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588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment after February 1943, the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment
One of three aviation regiments formed by Marina Raskova in October 1941, the 46th Guards flew more than 24,000 combat missions and 24 of its pilots and navigators received the Hero of the Soviet Union medal. The regiment was continuously in combat from May 1942 until May 1945. The 46th was the only aviation regiment that remained all-female throughout the war.
This unit is sometimes referred to as "the Night Witches," a name that was not particularly liked by some veterans. The Germans reportedly came up with the nickname, although it is not clear how German troops would have been able to determine that women were flying in any given area--in the dark. Only one of the dozens of Soviet night bomber regiments was staffed solely by women; the rest were primarily male. The women who flew in fighter, dive bomber and shturmovik units rarely flew night missions and the term "night witches" applies to them even less.
Night bomber units were created during the defense of Moscow in 1941. Most were equipped with the Po-2, an outdated, open-cockpit two-seat biplane. The short range of these aircraft meant that they were based very near the front. A typical mission lasted 30-50 minutes, and crews flew several times a night. Under the innovative command of Evdokia Bershanskaia, the 46th achieved a higher sortie rate than most other Po-2 units. Some pilots and navigators in the 46th Guards completed 800 or more combat sorties during the war; Irina Sebrova logged 1008.
Source:
Pennington, Reina. "Not Just Night Witches." Air Force Magazine, October 2014, 58-62.
Pennington, Reina. Wings, Women, & War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat. Edited by Theodore Wilson. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2001.
