The Art of Tetman Callis The Second World War Wake up, we’re about to be bombed

Wake up, we’re about to be bombed

“The Soviet Union was the first country in the world to use female pilots in combat. . . . The 588th Night Bomber Regiment, which flew ancient Polikarpov PO-2 biplanes, became known as the Nachthexen, or Night Witches, a name given to them by the German soldiers against whom they flew daring night attack missions. . . . To avoid detection the female pilots would fly close to the German positions at high altitude and cut their engines, then make a gliding attack over enemy lines. Unless radar detected them, the fabric-covered airplanes gave no warning until the sound of the wind in the rigging wires reached the ground.” – The World War II Desk Reference, Douglas Brinkley and Michael E. Haskew, eds.

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