Pilots from the Russian 586th Women's Fighter Regiment.
In the months leading up to Operation
Barbarossa (Hitler's code name for the attack on the Soviet Union)
there had been over 500 violations of Soviet airspace by German
photo reconnaissance aircraft. On the 21st June 1941 Hitler
attacked - his plan to crush the Soviet Union in 10 weeks.
Initially the attack exceeded the wildest dreams of the German
generals. The fall of Smolensk to the Germans on July 16, 1941
placed Moscow in danger. Hitler then discontinued the drive to
Moscow, ordering the Germans to stand in place - it seemed to
postpone the final blow but consequently Moscow received a reprieve
during those crucial weeks. When the belated and ill-timed German
assault on Moscow (code - named Operation Typhoon) began at 05:30
hours on September 30, 1941 the Russian weather turned foul.
The rainy season (rasputitsa), made any
activity difficult, with the roads turning muddy so only large
vehicles could move and air operations from grass fields becoming
nearly impossible.
For Operation Typhoon to achieve success, a
quick victory over the Russians west of Moscow became urgent. The
rasputitsa ended each fall with the arrival of winter frosts and
this created a great challenge, especially trying to keep men and
machines in fighting condition in the advancing cold. The winter
turned out to be Russia's most trusted ally.
Despite its reduced numbers, the Soviet Air
Force (VVS) played an active role in the period prior to the final
German offensive. During Operation Typhoon the VVS, sensing that
the final assault had commenced, then began to reassert itself,
boldly attacking advancing German troops and armour by day and
night.
Night bombing, mostly by PO-2 Biplanes in the
tactical zones, became common place during Operation Typhoon.
Bombing missions were sometimes carried out in extreme weather but
ideal conditions were the long moonlit or starry nights.
The Polikarpov PO-2 was a 1927 design, powered
by a single 115 hp engine giving a top speed of 81 mph and a range
of 280 miles but it made a significant impact on the German troops
by maintaining a sustained air presence over the battle zone,
continuously harassing the Germans. The PO-2 was highly
manoeuvrable and the slow speeds made night interception by the
fast German fighters a difficult undertaking. The VVS pilots would
often stop their engines and glide to the target, dropping their
bombs by hand.
The night attackers, nicked named "sewing
machines" or "duty sergeants" forced the enemy on all fronts to
take precautions, lose sleep, and on occasion suffer the loss of a
storage or fuel depot.
Soviet women pilots, the so-called "Night
Witches", acquired considerable fame in this dangerous pursuit.
In October 1941 Soviet women pilots were
organised into combat regiments by Marina Raskova, a famous Russian
aviatrix. In 1938 she had received acclaim for flying an ANT-37
across the vast terrain of the Soviet Union (eleven time zones!) to
achieve a women's record of 3,672 miles in 26 hours, 29 minutes.
Raskova, who was later killed in action and buried in the Kremlin
wall, called for volunteers for women's air regiments over the
Moscow radio. The women were to be front line pilots, like men, and
there were to be three air regiments, each with three squadrons,
mechanics and armament fitters.
The training base was in a small town called
Engels on the River Volga, North of Stalingrad. Here they were
issued with men's uniforms - which were far too big - many stuffing
their boots with newspaper and tying belts around their waists.
With Maj Marina Raskova as Commander and Maj Yevdokia Bershanskaya
as 2nd in command women went through an intense training schedule -
2 years work into 6 months. Marina Raskova and Yevdokia
Bershanskaya had to assess the volunteers, and most wanted to fly
fighters.
In all, VVS women pilots flew more than 24,000
sorties during the war - sixty eight receiving the Gold Star, Hero
of the Soviet Union award.
The girls never wore parachutes and, after
discussing it amongst themselves, had agreed if captured they may
have to shoot themselves. This is exactly what Alina Smirnova did.
When she crash landed she lost her sense of direction and when some
people ran towards her, she thought they were Germans and shot
herself.
586th Fighter Regiment
The women had trained in PO-2 aircraft and
found the conversion to the powerful, single seater Yak-1 very
difficult. The instructors could only drum into them the
characteristics and limits of power and control before their first
flight. The 586th Women's Fighter Regiment was first to go to the
front. Commanded by Tamara Kazarinova, they flew the Yak-7B and
Yak-1, totalling 4419 operational sorties, and credited with 38
victories.
The principal role of this regiment was to
drive off enemy bomber formations before they reached their
targets. Encounters with Messerschmitt 109s escorting the bombers
were common.
Squadron Commander Olga Yamshchikova flew 93
sorties, scored three confirmed victories, and after the war became
the first Soviet woman to fly jet aircraft when she became a test
pilot.
Lilya Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova both flew
with the 586th. Maj Tamara Kazarinova noted they had a flair for
individual combat so they were both transferred to join the men of
the 73rd Fighter Regiment who were involved with some furious
battles over Stalingrad. The City of Stalingrad had been
continuously bombed by enemy aircraft, the city burning for many
kilometres, and smoke hung over the city like a blanket. Over a
million people died in the Stalingrad battle, for Germany it was
the first great disaster of the war. This was a different kind of
combat for the girls, joining the Free Hunters and seeking out
fighters.
When the women arrived, male pilots found it
difficult to accept them. Many refused to have them fly as their
wingman, some later relenting after the women proved they were more
than capable. Many commanders wanted to protect them even though
they continuously proved their abilities. The women flew their
missions together.
Both Lilya Litvyak and Ekaterina Budanova
became fighter aces. Ekaterina Budanova was credited with eleven
victories, and Lilya Litvyak scored twelve official victories and
three shared in her year with the 73rd Fighter Air Regiment before
her Yak was lost on August 1, 1943.
The women's 586th Fighter Regiment was heavily
drawn into the most crucial battle of the war, to be fought at
Kursk.
It was 2.20 am on Monday, July 5, 1943 when
the Germans commenced an attack that was to develop into the
greatest tank battle of the war. Fortunately "Lucy" - a complex spy
ring, had forewarned the Russians of the battle plans. Together the
two fronts had more than 1.3 million men, 20,000 field guns and
3500 tanks; 4000 aircraft of both sides were operating over an area
only 12 miles by 30 miles. It was not unusual for 300 fighters to
be involved in combat.
German airmen were always surprised to
encounter VVS women pilots in active combat roles. One Luftwaffe
pilot, Maj. D B Meyer, remembered being attacked near Orel by a
group of Yak fighters. During the ensuing air duel the jettisoned
canopy of Meyer's fighter struck the propeller of one of the
pursuing Yaks, forcing it to crash. Upon landing Meyer found his
dead adversary to be a woman - without rank insignia or
parachute.
588th Night Bomber Regiment
The 588th Night Bomber Regiment (Night
Witches) later received the honour of the 46th Guards Bomber
Aviation Regiment - the first women's regiment to receive this
honour, placing them among the elite of the fighting units. The
46th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment first arrived over the
Southern Front in May 1942, commanded by Yevdokia Bershanskaya.
Fighting from the Kuban to Berlin, this all women's regiment flew
24,000 combat missions and dropped 23,000 tons of bombs from the
then battle weary PO-2 biplanes.
Twenty three of its fliers and navigators
became heroes of the Soviet Union for their dangerous work,
including flights on the night of July 31st 1943, when four of
their two seaters were shot down over the Blue Line (the secured
German Sector of the Kuban bridgehead) by a German Junkers Ju 88
bomber.
This regiment remained entirely female
throughout the war.
587th Dive Bomber Regiment
The 587th Dive Bomber Regiment later received
the honour of the 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment. The
regiment did not go into battle until January 1943, delayed because
of an abrupt change of aircraft. The crews had trained on the
two-seater SU-2 but at the last minute were allocated the three
seater PE-2 dive bomber instead, the regiment consequently having
to wait for additional training and personnel.
The PE-2 had a crew of three - pilot,
navigator, and a radio operator/gunner. The aircraft had two fixed
machine guns firing forward and a swivelling machine gun in an
acrylic bubble behind the navigator. The pilot had an armoured seat
in the cockpit with the navigator behind, also in an armoured seat.
The radio operator sat at the rear in the fuselage. When the
aircraft was fully loaded with fuel and bombs the navigator used to
help pull back on the stick to get the nose off the ground.
Later during the war the regiment began to
receive male replacements. There were not enough women trained to
fill the positions.
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