The Russian Night Witches of World War II

In the 1930s, with the black clouds of war gathering over the skies of Europe once more, the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin pushed to demonstrate its technical prowess to the rest of the world, particularly in the air, where the Soviets established a number of endurance records for aircraft. To demonstrate how far the Soviet Union had come culturally, a number of these record-breaking efforts included female pilots and aircrew, and none were more famous than Marina Raskova. Often credited as the Soviet Union’s Amelia Earhart, Raskova was the first woman to qualify as a navigator in the Soviet Air Force in 1933 and was part of a record-breaking attempt for female aviators that saw her crew fly over 4,000 miles in a converted DB-2 long range bomber. This earned her celebrity status in the Soviet Union and crucially, influence over Stalin himself. For when war would finally break out between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Raskova would come to Stalin with a plan for women to join the men in the fight against fascist tyranny. This plan would result in one of the most famous flying units of World War II – the Night Witches.
Welcome to Wars of the World.

0:00 Introduction
1:54 The Great Patriotic War
9:59 Answering the Call of the Motherland
14:16 Baptism of Fire
17:26 The Night Witches
24:51 The End

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Narrated by: Will Earl
Written & Researched by: Tony Wilkins
Edited by: James Wade


History Should Never Be Forgotten...