things worse, their first housing at the front was in 234 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: a cow shed, which was not currently sheltering any cows, 235 00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: but it had done so recently enough that it's not horrible, 236 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: no or how much they cleaned it. Once their command 237 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: decided that they were in fact ready, the Night which 238 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: Is finally flew their first combat mission on June eight. 239 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 1: The three most experienced crews of two women each were 240 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: tasked with bombing the headquarters of a nearby German division. 241 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: On that first mission, they employed a practice that uh 242 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: would earn them the nickname that we've used several times now. 243 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 1: The PO two is a really, really noisy aircraft. It 244 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: makes a lot of popping noises as it flies, and 245 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: these pops are accompanied by visible flame in the engine 246 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: and the exhaust, and so it's extremely easy to hear 247 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: and extremely easy to spot. So as the pilots approached 248 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: their targets, they would cut their engines, glide the rest 249 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 1: of the way, and drop their bombs in comparative stealth 250 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: and silence. Apparently, the rush of air over the wings 251 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: reminded the Germans of the sound of a witch flying 252 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: on her broom. While that first mission was successful, sadly, 253 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,240 Speaker 1: two of the women, Luba Olkovskaya and rat Tarasova, were 254 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: killed in action after a navigational error steered them over 255 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: a heavily defended part of the front and they were 256 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: shot down. Recognizing that losing two of their own right 257 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: literally at the very very beginning of their time in combat, 258 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: was really threatening to shatter the rest of the regiments 259 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: morale and confidence, regimental commander Major yev Dokia Bersinskaya made 260 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: a case to send the rest of the bombers out 261 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: that night on a mission at once. They were given 262 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: a relatively easy target, which was to bomb a railway 263 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: junction and an artillery battery, and the rest of the 264 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: remaining teams having completed this mission, did return successfully. After 265 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: that uneasy start, the night which is confidence and skill 266 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: really grew quite quickly. They flew multiple missions every night, 267 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: flying out to the target, returning for more fuel in bombs, 268 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: and then taking off again a night which plane took 269 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: off on a bombing run every three minutes from sunset 270 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: to sunrise. And this wasn't just about destroy German targets. 271 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: It was also about disrupting the sleep of any German 272 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: troops who were in the area and keeping them on 273 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: it on edge. German troops on the ground could hear 274 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: the night which is coming until they killed their engines, 275 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: and the women would also fly in pairs with one 276 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: of the planes, leaving the engine on to serve as 277 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 1: a decoy so that the other one could proceed in 278 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: more silence. So anywhere the night Whiches were active, the 279 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: Germans on the ground were not getting any sleep. They 280 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: were constantly being awakened, wondering if they were the target, 281 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: and then being kept on high alert the whole time. 282 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: Purportedly because of this, the night Whiches became so hated 283 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: that any German who shot one down was automatically awarded 284 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: the Iron Cross. I found lots of modern news sources 285 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,680 Speaker 1: of this, not so much historical sources, so take that 286 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: with a grain of salt, but it's still a good story. 287 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: And the Night which Is, as you probably know if 288 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: you have seen any of the coverage of them, became very, 289 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: very good at their jobs. But what is sometimes not 290 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: always talked about as much is that they also had 291 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: their share of tragedy, and we are going to delve 292 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: into that after we have another word from a sponsor. 293 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: Eight months into their combat duty, many of the Night 294 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: which Is had just become household names in the Soviet Union. 295 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: They would get letters from home that would include clippings 296 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: of news stories talking about their missions, as well as 297 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: letters from friends and family who started to talk about 298 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: their friends as heroes. General MARKI and Papa visited the 299 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: five hundred and eighty eight during the early winter of nine. 300 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: During that visit, he announced that the five Women's Night 301 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: Bomber Regiment would be given the title forty six Taman 302 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: Guards Bomber Regiment. Guards units were elite units in the 303 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 1: Soviet military. So with this reorganization, the Night which Is 304 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: were not only in the same league with men, but 305 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: they were in the same league with the most skilled 306 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: and honored of the men the Night, which is were 307 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 1: the first red in their division in the first women's 308 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: air regiment in all of the Soviet military to earn 309 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,679 Speaker 1: this honor. While they were doing really outstanding work in 310 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: the air, it was still clear that they were not 311 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 1: experienced when it came to general military protocol on the ground. 312 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: After becoming a guards regiment, a major who was on 313 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: a site visit managed to steal maps and signal rockets 314 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,439 Speaker 1: from the night which is unguarded cockpits. He demanded that 315 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 1: they demonstrate their marksmanship skills after this happened, and because 316 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 1: that wasn't a skill that they were actually using that often, 317 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 1: they didn't do very well. So once again they were 318 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 1: assigned to remedial military basics while also maintaining their night 319 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: bombing schedule, and they also lost several of their own. 320 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: On one particularly catastrophic night on July thirty one, ninety three, 321 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,160 Speaker 1: the German Army tried a new tactic against the night, 322 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: which is, up until that point they had mostly relied 323 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: on searchlights and flat cannons. As long as those pilots 324 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: stayed out of the light, they were really difficult to hit. However, 325 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: on that particular night, the Germans shot tracers after them 326 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:07,159 Speaker 1: and then deployed fighters. When the tracers hit the night 327 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: which is planes, they set the canvas coverings on fire, 328 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: and from that point there was virtually no hope for 329 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: the for escape for the women on board. The plane 330 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 1: itself would just go up like kindling, and the woman 331 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 1: who were flying had didn't have any parachutes. Some reports 332 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: say that this was because they flew so low during 333 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: their missions, but in reality parachutes and just weren't assigned 334 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 1: to them until the following year. Larissa Rosnova, who we 335 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier as one of the first recruits, was one 336 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,680 Speaker 1: of the pilots flying that night. She was the fourth 337 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: in line, and after watching in horror as the planes 338 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 1: ahead of her caught fire and crashed, she decided that 339 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: her only option was to go as low as possible 340 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: in the hope of evading the Germans night fighters. She 341 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,399 Speaker 1: flew so low that she spoke to her navigator in 342 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: a whisper, afraid that the enemy troops on the ground 343 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: would be able to hear her, and from a height 344 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,160 Speaker 1: of only a few hundred feet, she dropped her bombs 345 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: the explosion threw her plane up into the air, but 346 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: she and her navigator made it back safely. The most 347 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,920 Speaker 1: experienced pilots who were out that night took similar maneuvers, 348 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,640 Speaker 1: but many of the less experienced ones who were there 349 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: when the tracers came out were hit, and the rest 350 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: of the regiment on the ground could see it all 351 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: happening from their position. Eight women were killed in that 352 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 1: one night. The Night which Is flew their last mission 353 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: in May of nineteen against some of the last resisting 354 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: German forces outside of Berlin. When they got the word 355 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,400 Speaker 1: of victory against Germany, they staged their own fireworks display 356 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: with their flares and their signal rockets and the end. 357 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: The Night which Is were the only one of the 358 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: three regiments formed from their original air group to remain 359 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: entirely composed of women throughout the entire duration of the war. 360 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: They were more highly decorated than either of the other 361 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 1: two women's flying regiments. Twenty three of them were named 362 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: Heroes of the Soviet Union. Five of those awards came 363 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: po Miss Lee. They flew roughly twenty four thousand combat 364 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: missions between May of nineteen forty two and May of 365 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five thirty of their pilots died over the 366 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: course of more than a thousand nights of combat, and 367 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: although they did not really talk about it during the war, 368 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: and it may not have been entirely conscious even on 369 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: their parts, many of the women who had been part 370 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 1: of the Night Witches talked in their later years about 371 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: how one of the driving forces behind their time in 372 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,399 Speaker 1: combat was actually the chauvinism that they faced from some 373 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: of the men in the military. They all pushed themselves really, 374 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: really hard to prove that they could work on equal 375 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: footing with men, and similarly, the other two women's regiments 376 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: had a lot of successes in the war as well. 377 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,119 Speaker 1: The Seventh Day Bombing Regiment was commanded by Major Marina 378 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,480 Speaker 1: Riskova until she was killed in action in nineteen forty three, 379 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: and Night Like the Night, which is the Day bombers, 380 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,159 Speaker 1: were eventually named a guard's regiment, which was a credit 381 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: to their work. The five hundred and eighty six fighters 382 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: mostly flew defensive missions. Lydia Litiac, the most famous of 383 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,440 Speaker 1: the fighter pilots, became known as the White Lily of Stalingrad, 384 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: which became the White Rows of Stalingrad in English reports. 385 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: So you'll see it both ways. She earned the title 386 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: of Flying Ace and she shot down twelve German aircraft 387 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: in a year of combat flying. This is also sometimes 388 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: reported with a different number. You'll see it as eleven, 389 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:27,399 Speaker 1: sometimes thirteen. She was eventually transferred to a men's regiment 390 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: along with seven other women fighter pilots. She was shot 391 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: down in the summer of nineteen forty three and presumably killed. 392 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: Because this was the focus of so many of the 393 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: articles that have prompted people to ask us to talk 394 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: about the night which is we're going to wrap up 395 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: with a little bit on Nadia Popova specifically. Popova flew 396 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: eight fifty two missions during her time with the Night Witches. 397 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: On August two of nineteen forty two, she was reported 398 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: missing after her fuel tank had caught fire after it 399 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 1: was hit by flak. After landing, she became separated from 400 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: her navigator and witnessed a German air strike against a 401 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 1: convoy of Russian tanks, but the bombs missed the tanks, 402 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:11,200 Speaker 1: instead mostly hitting a nearby column of fleeing refugees. While 403 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:13,680 Speaker 1: trying to make her way back to her unit, Popova 404 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: meant Simon Karlamov, an injured fighter pilot, and they tried 405 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: to keep in touch during the war. He proposed the 406 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: day the war was over, and the two married soon thereafter. 407 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 1: Nearly every article about the Night Witches and one of 408 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,639 Speaker 1: the books that I read ends with a quote from 409 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: Popova in interview. She said, I sometimes stare into the 410 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 1: blackness and close my eyes. I still imagine myself as 411 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:39,199 Speaker 1: a young girl up there in my little bomber, and 412 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:44,360 Speaker 1: I asked myself, Nadia, how did you do it? I 413 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 1: think many of us probably have that question, But even 414 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: having done it, she still has that question. They're also 415 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: so so many more stories of heroism and tragedy among 416 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: these women, and among the two other Soviet women's flying 417 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:02,360 Speaker 1: right as well, And if you are interested in more 418 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 1: of them, I recommend these two books which I read 419 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: for this episode. One is Night which is the untold 420 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,639 Speaker 1: story of Soviet women in combat by Bruce Miles, and 421 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: the other is A Dance with Death Soviet Air Women 422 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: in World War Two, which is compiled by Ann Noggle. 423 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 1: That one includes a lot of personal stories by the 424 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 1: women who were still surviving when you put the book together, 425 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: and there's also a tabletop game in the works. Uh. 426 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: This was funded through Kickstarter very successfully, bringing almost ten 427 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: times as much as they asked for UH and as 428 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: of this recording, that project was in the proofing stage. 429 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:39,239 Speaker 1: I really love tabletop games and so I want it 430 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: to be done and I want it to be good. 431 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: Pay so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since 432 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: this episode is out of the archive, if you heard 433 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: an email address or a Facebook U r L or 434 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 1: something similar over the course of the show, that could 435 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 1: be obsolete now. 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