But wait, because these women, most only 17 to 26 years old, were even more badass than this makes them sound.
The name Night Witches, according to the articles above, actually comes from the soft “whooshing” sound the planes made as they flew over head, which reminded the Nazis of broomsticks.
The soft sound was because the planes were lightweight, made mostly out of canvas and plywood. The planes were mostly old crop-dusters; not built for war or battle. The women flew mostly at night in hand-me-down uniforms from male soldiers, without radars, guns, radios or even parachutes. They made due with maps and compasses, relying on clever tactics and the small planes’ greater maneuverability to keep them safe.
Forget 200 hundred missions. Nadezhda Popova flew 852 missions, and was shot down several times. The Night Witches ran eight or more missions a night, as many as 18 a night. Over four years they collectively ran 30,000 missions and dropped 23,000 tons of bombs. And they did it in small planes that could only carry two bombs at a time.
They flew in tiny two-person planes that would burn like paper if they caught flame, they got frostbite in the winter in their open cockpits, came home in planes riddled with bullet holes, and got shot down and sent right back out again. And even with everything they had going against them, these women were so feared that any German pilot who shot one down was automatically awarded an Iron Cross.
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