June 1942 was difficult for the Red Army. German troops developed an offensive on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front. At this time, the command of the 218th Night Bomber Aviation Division introduced the 588th Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment into battle. The regiment began combat work, striking German lines in the south of Donbass in the area of ​​the Mius River. A fierce battle broke out here for the approaches to the Kuban and the North Caucasus.

The first to fly out on a combat mission were 3 crews - regiment commander E. D. Bershanskaya with regiment navigator Sofia Burzaeva and squadron commanders Serafima Amosova with navigator Larisa Rozanova and Lyubov Olkhovskaya with navigator Vera Tarasova. The entire regiment accompanied them. It was June 8, 1942. The first bombs with the inscription “For the Motherland!” fell on the heads of the enemies. The pilots, maneuvering in the night sky, broke through the curtain of anti-aircraft fire and completed the mission. However, the crew of L. Olkhovskaya and V. Tarasova were seriously wounded by the explosion of an enemy shell; they tried to reach their airfield, but were forced to land. Residents found them dead. In place of those killed, the excellent pilot Dina Nikulina was appointed squadron commander and the navigator, a former student of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow University, Zhenya Rudneva. On the eve of the first combat mission, many girls, including Dina Nikulina and Zhenya Rudneva, submitted applications asking for admission to the ranks of the Communist Party.

The next night, the entire 588th Regiment - 20 crews - took off. The first massive raid on the enemy was dedicated to the memory of fallen combat friends.

Day after day (more precisely, night after night), the pilots of the 588th regiment increased their attacks on the Nazi invaders. With the onset of darkness and until dawn, bombs flew onto the heads of enemies. Until the summer of 1944, crews flew without parachutes, preferring instead to take with them an extra 20 kilograms of bombs. The small U-2 terrified the enemy, and already in 1942, German pilots and anti-aircraft gunners were often awarded the Iron Cross for each downed “maize plant.”

During the war, the number of personnel in the regiment increased from 112 to 190 people, and the number of combat vehicles - from 20 to 45 aircraft. The regiment finished its combat journey with 36 combat aircraft. During the battles, the combat skills and flying skills of the girls were improved.

Every night they made several sorties to bomb the enemy, bringing the combat load to the maximum limit. When breaking through enemy defenses on the Narew River near Warsaw, the regiment flew 324 sorties in one night. Night flights and constant danger required great exertion of physical and moral strength. But no one tarnished the honor of their regiment in any way.

The 588th regiment began its combat journey in the Salsky steppes and ended it on the territory fascist Germany. Brave female pilots destroyed enemy crossings and defensive structures, destroyed enemy equipment and manpower. The regiment took part in offensive operations in the Mozdok area, on the Terek River and the Kuban, contributed to the liberation of Sevastopol, Mogilev, Bialystok, Warsaw, Gdynia, Gdansk (Danzig), and assisted ground units in breaking through enemy defenses on the Oder. For successful fighting In breaking through the strong defensive zone "Blue Line" on the Taman Peninsula, the regiment received the honorary name "Taman".

For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command for the defense of the North Caucasus, the regiment was awarded the highest military honor: in February 1943 it was reorganized into the 46th Guards NBAP. For the liberation of Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and for the liberation of Poland and the defeat of the enemy in East Prussia- Order of Suvorov, 3rd degree. In February 1945, the Komsomol Central Committee awarded the Komsomol organization of the regiment with a Certificate of Honor.

During the war, the 46th Guards Taman Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment was transformed from a 2-squadron regiment into a 3-squadron regiment, and then a 4-squadron regiment. This restructuring, which contributed to the intensification of attacks on the enemy, caused the need to replenish new personnel of pilots, technicians and armed forces. This task was successfully solved. During the war, the regiment received 95 people as reinforcements. Of these, and mainly from among the former personnel, 36 pilots, 35 navigators and 8 aircraft mechanics were trained directly in a combat situation on their own. In addition, specialists of this profile arrived in the regiment and as part of the specified replenishment. A number of navigators were retrained as pilots, and mechanics and military personnel mastered the specialty of navigators.

Each combat mission was a test of will, courage, and devotion to our Motherland. On the way to many targets, the slow-moving U-2, lacking armor protection, was met by the enemy with dense anti-aircraft fire. The pilots required true art, skill and perseverance to break through the curtain of fire and complete the combat mission.

The regiment lost 28 aircraft, 13 pilots and 10 navigators from enemy fire. Among fallen commanders squadrons O. A. Sanfirova, P. A. Makogon, L. Olkhovskaya, air unit commander T. Makarova, regiment navigator E. M. Rudneva, squadron navigators V. Tarasova and L. Svistunova. Among the dead were Heroes of the Soviet Union E. I. Nosal, O. A. Sanfirova, V. L. Belik, E. M. Rudneva.

During the war, the regiment inflicted enormous damage to enemy personnel and equipment. The brave pilots carried out 23,672 combat sorties at night and dropped 2,902,980 kg of bomb load and 26,000 ampoules of flammable liquid on the heads of enemies. According to far from complete data, the regiment destroyed and damaged 17 crossings, 9 railway trains, 2 railway stations, 46 ammunition and fuel warehouses, 12 fuel tanks, 1 aircraft, 2 barges, 76 vehicles, 86 firing points, 11 searchlights. 811 fires and 1092 high-power explosions were caused in the enemy camp. The pilots dropped 155 bags of ammunition and food to our surrounded troops. The aircraft of the 46th Guards Taman Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov Aviation Regiment were in combat flights for 28,676 hours, in other words, 1191 full days without a break. This was a great contribution of Soviet patriots to the defeat of the enemy.

During the war years, 23 servicemen of the regiment were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union:

Guard senior lieutenant Aronova Raisa Ermolaevna - 960 combat missions. Awarded on May 15, 1946.
- Guard senior lieutenant Vera Lukyanovna Belik - 813 combat missions. Awarded posthumously on February 23, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Rufina Sergeevna Gasheva - 848 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Polina Vladimirovna Gelman - 860 combat missions. Awarded on May 15, 1946.
- Guard senior lieutenant Zhigulenko Evgenia Andreevna - 968 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945.
- Guard Captain Litvinova (Rozanova) Larisa Nikolaevna - 793 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1948.
- Guard senior lieutenant Tatyana Petrovna Makarova - 628 combat missions. Awarded posthumously on February 23, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Natalya Fedorovna Meklin - 980 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945.
- Guard captain Nikulina Evdokia Andreevna - 760 combat missions. Awarded on October 26, 1944.
- Guard Lieutenant Evdokia Ivanovna Nosal - 354 combat missions. Awarded posthumously on May 24, 1943.
- Guard senior lieutenant Zoya Ivanovna Parfyonova - 739 combat missions. Awarded on August 18, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Evdokia Borisovna Pasko - 790 combat missions. Awarded on October 26, 1944.
- Guard captain Anastasia Vasilievna Popova - 852 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Nina Maksimovna Raspopova - 805 combat missions. Awarded on May 15, 1946.
- Guard Lieutenant Evgenia Maksimovna Rudneva - 645 combat missions. Awarded posthumously on October 26, 1944.
- Guard senior lieutenant Ekaterina Vasilievna Ryabova - 890 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945.
- Guard captain Olga Aleksandrovna Sanfirova - 630 combat missions. Awarded posthumously on February 23, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Sebrova Irina Fedorovna - 1004 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945.
- Guard captain Maria Vasilievna Smirnova - 950 sorties. Awarded on October 26, 1944.
- Guard senior lieutenant Syrtlanova Maguba Guseinovna - 782 combat missions. Awarded on May 15, 1946.
- Guard senior lieutenant Ulyanenko Nina Zakharovna - 915 combat missions. Awarded on August 18, 1945.
- Guard senior lieutenant Antonina Fedorovna Khudyakova - 926 combat missions. Awarded on May 15, 1946.
- Guard captain Marina Pavlovna Chechneva - 810 combat missions. Awarded on May 15, 1946.

In 1994 - 1995, 2 more former navigators of the regiment received the title of Hero of Russia:

Guard senior lieutenant Akimova Alexandra Fedorovna - 680 combat missions. Awarded on December 31, 1994.
- Guard senior lieutenant Tatyana Nikolaevna Sumarokova - 725 combat missions. Awarded on October 11, 1995.

One pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

Guard senior lieutenant Dospanova Khiuaz Kairovna - more than 300 combat missions. Awarded on December 7, 2004.

* * *

OUR FAVORITE COMMANDER

“Today, on International Women’s Day, we are summing up some preliminary results of our work, the work of the pilots. Almost all of us from the first days Patriotic War We are at the front and destroying German invaders from the air.

We girls made 20,000 combat missions, spent 25,000 hours in the air and from there dropped a deadly load on the heads of the enemy.

Our 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Taman Regiment has come a long way. Many of us took part in the defense of the North Caucasus. We crushed the enemy in Kuban, Taman, on the Kerch and Crimean peninsulas, in Belarus, fought for the liberation of Poland, and now we are delivering blow after blow to the Nazis in Eastern Pomerania.

For exemplary performance of command tasks, the regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. About 200 people from the regiment were awarded orders and medals, including two orders - 60 people, three - 30 people, and 10 people - four times order bearers. Recently, 13 pilots of the regiment were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 4 of them posthumously.

E. D. Bershanskaya.

Our regiment was repeatedly named in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Just the day before yesterday, the order noted that the pilots of Lieutenant Colonel E.D. Bershanskaya distinguished themselves in battles.

Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya - regiment commander. We owe much of our success to her. From the first days of the Patriotic War, she skillfully commanded our night bomber aviation regiment. Evdokia Bershanskaya graduated from the aviation pilot school in 1932, in 1933 she was already a pilot - a school instructor, then a flight commander, squad leader. And so, step by step, she reached the regiment commander.

We love our commander. We believe her. She herself sets an example of heroism and courage. She loves flying and has flown about 3,000 hours. Personally carried out 20 combat missions. And in each such flight she destroyed many enemies. As a commander, she pays great attention to the training of flight and navigator personnel and aircraft navigation in night conditions.

Our regiment is formed of volunteer girls who have never served in the Red Army before. And here, in combat conditions, on the battlefield, Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya, as a regiment commander, managed to rally a friendly team that enjoys good reputation among the regiments of our aviation division.

We took a solemn oath to beat the enemy even harder. We keep our word. Without sparing lives, we deal him blow after blow.

The Nazis contemptuously called our plane “Russ - plywood”. But on their backs and heads they felt the power of our magnificent aircraft. Soon "Russ - plywood" will appear over Berlin. There's not long to wait."

This letter from the Heroes of the Soviet Union to Guard Major Evdokia Nikulina and Guard Senior Lieutenant Rufina Gasheva was published in the Pravda newspaper on March 8, 1945.

(From the collection "Victory Banners", volume 1, Pravda Publishing House, Moscow, 1975.)

How many heroic deeds our ancestors performed during the Great Patriotic War. Soviet women and even very young girls took part in the fight against the enemy along with men. Several years before the Nazi offensive, mass training of young people in flying clubs was launched in the vastness of the Soviet Union. The profession of a pilot was so romantic and attractive that not only enthusiastic young men, but also girls aspired to the sky. As a result, by June 1941 the country had a staff of young pilots, this circumstance once again refutes the assertions that the USSR was completely unprepared for war, and the country’s leadership did not expect an attack.

In October 1941, in a difficult military situation, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR issued an order to form the women's aviation regiment No. 0099. Responsibility for the execution of the order was assigned to Maria Raskova. In their interviews, the surviving female front-line soldiers speak of Raskova as the most authoritative person in their midst. Her orders were not discussed; young girls who came from different parts of the country, who had just completed pilot courses, looked at Raskova as a pilot of an unattainable level. By that time, Raskova was a little over twenty-five years old, but even then Maria Mikhailovna was a Hero of the USSR. An amazing, brave and very beautiful woman died in 1943 in a plane crash in difficult weather conditions near the village of Mikhailovka in the Saratov region. Maria Raskova was cremated, and the urn with her ashes was placed in the Kremlin wall so that grateful descendants could lay flowers and honor the memory of the woman hero.

In accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Defense, Maria Mikhailovna formed three units:
Fighter Aviation Regiment 586;
aviation regiment BB 587;
night aviation regiment 588 (legendary “night witches”).

The first two units became mixed during the war; not only girls, but also Soviet men fought valiantly in them. The night aviation regiment consisted exclusively of women; even the heaviest work here was performed by the fairer sex.

At the head of the “night witches” or 46th Guards NBP was the experienced pilot Evdokia Bershanskaya. Evdokia Davydovna was born in the Stavropol Territory in 1913. Her parents died during the period Civil War, and the girl was raised by her uncle. The strong character of this woman allowed her to become a brilliant pilot and commander. By the beginning of the war, Evdokia Bershanskaya already had ten years of flying experience, and she diligently passed on her knowledge to her young subordinates. Evdokia Davydovna went through the entire war, and after that she worked for a long time in public organizations for the benefit of the Fatherland.

Regiment commander Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya and regiment navigator Hero of the Soviet Union Larisa Rozanova. 1945

The regiment entrusted to Bershanskaya was sometimes called “Dunkin”. This name exudes all the brave female pilots. Plywood, light Po-2 aircraft were not at all suitable for fierce battles with the German invaders. The Germans openly laughed at the sight of this fragile structure. Often the girls were not taken seriously, and throughout the war they had to prove their skills and demonstrate the capabilities of the “whatnot”. The risk was extremely high, since the Po-2 quickly caught fire and was completely devoid of any armor or other type of protection. Po-2 is a civil aircraft used for transport purposes, as well as in the field of communications. The girls independently suspended the bomb load on special beams on the lower plane of the aircraft, which sometimes exceeded 300 kg. Each shift could carry a weight reaching a ton. The girls worked under extreme pressure, which allowed them to fight the enemy on equal terms with men. If earlier the Germans laughed at the mention of the “Kuban bookcase,” then after the raids they began to call the regiment “night witches” and attribute magical properties to them. Probably, the fascists simply could not imagine that Soviet girls were capable of such feats.

Maria Runt, a native of Samara and the same age as Bershanskaya, was responsible for party work in the regiment of girls studying flying in the city of Engels. She was an experienced and courageous bomber pilot who patiently shared her experience with the younger generation. Before and after the war, Runt worked pedagogical work and even defended her Ph.D. dissertation.

Combat aircraft PO-2, on which the crews of the regiment flew to bomb the Nazis

The baptism of fire of the 46th Guards National Guard took place in mid-June 1942. The lungs of the Po-2s soared into the sky. Pilot Bershanskaya and navigator Sofia Burzaeva, as well as Amosova and Rozanova, went on the first flight. According to the stories of the pilots, the expected fire from the enemy position did not come and the crew of Amosov-Rozanov circled three times over the given target - the mine - to drop the deadly load. Today we can judge the events of that time only from documents and a few interviews with direct participants in combat missions. In 1994, Larisa Rozanova, navigator, born in 1918, son of the hero of the USSR Aronova, and Olga Yakovleva, navigator, spoke about the exploits of the women's air regiment. They describe all the difficulties and horrors of war that fragile Soviet girls had to face, as well as the heroic pilots and navigators who died.

It should be said separately about each of those who, in the light Po-2s, terrified the invaders. Larisa Rozanova was refused several times to her requests to be sent to the front. After order No. 0099 was issued, Rozanova ended up in a flight school in the city of Engels, and then in the 46th Guards. During the war she flew over Stavropol Territory and Kuban, soared on her light Po-2 over the North Caucasus and Novorossiysk. Rozanova contributed to the liberation of Poland and Belarus and celebrated the victory in Germany. Larisa Nikolaevna died in 1997, having lived a long and interesting life.

Flight commander Tanya Makarova and navigator Vera Belik. 1942 Posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union

Olga Yakovleva went from a soldier to a navigator, participated in the battles with the invaders for the Caucasus, as well as in the liberation of Crimea, Kuban and Belarus. The brave woman carried out well-aimed bomb attacks on enemy targets in East Prussia.

The regiment's combat path is a series of glorious exploits, to which each of the “night witches” made a contribution. Despite the formidable name that the Nazis gave to the women's air regiment, for the Russian people they will forever remain noble conquerors of the sky. After the first combat mission took place, young girls fought on light plywood “shelves” for a long time. From August to December 1942 they defended Vladikavkaz. In January 1943, the regiment was sent to help break through the line of German troops on the Terek, as well as to support offensive operations in the area of ​​Sevastopol and Kuban. From March to September of the same year, the girls undertook operations on the Blue Front Line, and from November to May 1944 they covered the landing on the Taman Peninsula Soviet forces. The regiment was involved in actions to break through the fascist defenses near Kerch, in the village of Eltigen, as well as in the liberation of Sevastopol and Crimea. From June to July 1944, the women's aviation regiment was thrown into battle on the Pronya River, and from August of the same year it flew flights across the territory of occupied Poland. From the beginning of 1945, the girls were transferred to East Prussia, where the “night witches” on PO-2 successfully fought and supported the crossing of the Narew River. March 1945 is marked in the history of the valiant regiment by its participation in the liberation battles for Gdansk and Gdynia, and from April to May, brave female pilots supported the offensive Soviet Army for the retreating fascists. Over the entire period, the regiment flew over twenty-three thousand combat missions, most of which took place in difficult conditions. On October 15, 1945, the regiment was disbanded, and the bulk of the girls were demobilized.

Mechanics at the airport. Summer 1943

Twenty-three brave pilots of the 49th Women's Aviation Regiment were awarded the title of Hero of the USSR. Evdokia Nosal, a native of the Zaporozhye region, was killed by a shell that exploded in the cabin in the battles for Novorossiysk. Evgenia Rudneva, also from Zaporozhye, died in April 1944 on a combat mission in the sky north of Kerch. Tatyana Makarova, a 24-year-old Muscovite, burned to death on a plane in 1944 in the battles for Poland. Vera Belik, a girl from the Zaporozhye region, died along with Makarova in the sky over Poland. Olga Sanfirova, born in 1917 in the city of Kuibyshev, died in December 1944 on a combat mission. Maria Smirnova from the Tver region, a smiling Karelian, retired with the rank of guard major, lived long life and died in 2002. Evdokia Pasko is a girl from Kyrgyzstan, born in 1919, who retired with the rank of senior lieutenant. Irina Sebrova from the Tula region, since 1948 senior lieutenant in the reserve. Natalya Meklin, a native of the Poltava region, also survived bloody battles and retired with the rank of guard major, died in 2005. Evgenia Zhigulenko, a resident of Krasnodar, with beautiful eyes and an open smile, also became a Hero of the USSR in 1945. Evdokia Nikulina, a native of the Kaluga region, joined the guard reserve as a major and lived until 1993 after the war. Raisa Aronova, a girl from Saratov, retired as a major and died in 1982. Antonia Khudyakova, Nina Ulyanenko, Polina Gelman, Ekaterina Ryabova, Nadezhda Popova, Nina Raspolova, Rufina Gasheva, Syrtlanova Maguba, Larisa Rozanova, Tatyana Sumarokova, Zoya Parfenova, Khivaz Dospanova and Alexandra Akimova also became heroes of the USSR in the valiant 49th Aviation Regiment.

Checking machine guns. Left st. weapons technician of the 2nd squadron Nina Buzina. 1943

About each of these great women, as well as about other girls who served in the 49th regiment, called “night witches” by the Nazis, you can write not only an article, but also a book. Each of them has passed a difficult path and is worthy of memory and respect. Soviet women fought not for the party and not for Soviet power, they fought for our future, for the right of subsequent generations to live free.

In 2005, a literary “creation” called “Field Wives” was published, the authors of which are certain Olga and Oleg Greig. Not to mention this scandalous fact, which is the product of attempts to interpret historical truth, would be criminal. The mentioned "creators" proud word the writer has no desire to name them, they tried to denigrate the bright memory of heroic women with allegations of their sexual promiscuity and other vices. To refute the shameful and narrow-minded speculation, I would like to remind you that not a single fighter of the 49th Women’s Aviation Regiment left the ranks due to gynecological diseases or pregnancy. We will not deny that, based on the real story of Nadya Popova and Semyon Kharlamov, the love story was highlighted in the film “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” but people with stable moral values ​​perfectly understand the differences between sexual promiscuity and high feelings.

Heroes of the Soviet Union: Tanya Makarova, Vera Belik, Polya Gelman, Katya Ryabova, Dina Nikulina, Nadya Popova. 1944

The war is over. Girls in the parking lot of their "swallows". Ahead of Serafim Amosov is the deputy. regiment commander, followed by Hero of the Soviet Union Natasha Meklin. 1945

Heroes of the Soviet Union: squadron commander Maria Smirnova and navigator Tatyana Sumarokova. 1945

Heroes of the Soviet Union Nadezhda Popova and Larisa Rozanova. 1945

The war has no woman's face... This is probably why we look so closely at images of women in war photographs and are interested in their fates in the war. It is women's war stories that are especially touchingly reflected in fiction, and in the cinema. Below we will talk about the aviation regiment, which was formed to fight the fascist invader. “Night witches” - that’s what the enemies called this regiment. All his warriors - from pilots and navigators to technicians - were women.

History of the creation of the 46th Aviation Regiment

In 1941, in the city of Engels, under the personal responsibility of Senior Lieutenant of State Security Marina Paskova, the 46th Guards Night Bomber Women's Aviation Regiment was founded , which in the future was dubbed “Night Witches”.

Marina Raskova is the founder of the women's air regiment.
In 1941, Marina Raskova was 29 years old.

To do this, Mapina had to use her personal resources and personal acquaintance with Stalin. No one really counted on success, but they gave us the go-ahead and provided us with the necessary equipment. Evdokia Bershanskaya, a pilot with ten years of experience, was appointed commander of the regiment. Under her command the regiment fought until the end of the war. Sometimes this regiment was jokingly called “Dunkin’s Regiment,” hinting at its all-female composition, and justified by the name of the regiment commander.
The enemy called the pilots “Night Witches,” who suddenly silently appeared on small planes.

The 46th Guards Taman Regiment is a unique and only unit in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. There were three aviation regiments in which women flew: fighter, heavy bomber and light bomber.

Natalya Meklin (Kravtsova), at the age of 20, was enrolled in the air regiment. Hero of the Soviet Union.

The first two regiments were mixed, and only the last, which flew the Po-2 light bomber, was exclusively female. Pilots and navigators, commanders and commissars, instrument operators and electricians, technicians and armed forces, clerks and staff workers - all these were women. And all, even the hardest work was done by women's hands. None of the reinforcements had experience flying at night, so they flew under a canopy that created an imitation of darkness. Soon the regiment was transferred to Krasnodar, and night witches began to fly over the Caucasus.

There were no men in the regiment, so the “feminine spirit” was manifested in everything: the neatness of the uniform, the cleanliness and comfort of the hostel, the culture of leisure, the absence of rude and obscene words, in dozens of other little things. And as for combat work...

Our regiment was sent to carry out the most difficult tasks; we flew until complete physical exhaustion. There were cases when crews were unable to leave the cockpit due to fatigue, and they had to be helped

The flight lasted about an hour - long enough to reach a target in the immediate enemy rear or front line, drop bombs and return home. In one summer night they managed to make 5-6 combat sorties, in winter - 10-12. We had to work both in the dagger rays of German searchlights and under heavy artillery fire,” recalled Evdokia Rachkevich.

Aircraft and weapons of the “night witches”

The “Night Witches” flew on Polikarpov, or Po-2, biplanes. The number of combat vehicles increased in a couple of years from 20 to 45. This aircraft was initially created not for combat at all, but for exercises. It didn’t even have a compartment for bombs (shells were hung under the “belly” of the plane on special bomb racks”). The maximum speed that such a car could reach was 120 km/h. With such modest weapons, the girls showed miracles of piloting. This is despite the fact that each Po-2 carried the load of a large bomber, often up to 200 kg at a time. The female pilots fought only at night. Moreover, in one night they made several sorties, terrifying enemy positions. The girls did not have parachutes on board, being literally suicide bombers. If a shell hit the plane, their only option was to die heroically. The pilots loaded the places designated by technology for parachutes with bombs. Another 20 kg of weapons was a serious help in battle. Until 1944, these training aircraft were not equipped with machine guns. Both the pilot and the navigator could control them, so if the first died, his partner could bring combat vehicle to the airfield.

“Our training aircraft was not created for military operations. A wooden biplane with two open cockpits, located one behind the other, and dual controls for the pilot and navigator. (Before the war, pilots were trained on these machines). Without radio communications and armored backs that could protect the crew from bullets, with a low-power engine that could reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h. The plane did not have a bomb bay; bombs were hung in bomb racks directly under the plane of the plane. There were no sights, we created them ourselves and called them PPR (simpler steamed turnips). The amount of bomb cargo varied from 100 to 300 kg. On average we took 150-200 kg. But during the night the plane managed to make several sorties, and the total bomb load was comparable to the load of a large bomber.Machine guns on airplanes also appeared only in 1944. Before this, the only weapons on board were TT pistols.”- the pilots recalled.

IN modern language the plywood bomber Po-2 could be called a stealth aircraft. At night, at low altitude and low level flight, German radars could not detect him. German fighters were afraid to huddle too close to the ground, and often this was what saved the lives of the pilots. That is why the girls from the night bomber regiment received such an ominous nickname - night witches. But if the Po-2 fell into the searchlight beam, it was not difficult to shoot it down.

War. Battle path

After night flights, the stiff girls had difficulty getting to the barracks. They were carried straight from the cabin by their friends, who had already managed to warm up, because their arms and legs, shackled by the cold, did not obey

• During the hostilities, the pilots of the air regiment carried out 23,672 combat missions. The breaks between flights were 5-8 minutes; sometimes the crew made 6-8 flights per night in the summer and 10-12 in the winter.
• In total, the planes were in the air for 28,676 hours (1,191 full days).
• The pilots dropped more than 3 thousand tons of bombs and 26,000 incendiary shells. The regiment destroyed and damaged 17 crossings, 9 railway trains, 2 railway stations, 26 warehouses, 12 fuel tanks, 176 cars, 86 firing points, 11 searchlights.
• 811 fires and 1092 high-power explosions were caused.
• Also, 155 bags of ammunition and food were dropped to the surrounded Soviet troops.

Before the battle for Novorossiysk, base near Gelendzhik

Until mid-1944, the regiment's crews flew without parachutes, preferring to take an extra 20 kg of bombs with them. But after heavy losses I had to make friends with the white dome. We didn’t do this very willingly - the parachute hampered our movements, and by the morning our shoulders and back ached from the straps.
If there were no night flights, then during the day the girls played chess, wrote letters to their relatives, read, or, gathered in a circle, sang. They also embroidered with the “Bulgarian cross”. Sometimes the girls organized amateur evenings, to which they invited aviators from a neighboring regiment, who also flew at night on low-speed aircraft.

Novorossiysk is taken - the girls are dancing

The regiment's combat losses amounted to 32 people. Despite the fact that the pilots died behind the front line, not one of them is considered missing. After the war, regimental commissar Evdokia Yakovlevna Rachkevich, using money collected by the entire regiment, traveled to all the places where planes had crashed and found the graves of all those killed.

Composition of the regiment

On May 23, 1942, the regiment flew to the front, where it arrived on May 27. Then its number was 115 people - the majority were aged from 17 to 22 years.

Pilots heroes of the Soviet Union - Rufina Gasheva (left) and Natalya Meklin

During the war years, 24 servicemen of the regiment were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

One pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Guard Art. Lieutenant Dospanova Khiuaz - more than 300 combat missions.

If it were possible to collect flowers from all over the world and lay them at your feet, then even with this we would not be able to express our admiration for the Soviet pilots!

Written by French soldiers of the Normandie-Niemen regiment.

Losses

The irretrievable combat losses of the regiment amounted to 23 people and 28 aircraft. Despite the fact that the pilots died behind the front line, not one of them is considered missing.

After the war, regimental commissar Evdokia Yakovlevna Rachkevich, using money collected by the entire regiment, traveled to all the places where planes had crashed and found the graves of all those killed

The most tragic night in the history of the regiment was the night of August 1, 1943, when four aircraft were lost at once. The German command, irritated by the constant night bombing, transferred a group of night fighters to the regiment's area of ​​operations. This came as a complete surprise to the Soviet pilots, who did not immediately understand why the enemy anti-aircraft artillery was inactive, but one after another the planes caught fire. When it became clear that Messerschmitt Bf.110 night fighters had been launched against them, the flights were stopped, but before that, the German ace pilot, who had only in the morning become a holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Josef Kociok, managed to burn three Soviet bombers in the air along with their crews, on which there were no parachutes.

Another bomber was lost due to anti-aircraft artillery fire. Those killed that night were: Anna Vysotskaya with navigator Galina Dokutovich, Evgenia Krutova with navigator Elena Salikova, Valentina Polunina with navigator Glafira Kashirina, Sofia Rogova with navigator Evgenia Sukhorukova.

However, in addition to combat, there were other losses. So, on August 22, 1943, the regiment’s communications chief, Valentina Stupina, died of tuberculosis in the hospital. And on April 10, 1943, already at the airfield, one plane, landing in the dark, landed directly on another that had just landed. As a result, pilots Polina Makagon and Lida Svistunova died immediately, Yulia Pashkova died from her injuries in the hospital. Only one pilot survived - Khiuaz Dospanova, who received severe injuries - her legs were broken, but after several months of hospitalization the girl returned to duty, although due to improperly fused bones, she became a 2nd group disabled person.
Crews also died before they were sent to the front, in accidents during training.

Photos of female pilots. Night witches. War

1 of 28

Pilots heroes of the Soviet Union - Rushina Gasheva (left) and Natalya Meklin

Novorossiysk is taken - the girls are dancing

Memories of War

Maximum nights

Pilot Marina Chechneva, at the age of 21 became commander of the 4th squadron

Marina Chechneva recalls:
“Flying over the mountains is difficult, especially in the fall. Suddenly, clouds roll in, pressing the plane to the ground, or rather to the mountains, and you have to fly in gorges or over peaks of different heights. Here, every slight turn, the slightest decline threatens disaster, and besides, near the mountain slopes, ascending and descending air currents arise that powerfully pick up the car. In such cases, the pilot is required to have remarkable composure and skill in order to remain at the required altitude...

...These were “maximum nights” when we were in the air for eight to nine hours at a time. After three or four flights, the eyes closed by themselves. While the navigator went to the checkpoint to report on the flight, the pilot slept for several minutes in the cockpit, and meanwhile the armed forces hung bombs, the mechanics refueled the plane with gasoline and oil. The navigator returned, and the pilot woke up...

“Maximum nights” brought us enormous strain of physical and mental strength, and when dawn broke, we, barely moving our legs, walked to the dining room, dreaming of quickly having breakfast and falling asleep. At breakfast we were given some wine, which pilots were entitled to after combat work. But still the dream was disturbing - they dreamed of searchlights and anti-aircraft guns, some had persistent insomnia..."

A feat of mechanics

In their memoirs, the pilots describe the feat of the mechanics who had to work around the clock. Aircraft refueling at night, aircraft maintenance and repairs during the day.

“...The flight lasts about an hour, and mechanics and armed forces are waiting on the ground. They were able to inspect, refuel a plane, and hang bombs in three to five minutes. It’s hard to believe that young thin girls each hung up to three tons of bombs with their hands and knees, without any equipment, throughout the night. These humble pilot assistants showed true miracles of endurance and skill. What about the mechanics? We worked all night at the start, and during the day we repaired cars, preparing for the next night. There were cases when the mechanic did not have time to jump away from the propeller when starting the engine and her hand was broken...

...And then we entered new system maintenance - by shift teams on duty. Each mechanic was assigned a specific operation on all planes: meeting, refueling or releasing... Three soldiers were on duty at the cars with bombs. One of the senior AE technicians was in charge.

Fighting nights began to resemble the work of a well-functioning factory assembly line. The plane returning from the mission was ready for a new flight within five minutes. This allowed pilots in some winter nights do 10–12 combat missions.”

A minute of rest

“Of course, the girls remained girls: they carried kittens on airplanes, danced in bad weather at the airfield, right in overalls and fur boots, embroidered forget-me-nots on foot wraps, unraveling blue knitted underpants for this, and cried bitterly if they were suspended from flights.”

The girls made up their own humorous rules.
“Be proud, you are a woman. Look down on men!
Don't push the groom away from his neighbor!
Don't be jealous of your friend (especially if he's dressed up)!
Don't cut your hair. Save femininity!
Don't trample your boots. They won't give you new ones!
Love the drill!
Don't pour it out, give it to a friend!
Don't use foul language!
Don't get lost!"

The pilots in their memoirs describe their baggy uniforms and huge boots. They did not immediately sew uniforms to fit them. Then two types of uniforms appeared - casual with trousers and formal with a skirt.
Of course, they flew out on missions in trousers; the uniform with a skirt was intended for ceremonial meetings of the command. Of course, the girls dreamed of dresses and shoes.

“After the formation, the entire command gathered at our headquarters, we reported to the commander about our work and our problems, including the huge tarpaulin boots... He was also not very pleased with our trousers. And after some time, they took everyone’s measurements and sent us brown tunics with blue skirts and red chrome boots - American ones. They only let water through like a blotter.
For a long time after this, our uniform with Tyulenevskaya skirts was considered, and we put it on according to the order of the regiment: “Dress uniform.” For example, when they received the Guards Banner. Of course, it was inconvenient to fly in skirts, or hang bombs, or clean the engine ... "

In moments of relaxation, the girls liked to embroider:
“In Belarus, we began to actively “get sick” of embroidery, and this continued until the end of the war. It started with forget-me-nots. Oh, what beautiful forget-me-nots you would get if you unraveled the blue knitted pants and embroidered flowers on thin summer foot wraps! You can make a napkin from this and use it for a pillowcase. This disease, like chickenpox, took over the entire regiment...

During the day I come to the dugout to see the armed forces. The rain has soaked her through, pouring from every crack, and there are puddles on the floor. In the middle there is a girl standing on a chair and embroidering some kind of flower. Only there are no colored threads. And I wrote to my sister in Moscow: “I have a very important request to you: send me colored threads, and if you could make a gift to our women and send more. Our girls care deeply about every thread and use every rag for embroidery. You will do a great job, and everyone will be very grateful.” From the same letter: “And this afternoon we have a company: I’m sitting embroidering forget-me-nots, Bershanskaya is embroidering roses, cross-stitching, Anka is embroidering poppies, and Olga is reading aloud to us. There was no weather..."

Memory and newsreel about the 46th Aviation Regiment

Poems about night witch pilots

Under snow, rain and in good weather
With your wings you cut the darkness above the ground.
"Night Witches" on "Heavenly Slugs"
They are bombing fascist positions in the rear.

Also in terms of age and temperament - girls...
It's time to fall in love and be loved.
You hid your bangs under the pilot's helmets
And they rushed into the sky to beat the enemy of the Fatherland.

And immediately take off into the darkness from the desks of flying clubs
Without a parachute and without a gun, only with a TT.
You probably loved the starry sky.
You are always on top even at low level.

For your fighters you are “heavenly creatures”,
And for strangers - “night witches” on Po-2.
You brought fear over the Don and Taman,
Yes, and on the Oder there was a rumor about you.

Not everyone, not everyone will return from the night battle.
Sometimes the wings and body are worse than a sieve.
Miraculously, we landed with a pile of enemy holes.
Patches - during the day, and at night again - “From the screw!”

As soon as the sun sets in its hangar for a third and
The winged apparatus will be serviced by technicians,
The “night witches” are taking off along the runway,
To create a Russian hell for the Germans on earth.

Song from the film "Night Witches in the Sky"

Watch the film “Night Witches in the Sky” (1981)

“Night Witches” or “Night Swallows” TV series 2012

This is a film about women in aviation who fought in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War along with men.
The cast is not bad, the acting is also good.

On days of celebration Great Victory One cannot help but recall the women warriors who fought side by side alongside men and were almost in no way inferior to them.

46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree night bomber aviation regiment (46th Guards nbap) - a women's aviation regiment as part of the USSR Air Force during the Great Patriotic War.

The aviation regiment was formed in October 1941 by order of the USSR NKO No. 0099 dated 10/08/41 “On the formation of women’s aviation regiments of the Red Army Air Force.” The formation was led by Marina Raskova. Evdokia Bershanskaya, a pilot with ten years of experience, was appointed commander of the regiment. Under her command the regiment fought until the end of the war. Sometimes it was jokingly called: “Dunkin Regiment,” with a hint of an all-female composition and justified by the name of the regiment commander.

The party and political leadership of the regiment was headed by Maria Runt. For some time, Maria Alexandrovna Fortus was the chief of staff of the regiment.

The formation, training and coordination of the regiment was carried out in the city of Engels. The air regiment differed from other formations in that it was entirely female. Created under the same order, two other women's air regiments became mixed during the war, but the 588th Air Regiment remained entirely female until its disbandment: only women occupied all positions in the regiment, from mechanics and technicians to navigators and pilots.

Commander of the women's air regiment E.D. Bershanskaya sets a combat mission for her pilots

On May 23, 1942, the regiment flew to the front, where it arrived on May 27. Then its number was 115 people - the majority were aged from 17 to 22 years. The regiment became part of the 218th Night Bomber Division. The first combat flight took place on June 12, 1942. Then it was the territory of the Salsky steppes. It was then that the regiment suffered its first losses.

Flight personnel of the regiment. Assinovskaya 1942.

Until August 1942, the regiment fought on the Mius and Don rivers and in the suburbs of Stavropol. From August to December 1942, the regiment took part in the defense of Vladikavkaz. In January 1943, the regiment took part in breaking through enemy defensive lines.

Faithful friends of T. Makarov and V. Belik. Assinovskaya 1942

By order of the USSR NKO No. 64 of February 8, 1943, for the courage and heroism of the personnel shown in battles with the Nazi invaders, the regiment was awarded the honorary title “Guards” and it was transformed into the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment.

Presentation of the Guards Banner to the regiment. June 10, 1943. Ivanovskaya.

During the war, the pilots of the 46th Guards Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment traveled a glorious battle path from the Caucasus Mountains to Nazi Germany. The regiment's crews took to the skies 23,672 times and dropped almost three million kilograms of bombs on the enemy! For their fearlessness and skill, the Germans nicknamed the regiment's pilots “night witches.”

A group of female pilots of the 46th Guards Regiment. Kuban, 1943.

From March to September 1943, the regiment's pilots took part in breaking through the Blue Line defenses on the Taman Peninsula and liberating Novorossiysk. From November 1943 to 1944, the regiment supported the landings on the Kerch Peninsula (including the famous Eltigen), the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula and Sevastopol.

Pilots at the front-line dugout in Gelendzhik.
Vera Belik and Ira Sebrova are sitting, Nadezhda Popova is standing.

There were no men in the 46th Guards; all its soldiers - from pilots and navigators to technicians - were women. Yesterday's students, students of flying clubs, factory workers. Young, fragile, at the call of their hearts, they joined the military ranks and walked the difficult road of war with honor until the great Victory Day. 23 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among them are Marina Raskova, Vera Belik, Tatyana Makarova, Evgenia Rudneva, Marina Chechneva, Olga Sanfirova, Marina Smirnova, Nadezhda Popova.

Navigators. R. Gasheva, N. Meklin are sitting. Standing N. Ulyanenko, Kh. Dospanova, E. Ryabova, T. Sumarokova. Autumn 1942. Assinovskaya.

The 46th Air Regiment flew U-2 (Po-2) light night bombers. The girls affectionately called their cars “swallows,” but their widely known name is “Heavenly Slug.” Plywood airplane at low speed. Every flight on the Po-2 was fraught with danger. But neither enemy fighters nor anti-aircraft fire that met the “swallows” on the way could stop their flight to the target.

“Our training aircraft was not created for military operations. A wooden biplane with two open cockpits, located one behind the other, and dual controls for the pilot and navigator. (Before the war, pilots were trained on these machines). Without radio communications and armored backs that could protect the crew from bullets, with a low-power engine that could reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

The plane did not have a bomb bay; bombs were hung in bomb racks directly under the plane of the plane. There were no sights, we created them ourselves and called them PPR (simpler than a steamed turnip). The amount of bomb cargo varied from 100 to 300 kg. On average we took 150-200 kg. But during the night the plane managed to make several sorties, and the total bomb load was comparable to the load of a large bomber.” - Rakobolskaya I.V., Kravtsova N.F. “We were called night witches.”

T. Sumarokova, G. Bespalova, N. Meklin, E. Ryabova, M. Smirnova, T. Makarova, M. Chechneva.

The controls were dual: the plane could be controlled by both the pilot and the navigator. There were cases when navigators brought planes to the base and landed them after the pilot died. Until August 1943, female pilots did not take parachutes with them, preferring to take another 20 kg of bombs instead. Machine guns on airplanes also appeared only in 1944. Before this, the only weapons on board were TT pistols.

S. Amosova and T. Alekseeva

We had to fly at an altitude of 400-500 meters. Under these conditions, it was easy to shoot down slow-moving Po-2s simply with a heavy machine gun. And often planes returned from flights with riddled surfaces. Technicians patched them up quickly, and later the wings of many cars began to look like patchwork quilts. In order not to expose the airfield, technicians had to work in complete darkness, in any weather, in the open air.

The division commander presents the military order to navigator N. Reutskaya. 1944

The girls worked simply miracles, as it was often necessary to return a crippled car to operation within a seemingly impossible time frame. Technicians and mechanics - Galya Korsun, Katya Broiko, Anya Sherstneva, Masha Shchelkanova and others - laid the foundation for military success in the sky with their work on earth.

Technical composition of the regiment. 1943

One day, two pilots returned from a mission in a completely destroyed plane: as soon as their “swallow” reached the airfield?.. Thirty holes, the landing gear was broken, the center section and fuselage were damaged. The friends were sure that they would have to be horseless for three days. But imagine their surprise when the plane was restored in 10 hours!

Before flights. A meteorologist reports to the regiment's flight crew about the weather. Peresyp. Spring 1944.

Our little Po-2s gave the Germans no rest. In any weather, they appeared over enemy positions at low altitudes and bombed them. The girls had to make 8-9 flights per night. But there were nights when they received the task: to bomb “to the maximum.” This meant that there should be as many sorties as possible.

Vera Khurtina, Tanya Osokina, Lena Nikitina, Tonya Rozova, Shura Popova, Masha Rukavitsyna. 1944-45.

And then their number reached 16-18 in one night, as was the case on the Oder. The breaks between flights were 5-8 minutes. The female pilots were literally taken out of the cockpits and carried in their arms - they fell off their feet. One prisoner German officer During interrogation, he complained that the “Russfaner” did not give them peace at night and called our pilots “night witches” because of whom they could not sleep.

For flights. N. Studilina, N. Khudyakova, N. Popova, N. Meklin, J. Glamazdina,?, S. Akimova

We had to fly mostly at night, approaching the target with the engine turned off. These were dangerous flights in the night sky, cut by the blades of searchlights and pierced by tracer shells. These were risk and courage, overcoming one’s own weakness and fear, an indispensable will to win. Each flight was difficult for them in its own way, and therefore memorable. But among them there were those that are especially remembered, those when minutes are worth weeks and months of life, flights after which the first gray hair appears.

Pilots Tonya Rozova, Sonya Vodyanik and Lida Golubeva before a combat flight.

The regiment's combat losses amounted to 32 people. Despite the fact that the pilots died behind the front line, not one of them is considered missing. After the war, regimental commissar Evdokia Yakovlevna Rachkevich, using money collected by the entire regiment, traveled to all the places where planes had crashed and found the graves of all those killed.

Seated from left to right: pilot Anya Vysotskaya, photojournalist for Ogonyok magazine Boris Tseytlin, navigator Irina Kashirina, squadron commander Marina Chechneva; standing: squadron navigator and adjutant Maria Olkhovskaya and flight navigator Olga Klyueva. A few days before the death of Anya and Irina. July 1943 Kuban.Ivanovskaya.

However, in addition to combat, there were others. So, on August 22, 1943, the regiment’s communications chief, Valentina Stupina, died of tuberculosis in the hospital. And on April 10, 1943, already at the airfield after the next flight, 3 girls died: one plane, landing in the dark, landed directly on another, which had just landed. Crews died even before they were sent to the front, in accidents during training.

The crew of a combat aircraft

Since May 15, 1944, it was part of the 325th Night Bomber Division. In June-July 1944, the regiment fought in Belarus, helping to liberate Mogilev, Cherven, Minsk, and Bialystok. Since August 1944, the regiment operated in Poland, participating in the liberation of Augustiv, Warsaw, and Ostroleka. During the liberation of Crimea in May 1944, the regiment was temporarily part of the 2nd Guards Night Bomber Air Division.

Heavenly slug over the defeated Reichstag.

In January 1945, the regiment fought in East Prussia. In March 1945, guardsmen of the regiment took part in the liberation of Gdynia and Gdansk. In April 1945 and until the end of the war, the regiment helped break through enemy defenses on the Oder. During three years of fighting, the regiment never left for reorganization. On October 15, 1945, the regiment was disbanded, and most of the female pilots were demobilized.

Natalya Meklin (right, 980 combat missions) and Rufina Gasheva (left, 848 combat missions).
The photo was taken after the victory.

According to incomplete data, the regiment destroyed and damaged 17 crossings, 9 railway trains, 2 railway stations, 46 warehouses, 12 fuel tanks, 1 aircraft, 2 barges, 76 cars, 86 firing points, 11 searchlights. Now, looking back, it is difficult to imagine that these young, fragile girls brought down a deadly load on the enemy and destroyed the fascists with targeted fire. Each flight was an exam - a test of flying skill, courage, resourcefulness, and endurance. They passed it with "excellent" marks.

“Group portrait of heroine pilots of the 46th Aviation Regiment.” 1985 Sergey Bocharov.

The Germans called them “night witches”, and Marshal Rokossovsky called them legends. The marshal was confident that the pilots would reach Berlin, and he turned out to be right. Slow night bombers PO-2 “night witches” bombed the Germans, regardless of weather conditions and all air defense systems, and a woman was invariably at the helm. About the most effective aces of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment - in the material “Defend Russia”.

Irina Sebrova, Natalia Meklin, Evgenia Zhigulenko. They served in the legendary women's air regiment of Marina Raskova (46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment), and their front-line biographies are in many ways similar. Each of them was passionate about aviation and from the first days of the Great Patriotic War strove to go to the front; each had three years of war and a journey from the Caucasus to Germany. The pilots even received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on the same day - February 23, 1945.

But at the same time, the exploits of the “night witches” are unique - the bombers accounted for about 1000 sorties and tens of tons of bombs dropped on enemy positions. And this was on wooden PO-2 biplanes, which were not created for military purposes and could not respond to the German air defense forces!

“Without radio communications and armored backs capable of protecting the crew from bullets, with a low-power engine that could reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h. (...) the bombs were hung in bomb racks directly under the plane of the plane,” pilot Natalya Kravtsova (Mecklin) recalled after the war.

Irina Sebrova, 1004 combat missions

“Ira Sebrova made the most sorties in the regiment - 1004, it’s scary to even say. I think that in the whole world you won’t find a pilot with so many combat missions,” wrote fellow pilots Irina Rakobolskaya and Natalya Kravtsova (Mecklin) in the book “We were called night witches.”

Irina was one of the first who turned to Marina Raskova with a request to enroll her in the emerging women's air regiment. And the girl had arguments - even then, in October 1941, Sebrova was an experienced pilot: she graduated from the Moscow flying club, worked as an instructor and graduated several groups of cadets before the war.

The battles in the Donbass region in May 1942 became a baptism of fire for the bombers. Using PO-2 light bombers, regardless of the weather, they carried out several sorties per night. This is how Irina’s everyday life at the front passed, this is how she gained experience.

“She loves flying, she is attentive when flying, self-possessed, demanding of herself, disciplined,” Sebrova’s description said.

It soon became clear that there were no impossible tasks for the girl: continuous fog, rain, lack of visibility, mountains, enemy searchlights and anti-aircraft guns - she did not care about any difficulties.

Over Donbass, Novorossiysk and Eltigen, in Belarus, Poland and Germany, Sebrova raised her plane against the enemy. During the war years, she rose to the rank of guard senior lieutenant and went from a simple pilot to a flight commander. She was awarded three times the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star and the Patriotic War, 2nd degree, and many medals, including “For the Defense of the Caucasus.”

Order of Lenin and gold star The pilot received a hero on February 23, 1945 for 792 combat missions. There were less than three months left until the end of the war and the brilliant result of 1000 sorties (1000-1008 - the number varies depending on the source; 1000 is indicated in the submission to the Order of the Red Banner dated June 15, 1945...

Natalya Meklin (Kravtsova), 980 combat missions

Natalia grew up in Ukraine, in Kyiv and Kharkov. There she graduated from school and the flying club, and in 1941 she moved to Moscow and entered the Moscow Aviation Institute.

The war began, and the girl, along with other students, went to build defensive fortifications near Bryansk. Returning to the capital, she enrolled, like other future “night witches,” in the women’s aviation unit of Marina Raskova, and graduated from Engels military school pilots, and in May 1942 she went to the front.

She was a navigator, and later retrained as a pilot. She made her first flights as a pilot in the skies over Taman. The situation at the front was difficult, German forces desperately resisted the Soviet offensive, and air defense on the occupied lines was saturated to the limit. In such conditions, Natalya became a real ace: she learned to steer the plane away from enemy searchlights and anti-aircraft guns, and escape unharmed from German night fighters.

Together with the regiment, guard flight commander Lieutenant Natalya Meklin traveled a three-year journey, from Terek to Berlin, completing 980 sorties. In February 1945, she became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

He is a brave and fearless pilot. He devotes all his strength, all his combat skills to completing combat missions,” says the nomination for the country’s main award. “Her combat work serves as a model for all personnel.

After the war, Natalya Kravtsova (husband's last name) wrote novels and short stories about the Great Patriotic War. The most famous book is “We were called night witches. This is how the women’s 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment fought,” was written jointly with her front-line friend Irina Rakobolskaya.

Evgenia Zhigulenko, 968 combat missions

“The Germans called us ‘night witches,’ and the witches were only between 15 and 27 years old,” Evgenia Zhigulenko wrote in her memoirs.

She was 21 years old when in May 1942 she went to the front in the 46th night bomber air regiment formed by Marina Raskova.

She made her first combat missions in the skies over Donbass as a navigator, working with Polina Makogon. Already in October 1942, for 141 night flights on a PO-2 aircraft, she received her first award - the Order of the Red Banner. The submission said: “Comrade. Zhigulenko is the best marksman-bombardier of the regiment.”

Soon, having gained experience, Zhigulenko herself moved into the cockpit and became one of the most effective pilots in the regiment.

In November of the 44th Guard, Lieutenant Evgenia Zhigulenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The pilot’s combat description noted “high combat skill, perseverance and courage,” and described 10 episodes of dangerous, but always effective sorties.

“...When my combat missions began as a pilot, I stood first in the ranks as the tallest in height and, taking advantage of this, managed to be the first to reach the plane and the first to fly out on a combat mission. Usually during the night she managed to complete one more flight than other pilots. So, thanks to my long legs, I became a Hero of the Soviet Union,” Zhigulenko joked.

In just three front-line years, the pilot made 968 missions, dropping about 200 tons of bombs on the Nazis!

After the war, Evgenia Zhigulenko devoted herself to cinema. In the late 70s she graduated from the All-Union state institute cinematography, made films. One of them, “Night Witches in the Sky,” is dedicated to the combat activities of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment.