Namely the night witches, an allfemale squadron of. The story of the russian female pilots of the 588th night bomber regiment. It will then be available for seven days on the bbc iplayer. Meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who bombed nazis by night. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The night witches russian combat pilots of world war twothe women of the russian 588th night bomber regiment flew their tiny vintage aircraft night after night against a betterarmed, betterequipped and bettertrained enemy during the battle for russia, one of the longest and most brutal campaigns of the second world war. The plane, made primarily of wood, and fabric covered, was. Popova and other night witches, the women look back at their service in the worlds first unit of female combat flight pilots with a. Night witches is the english translation of nachthexen, a world war ii german nickname russian, nochnye vedmy 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 night witches practiced what is known as harassment bombing. A thrilling account of russias women pilots in world war ii. Witches to attack, witches coming back as they appear on the horizon the wind will whisper when the night witches come.
Chorus from the depths of hell in silence cast their spells, explosive violence russian night time flight perfected flawless vision, undetected. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale force in. The night witches achieved great success during the war, many of them receiving the honorable title of hero of the soviet union. Reading the graphic novel the night witches, about female pilots who flew for the russians in world war ii, i thought about jane austen. Night witches is the incredible true story of the all female soviet 46th guards night bomber regiment.
The one thing the po 2 had going for it, and which the night witches used to full effect, was its remarkable maneuverability. Shes a pilot whos always felt more at home soaring through the sky than down on earth. When you think of the bitter battles between the forces of soviet russia and nazi germany during world war two, images of men killing each other amid frozen wastes and ruined cityscapes will probably come to mind. With outdated biplanes, no radio, lights, defenses nor parachutes, these ww2 soviet pilots terrorized the germans. When we think of world war ii, we envision a catastrophe of massive. Their targets were encampments, supply depots, rear base areas, etc. Amid their heroism, many of the women lost their lives when shot down by antiaircraft fire and, in some cases, fired. Religion, superstition and the belief in witches is strictly outlawed. 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.
Sabaton night witches official lyric video youtube. 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. Its spellbinding story, kickass female characters, and richly imagined worldbuilding are more than enough reasons for it to land a spot in my favorite book of 20 list. Fortunately, i found night witches by mirren hogan. The glory and the pain of war are brought to life by the legendary team of garth ennis and russ braun. The night witches name stuck and is how they are commonly referred to now. 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. Bibliography the female soviet secret the night witches. The women of the regiment were nicknamed nachthexen or night witches, because as they approached their targets, they idled their engines and swooped in quietly. It is written for the younger generation, so being old i did wish that sometimes kathryn lasky had gone into more details. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale force in wwii. Well, full disclosureeg dad found hogan and her novel at supanova sydney 2017 and knew it was exactly the type of book i would love to read.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Flying without parachutes, from rough fields only a few minutes away from the front, the night witches nachthexen, as the exasperated germans called them often managed five or even ten combat missions per night. Jun 18, 2015 night witch commemorative stamps photo. I believe these women are surviving night witches, soviet bomber. Many soviet women had grown weary of playing a support role during the war and wanted to. The night witches were not treated equally to their male counterparts. The night witches decorated their planes with flowers and painted their lips with navigational pencils then struck fear into the hearts of the nazis. She was a nervous wreck before each of her 935 missions, and slept only two to four hours a day for the entirety of the war. Mirren hogans night witches is an engaging and fascinating historical novel that tugs at the emotions while delivering authentic details and events. But since the germans surrounded stalingrad, valyas been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble. The title night witches is a bit misleading for great patriotic war buffs.
The women would fly twelve or more missions per night, dropping bombs on nazi encampments, keeping them awake and on edge at all hours. Nadia valinksky, a student teacher from moscow, wants to do more than dig ditches as the nazis advance on moscow in 1941. Kermit weeks flies his polikarpov po 2 soviet biplane on a beautiful afternoon. May 27, 2011 the planes carried no guns and only had enough weight allowance to take two bombs up on a flight, forcing the night witches to make multiple sorties in a single night, returning to base each time to collect more bombs. Night witch flew bomber planes during world war ii.
Ww2 night witches terrified the german army youtube. On the night of june, 1944, at a meeting of the state committee for war. It is about the coming of age of a young russian woman who becomes a night witch. These women used old biplanes to bomb german targets. In the nazioccupied soviet union, german soldiers had a very real fear of witches. The planes also produced a sound similar to a sewing machine, which is how the finnish troops referred to them. The littleknown story of the night witches, an allfemale. Jun 25, 2015 in the nazioccupied soviet union, german soldiers had a very real fear of witches. A novel of world war ii by kathryn lasky it 1941, and the nazi have just begun operation barbarossa, their invasion of russia. Night witches film by gunilla bresky part 02 youtube. Night witches by lj adlington doesnt need aerial flips and maneuvers to become my favorite. I found the book to be full of history that i knew little about.
The amazing story of russias women pilots in wwii from the worlds largest community of readers. The story of the night witches is one of my faovrite tales of world war ii. I had never heard of the night witches, nor had i ever read a book on wwii based in russia. The beloved new york times bestselling author of the modern classic frindle. From 1942 to 1945, this allfemale squadron dropped 23,000 tons of bombs and was feared by. The only regiment made up entirely of women ages 17 to 23 wore handmedowns from male pilots and flew militarized. The new books network is a consortium of authorinterview podcast. Namely, the night witches, an allfemale squadron of bomber pilots who ran thousands of daring bombing. When her mother is killed during the siege, valya is left with one burning desire. Jul 15, 20 night witch flew bomber planes during world war ii as a young woman, nadezhda popova volunteered as a pilot during world war ii to drop bombs on german troops, flying planes made of plywood and.
Little witchs big night step into reading by deborah hautzig and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The night witches of world war two tv shows history tv. She learns that the air force is recruiting women under the leadership of aviator marina. Individual stories of night witches mariya smirnova was a peasant from a village school who became a squadron commander.
Far less is written about their russian counterparts, the night witches of the 588th night bomber regiment. 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. These young women enlisted after learning to fly at their hometown clubs, and they became national heroes. This novel does a great job capturing many aspects of the war on the. Popova was a member of a renowned unit of deadly female soviet pilots called the night witches by german invaders because of the sound their plywood planes made. A group that got attention in myles book was the night witches. They would fly slow biplanes so low that they did not have parachutes. Namely, the night witches, an allfemale squadron of bomber pilots who. He had cities named after him like stalingrad, and soviet history books were rewritten. Jul 15, 20 the night witches were largely unique among the female combatants and even the female flyersof world war ii. Gr 7 uplaskys latest historical fiction novel flies readers to world war ii europe on a lifethreatening adventure. Night witches is a fictional novel, telling the story of the night witches through the eyes of one pilot, nadia valinsky. It is incredibly powerful, emotional, terrifying and fucking badass.
The women sometimes flew multiple missions in a single night, once 18 missions in one night by a. Polikarpov po2 flight soviet night witches youtube. The author also covers the day bomber crews and coolest of all the free hunter fighter pilots which include the amazing litvak. Nov 02, 2009 night witches will be broadcast on bbc radio 4 at 2002 on monday 2 november 2009.
In january 1943, raskova was killed when her pe 2 crashed in a snowstorm near stalingrad. This is slower than even most world war i fighters and left them very vulnerable to enemy night fighters. This was the kind of book i would have liked to read when i was a kid. The po 2 was very slow, but it was also extremely maneuverable. The actual night witches a german coinage for the women night bomber pilots and navigators are only one third of the story. Jun 02, 2014 the story of the russian female pilots of the 588th night bomber regiment. The night witches were largely unique among the female combatants and even the female flyersof world war ii. Night witches by mirren hogan goodreads share book. Nazi soldier have surrounded stalingrad on three sides the fourth side is the volga river, making it impossible for people and supplies to get in or out of the city. This page follows the creative process of night witches from their. I came across the history of these women flyers quite by accident after seeing the plane they flew at an airshow. Jun 07, 2019 meet the night witches, the daring female pilots who bombed nazis by night. In germany, hexennacht witches night, the night from 30 april to 1 may, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the brocken and await the arrival of spring and is held on the same night as saint walpurgis night sankt walpurgisnacht. The amazing story of russias women pilots in world war ii.
Night witch posted on march 25, 2017 by laurence hallam still plugging the wait between rivers of london novels, night witch is the second graphic novel from titan books, collecting the five monthly issues originally published in 2016. Miss america punched night witch, causing her to drop fuchs into the whizzers arms, and the speedster hastily departed with him before the soviets could stop him. Night witch flew bomber planes during world war ii as a young woman, nadezhda popova volunteered as a pilot during world war ii to drop bombs on german troops, flying planes made of plywood and. I was really in love with the portraitoriented booklet, which i still think holds a lot of potential, but for night witches it was a poor fit and i reverted to a more common format. A rarely told story of sisterhood, passion, and survival during world war ii. Night witches is a tabletop roleplaying game about women at war. Their constant raids made rest for the troops difficult and left them feeling very insecure. The top speed of the po 2 biplane was 94 mph 82 knots. Photos from the founding of a republic 2 hu jun, jiang wen, john. Night witches is a fictional novel, telling the story of the night witches through the eyes of one pilot, nadia. Night witches tells the story of valya, a sixteen year old russian orphan who, along with her sister tatyana, joins the 588th night bomber regiment, an allfemale regiment of bomber pilots who spent the latter part of wwii harassing german troops. In the united states, the history of the womens air service pilots wasp is reasonably well known, and their heroics are celebrated. The night witches of world war two image of the 46th taman guards night bomber aviation regiment also known as the night witches.
Watch the video for night witches from sabatons heroes for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Night witches by kathryn lasky nook book ebook barnes. Soviet night witches pilots aircrew remembered site. In her classy new thriller, night witches, our teenage heroine is rain aranoza, a teenage bomber pilot from rodina, a nation ruled by the allseeing, allknowing aura, and founded on an absolute belief in science and fact. Jul 08, 2008 witches night is a throwback to the horror classics of the 1970s, and features many of the same elements. As a member of the 588th night bomber regiment, youll answer the call of your motherland in her darkest hour. Untold story of soviet women in combat new ed by myles, bruce isbn. Bruce myles wrote a fascinating account of soviet women who volunteered for combat duty during ww ii. The story of the night witches, the allfemale antifascist bomber squad.