An outstanding all-female flight team that helped defeat the Nazis

The new episode of the BBC History Secret Hero Podcast focuses on The Night Witches, a group of Russian female pilots bombing German troops under the cover of darkness.

World War II was filled with many extraordinary stories of heroism, and not everyone was there. Now, the BBC Radio 4's Historical Secret Heroes podcast, told by Helena Bonham Carter, has begun celebrating these nameless war heroes. It can be argued that none of them are more striking than the ones covered in the new series is that the squadron of the Russian female pilot flew at night and performed a secret bombing mission.

Germans will continue to call these women Nighttime Witchor night witch. They are an elite band of pilots, navigators, ground crews and mechanics whose passion for aviation and strong sense of responsibility have allowed them to break the gender barrier.

Wooden aircraft flying by night witches are often used to spray pesticides (credit: Andre Lind)

Andrei Linde — Wooden aircraft flying by night witches are often used to spray pesticides (credit: Andre Lind)

Those who were squadron included aspiring pilots and best friends Polina Gelman and Galya Dokutovich. Both learned to be young - In October 1941, the famous Soviet pilot Marina Raskova, who was ordered to recruit women into female flight units, including the Nighttime Witch, who seized the opportunity.

"They must be adrenaline addicts. They want to fly, they are crazy for flying." Historian Lyuba Vinogradova, author of the angel of Revenge: the Soviet Female Sniper of the Eastern Front (1941-45), said of the two women. "Secondly, they are very patriotic. So they both volunteered."

Their commander, Raskova, was an inspiration. "She is a great celebrity of her time. Her name, photos, her face is everywhere (country). She is a role model. She is a woman who shows that women are fully capable of doing this kind of flight."

Transform limitations into their strengths

The night witch trained near the Volga River near Engels in Russia and had to fit into the usual three years of training to three months. These women found themselves both selected as navigators, not pilots, which initially disappointed Dokutovich - although after she aired in the air, she became more positive about the result, writing: “Now, when you do a small flight!

These women have completed the work that should have three years of training in just three months (credit: Andre Lind)

Andrei Linde, a woman, completed three years of training that should be conducted in just three months (credit: Andrei Linde) — These women have completed the work that should have three years of training in just three months (credit: Andre Lind)

Because Soviet troops lacked aircraft, women were issued wooden PO-2 aircraft, which were not usually suitable for combat and were often used to spray pesticides. Most importantly, they didn't give guns, radios or parachutes. As a result, they prioritized carrying bombs.

When it comes to aircraft, they use their limitations to achieve their strengths: the PO-2 has little noise, is unable to track through radio locations, and is too small to appear on infrared locators. As a result, these women were able to fly over German territory, shut down the engine and glide - making it easier to release bombs without detection.

Soviet pilot girl fighting Nazis and becoming a star

According to Vinogradova, their action was relentlessly paced: "The aircraft took off every four minutes, bombs and turned back to the target, and another aircraft took their place."

The Germans spread the stories of the attacks that spanned the areas they occupied, describing the Night Witch as a supernatural force. They are named Nighttime Witchor night witches, because their wooden planes are compared to brooms, and their tactics make them feel as if they can appear and disappear without a trace.

The Secret Hero of History

Among the Secret Heroes in History, Helena Bonham Carter tells the story of heroes from World War II, whose resistance, deception and courage help defeat fascism. Learn all about forgotten survival, heroism and espionage - from opera singers who helped dozens of Jews escape Nazi Germany to the woman who Winston Churchill continues to call his favorite spy.

If you want to listen to the full podcast episode on The Nighttime Witch, search for the secret heroes of history anywhere on the podcast.

"The Victory of the Night Witch" won them and officially became the 46th Guard Night Bomber Airline Group in 1943. However, in July 1943, the Germans used a new tactic to surprise the pilots: they kept the air defense guns silent, but instead carried out night fighter air strikes on the bombers. Dokutovich was killed on July 31 with her seven compatriots, "witches", and what Vinogradova called "probably the worst night in the entire regiment's history." Nevertheless, the women continued to fight until the allies declared victory in May 1945.

"They are ready to go on missions at the airport," Vinogradova said of Gelman and other witches' commitment to the cause.

(In October 1945, the regiment was officially disbanded, which would make the difference that at the end of World War II, the only unit in the Red Army that was still entirely female. Gelman later joined the Military Foreign Language Institute and named his daughter Galya after his fallen friend.

Gelman died in 2005, at the end of her life, and she reflects why witches are so successful - thanks to the fact that they volunteer their duties. "It is their free will, and according to the call of the heart, it is always better than the obligation to perform," Gelman said in a speech to historian Reina Pennington.

*This article is adapted from the script of Alex von Tunzelmann.