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 do little to answer 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 made 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.”
The pilot received the Order of Lenin and the gold Star of 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 Marina Raskova’s women’s aviation unit, graduated from the Engels Military Pilot School, and in May 1942 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 Guards, 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 of Cinematography and made films. One of them, “Night Witches in the Sky,” is dedicated to the combat activities of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment.
46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree night bomber aviation regiment.
“First of all, the planes, and then the girls,” is sung in the famous song of Leonid Utesov. However, the Air Force is famous not only for its men, but also for its women pilots. Thus, during the Great Patriotic War, many women aviators took part in hostilities, many of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But I would like to pay special attention to the legendary “Night Witches”.
One of the most famous pilots is a native of Moscow, Hero of the Soviet Union Marina Raskova. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, she, being a commissioner of the special department of the NKVD and a senior lieutenant of state security, used her official position, as well as her personal acquaintance with Stalin, and received permission to form female combat units. Already in October 1941, in the city of Engels, under her command, the 46th Guards Night Bomber Women's Aviation Regiment, better known as the “Night Witches,” appeared. In addition, here in Engels, two other women’s regiments were created, which then became mixed.
The uniqueness of the “Night Witches” lies in the fact that until the end of the war there were only representatives of the fairer sex in its composition. On May 27, 1942, the “Night Witches”, numbering 115 people, whose ages ranged from 17 to 22 years old, arrived at the front, and they made their first combat mission on June 12.
“Night Witches” flew on U-2 (Po-2) aircraft, which were originally created as training aircraft for training pilots. It was practically unsuitable for combat, but the girls liked its lightness, maneuverability and noiselessness. Therefore, the plane was urgently equipped with all the necessary equipment. Later it was also modernized. However, reaching speeds of up to 120 km/h, this light aircraft was very vulnerable; it could actually be shot down by a shot from a submachine gun.
Initially, the Germans contemptuously called the U-2 “Russian plywood,” but the raids of the “Night Witches” forced them to change their minds.
The girls, as you know, made their combat missions only at night. They took on board no more than 300 kilograms of bombs at a time, and many deliberately abandoned parachutes in favor of a couple of extra shells. Each of the pilots made 8-9 combat missions in just one night, causing significant damage to enemy forces. In winter, when the nights were longer, the number of sorties could increase to 18. After such nights, fragile, exhausted women were carried to the barracks in their arms. Add to this the open cockpits of the plane and the strong night frost and imagine how difficult it was for them.
It was impossible to spot the U-2 on radar. In addition, the plane moved almost silently, so a German who fell asleep at night might not wake up in the morning. However, it was not always possible to take the enemy by surprise. After almost every combat mission, the technical personnel, also consisting of women, had to patch holes in the body of the plywood aircraft, which looked more like a colander. During the entire war, the regiment lost 32 female pilots. Girls often died behind the front line and burned alive in front of their fighting friends.
The most tragic night in the history of the “Night Witches” is considered to be the night of August 1, 1943. The Germans, who decided to repel the fearless Soviet girls, formed their own group of night fighters. For the pilots, this came as a complete surprise. That night, 4 planes were lost, with 8 girls on board: Anna Vysotskaya, Galina Dokutovich, Evgenia Krutova, Elena Salikova, Valentina Polunina, Glafira Kashirina, Sofia Rogova and Evgenia Sukhorukova.
However, the losses were not always combat losses. So, on April 10, 1943, one of the planes, landing in complete darkness, accidentally landed directly on another. As a result, three pilots died that night, and the fourth, Khiuaza Dospanova, who broke her legs, spent several months in the hospital, but was never able to return to duty due to improperly fused bones.
But it was hard not only for the pilots and navigators, but also for the technical staff of the Night Witches. They not only patched holes in planes after night flights, but also attached heavy bombs to the wings of planes. And it’s good if the target of the raid was enemy personnel - fragmentation bombs weighed 25 kilograms each and were the lightest. It was much more difficult to attach bombs weighing 100 kilograms to strike ground strategic targets. As weapons master Tatyana Shcherbina recalled, the fragile girls together lifted heavy shells, which often fell at their feet.
But the hardest time for the “Night Witches” was in the severe frosts in winter. Securing a bomb on the wing with mittens is an almost impossible task, so we worked without them, and quite often pieces of the skin of delicate girlish hands remained on the shells.
During the war years, the “Night Witches” made more than 23.5 thousand combat missions, dropping about 3 million kilograms of bombs on the enemy. They took part in the battles for the Caucasus, for the liberation of Crimea, Poland and Belarus. In addition, the “Night Witches”, under the cover of darkness, supplied ammunition and food to Soviet soldiers who were surrounded by German troops.
The legendary “Night Witches” are the pride of the Russian Air Force, and their feat is difficult to overestimate.
During World War II, not only young seventeen-year-old boys, but also female students went to the front. Young beauties, who just yesterday were preparing for exams, dating guys and dreaming of a wedding dress, today fought for the lives of their compatriots and the freedom of their Motherland. Some of the brave girls became a military nurse, some became a scout, some became a machine gunner, and some became a military pilot. They fought against fascism along with men, often in the same regiment.
"Night Witches"
The most famous and at the same time the only women’s regiment in Russian and world history is the 46th Guards Women’s Night Bomber Regiment, affectionately called the “Dunka Regiment” by the regular army of the Soviet Union and fearfully nicknamed “Night Witches” by fascist soldiers.
At first, the “Night Witches” evoked only contemptuous laughter from the German army, since they flew on plywood U-2 planes, which, in the event of a direct hit, were not difficult to shoot down. However, during the battles, the fearless warriors were able to show what they were worth, inspiring the enemy horror of “night swallows” (that’s what the girls called their planes).
The Women's Night Bomber Aviation Regiment made an invaluable contribution to the victory.
"U-2" - a cardboard corn truck or a combat "Heavenly Slug"?
“U-2” and “Po-2” are light plywood airplanes, the hulls of which were not protected from hits from large-caliber weapons. They caught fire at the slightest contact with fire. Slow cars, whose speed limit was just above 100 km/h, gained altitude up to 500 meters, but in the skillful hands of female pilots they turned into a formidable weapon.
As darkness fell, the 46th Women's Aviation Regiment of night bombers appeared out of nowhere and bombarded enemy positions.
Rakobolskaya speaks with respect of Raskova, who turned an “unformed, shaggy, dirty-haired army” into a professional regiment of night bombers. With a laugh, ninety-year-old Irina Vyacheslavovna recalls her girlish resentment when she, like the entire female regiment, was ordered by the command to cut her hair short, and about the annoyance that arose when she found out what their battle brothers called their unit.
A woman who fought for the people, for the future of her children, talks with tears in her eyes about how the fate of some of the girls from the “Dunka Regiment” turned out after the war, because not every one of them found her calling in peacetime. However, the wise Irina Vyacheslavovna Rakobolskaya holds no grudge against either the authorities or the eccentric youth. She believes that if a war started in our time, young boys and girls, without a moment’s doubt, would go to defend their Motherland.
"Night witches" in art
Glory overtook the regiment in the field of art. Many films have been made about brave girls and many songs have been sung.
The first film about the 46th Guards Women's Regiment of Night Bombers with the title “1100 Nights” was shot by Semyon Aronovich back in the Soviet Union, in 1961. 20 years later, another film was released - “In the Sky “Night Witches”.
In the well-known and beloved work “Only Old Men Go to Battle,” the plot was based on the story of the “Night Witch” by Nadezhda Popova and the pilot Semyon Kharlamov.
Some foreign groups, such as Hail of Bullets and Sabaton, glorify the 46th Guards Women's Regiment in their compositions.
The entire Soviet people contributed to the victory over Nazi Germany. Men fought the enemy face to face, women, teenagers and old people tried, to the best of their ability, to organize supplies, agriculture and the work of the rear in general. But there were exceptions to this rule. Unique exceptions.
In 1941, in the city of Engels, under the personal responsibility of senior lieutenant of state security Marina Raskova, the 46th Guards Night Bomber Women's Aviation Regiment was founded, which in the future was dubbed " Night witches". To do this, Marina had to use her personal resources and personal acquaintance with Stalin. No one really counted on success, but they gave the go-ahead and provided us with the necessary equipment.
What exactly was the plan? Using silent and almost invisible to radar U-2 aircraft, loaded with bombs to the max, the girls, under the cover of darkness, flew up to German positions and dumped explosive surprises on their heads. The idea was good, but, as practice later showed, it was almost suicidal. The fact is that the U-2 is an outdated TRAINING biplane made of plywood, which could reach a speed of no more than 120 km/h. That is, if they notice, they can even shoot you down with a submachine gun, not to mention a more powerful weapon. Plus, at first the girls basically did not take parachutes with them in order to increase their ammunition load.
I mean, imagine. Winter 1943. Frost is minus thirty, the Germans are still successfully resisting, and you, late at night, with virtually no lighting, lift into the air a slow car that looks like a wooden coffin and loaded with bombs, fly behind the front line, miraculously find the enemy, and without attracting the attention of the sentries you dump it on them everything I took. Oh yes, there is no auto-reset or sight either - only improvised devices. And then we have to come back. And sit down. At night. No lighting. Repeat 12 times. An ordinary February night.
Of course, there were losses. Of the 115 women who went to the front on May 27, 1942, 32 people died. Some were shot down while approaching the enemy, some crashed unsuccessfully landing in complete darkness, some were shot down by enemy night fighters, which, by the way, were specially created to fight "night witches". After the war, regimental commissar Evdokia Rachkevich, using money collected by the regiment, traveled to all the disaster sites and found the remains of all her dead friends. So none of the " Night witches“Isn’t missing and isn’t lying in an unknown place.
« Night Witches"- the only unit that consisted entirely of girls, even technical and maintenance personnel. And if you think that it was hard only for pilots, imagine what it was like for the girls to attach bombs weighing one hundred kilograms to the wings of the plane in the bitter cold. And then repair the fuselages that were shot through.
As already mentioned, initially as part of “ Night witches“There were 115 people who flew in 20 cars. Then the number of vehicles increased to 40. And the total number of military personnel of the 46th Guards Bomber Regiment was 265 people. More than 23 thousand combat missions were carried out and a huge number of enemy infrastructure elements were destroyed. . And all this in absolutely suicidal conditions. The Germans were afraid night witches"to the point of stupor - they came up with a terrifying name, specially created a night fighter regiment so that at least somehow they could be resisted. They succeeded a couple of times. 23 pilots were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
My grandfather himself was a pilot. Civil aviation, true, but I heard enough stories from him in my time. And about flying in a thunderstorm, and about landing in extreme conditions, and about emergency situations. It was scary, yes. But there is no comparison with what these girls experienced every day. And if this is not real heroism, then I don’t know who can be called heroes. So yeah, " Night Witches"are forever inscribed on the pages of the heroic history of Russia.
Description of the presentation by individual slides:
1 slide
Slide description:
2 slide
Slide description:
3 slide
Slide description:
4 slide
Slide description:
46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree night bomber aviation regiment (46th Guards nbap, “night witches”) - 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 NPO No. 0099 dated October 8, 1941. The formation was led by Marina Raskova. Senior Lieutenant 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 formation, training and coordination of the regiment was carried out in the city of Engels. Until its disbandment, the 588th Aviation Regiment remained entirely female: only women occupied all positions in the regiment, from mechanics and technicians to navigators and 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.
5 slide
Slide description:
6 slide
Slide description:
U-2 or Po-2 is a multi-purpose biplane created under the leadership of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov in 1928. One of the most popular aircraft in the world. The team, headed by N. N. Polikarpov, produced a new experimental U-2 aircraft (training-second) in January 1928. It was tested in the air by M. M. Gromov, then several more test pilots checked it. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, production of the U-2 was organized at aircraft plant No. 387. The existing standard versions of the U-2 began to be converted into light night bombers. Refinement was carried out both in the Polikarpov Design Bureau, and at serial factories and in the active army by the engineering and technical staff of combat units and aircraft repair shops. As a result, the design of the combat U-2 had a large number of different options. The bomb load varied from 100 kg to 350 kg. The empty weight of the aircraft in the training version is 635-656 kg, in others - up to 750 kg; take-off - from 890 to 1100 kg, with bombs - up to 1400 kg. Maximum speed - from 130 to 150 km/h, cruising - 100-120 km/h, landing - 60-70 km/h, ceiling - 3800 m, take-off and run - 100-150 m. After the death of N. N. Polikarpov in 1944, the plane was renamed Po-2 in honor of its creator. The U-2 was built serially until 1953, 33,000 vehicles were built.
7 slide
Slide description:
The PO-2 combat aircraft, on which the crews of the “Night Witches” regiment flew to bomb the Nazis. We took off before dawn, the flight to the target is half an hour. Do the searchlights sometimes not illuminate us? There are miracles in life... But this time it’s not like that it turned out, the searchlight illuminated the sky... And Olga was the first to fall, pulling as hard as she could... And Lenka began to smoke, lying on the left wing... It was a five-minute flight to the forest, God grant that she was lucky... I bombed, everything was as it should be... And death with a scythe took someone away. Forgive Frau if these are your children, But no one invited them here... I drank a mug of alcohol at dawn... And I muttered in a drunken delirium - Why , why do children die so stupidly... What kind of bastard came up with that War??? So many films about the war and so few. So few have been made about women, girls, girls, beautiful and young, gone into eternity. Pilots and anti-aircraft gunners, snipers and machine gunners, scouts and nurses. Girls, girls, girls... You look at the war photographs - how beautiful and desperate they were. How they wanted to live and love, dance the waltz and raise children. We live for them, so we must remember. Obliged! To remember and not let our children and grandchildren forget, because we are the last ones who saw and heard them alive... Young beautiful, brave girls. In those tragic days, selflessness seemed natural to them. The fate of the country, common to everyone, became more important to them than their own lives. N. Meklin
8 slide
Slide description:
During the war years, 29 female heroes were pilots. The 46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd Class night bomber regiment, which was staffed only by female crews, became especially famous. From the very beginning of its existence until the end of the war, the women's regiment was a single, tightly knit team, in which the spirit of military friendship, healthy competition and ardent patriotism was always present. This is a great merit of the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya, who by personal example, skillful leadership and simply by virtue of her human qualities, won the authority and respect of her subordinates. This made it easier for her to command such an unusual regiment. The regimental commissar, Lieutenant Colonel Evdokia Yakovlevna Rachkevich, and the regiment party organizer, Captain Maria Ivanovna Runt, did a lot to strengthen discipline and morale... Maria Ivanovna Runt (1912-1992) - bomber pilot, regiment party organizer, guard captain. Candidate of Philology. Evdokia Yakovlevna Rachkevich (maiden name Andriychuk; 1907-1975) - deputy regiment commander for political affairs (commissar) Evdokia Davydovna Bocharova (nee Karabut, after her first husband Bershanskaya), (February 6, 1913, Dobrovolnoe (Stavropol Territory), - September 16, 1982, Moscow) - commander of the 46th Guards Regiment.
Slide 9
Slide description:
“The strength of the 588th Bershanskaya Aviation Regiment was initially 115 people. Mostly these were very young girls - 17-22 years old, who, nevertheless, really wanted to contribute to the victory over the Nazi occupiers. Among them there were many students - mainly from the faculties of exact sciences - physics, mechanics and mathematics; girls from the geography department were sent to become navigators. It was understood that the knowledge they acquired in civilian universities would facilitate the assimilation of military subjects and all that remained was to teach future pilots, navigators, technicians and mechanics practical subjects related to the control and maintenance of aircraft. “Students from different universities in Moscow were enrolled in the navigation group. They settled us in the sports house and again on bunk beds. And hard training began: classroom lessons for 11 hours a day, including Morse code and drill training, and in the evenings it was necessary to prepare for the next day. The discipline in the unit was very strict,” recalls Irina Rakobolskaya (Rakobolskaya I., Kravtsova N. “We were called night witches.” This is how the women’s 46th Guards Night Bomber Regiment fought. - 2nd edition, supplemented. - M.: Publishing House Moscow State University, 2005). Commander of the women's air regiment E.D. Bershanskaya sets a combat mission for her pilots. During the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, the rifle guards of the 2nd division were covered from the air by the women's aviation regiment - the 46th Guards Taman...
10 slide
Slide description:
Serafima Tarasovna Amosova (August 20, 1914 - December 17, 1992) - deputy commander for the flight unit, guard major. Evgenia Maksimovna Rudneva (1920-1944) - regiment navigator, guard senior lieutenant. Hero of the Soviet Union. Larisa Nikolaevna Rozanova (Litvinova) (December 6, 1918 - October 5, 1997) - regiment navigator, guard captain. Hero of the Soviet Union.
11 slide
Slide description:
in 1942 - she was appointed chief of staff of the 588th Air Regiment (later - the 46th Guards Regiment. Rakobolskaya Irina Vyacheslavovna Irina Rakobolskaya went to the front as a fourth-year student at the physics department of Moscow State University. She ended up in air group 122 with Marina Raskova. And soon navigator Rakobolskaya became the chief headquarters of the 46th Guards Regiment. “They called us Dunkin Regiment,” says Irina Vyacheslavovna. “After the regiment commander Evdokia Bershanskaya.” “Was it a shame?” “Very much. The men treated us very badly at first. When we were first received by the commander of the 4th Air Force army, General Vershinin, I think in his heart he laughed at us. I came to him with documents, but, as it turned out later, they were drawn up incorrectly, on some huge roll of whatman paper. Vershinin said nothing, didn’t even show it. The 4th Army was just being created at that time, and one of the first regiments that it received was our regiment. But we still didn’t know how to do anything, we didn’t know what anti-aircraft fire was, we’d never flown in searchlights, we had no idea what The second cabin can carry two more people. But despite this, Vershinin took us very seriously.
12 slide
Slide description:
Senior engineer of the regiment Sofia Ozerkova Day after day (more precisely, night after night), the pilot of the 588th regiment increased 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, for each downed “maize” German pilots and anti-aircraft gunners were often awarded the Iron Cross and paid 2,000 marks. During the war, the number of personnel in the regiment increased from 115 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. 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 the dead were squadron commanders O. A. Sanfirova, P. A. Makogon, L. Olkhovskaya, flight 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, Preparation for the flight
Slide 13
Slide description:
Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya (1913-1982) - commander of the women's 588th night light bomber aviation regiment (NLBAP, since 1943 - 46th Guards Taman night bomber regiment). She is the only woman awarded the Commander's Order of Suvorov (III degree). Maria Vasilievna Smirnova (1920-2002) - squadron commander of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. By August 1944, she had flown 805 night combat missions. On October 26, 1944 she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Polina Vladimirovna Gelman (1919-2005) - chief of communications of the aviation squadron of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. By May 1945, as a navigator of the Po-2 aircraft, she had flown 860 combat missions. On May 15, 1946 she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 02/08/1943 588 NBAP, commanded by E.D. Bershanskaya, the first in the division to become a guardsman and received the name 46th Guards NBAP. The commander of the 46th Guards NBAP, Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya (1918-1982), while leading the regiment, managed to prove to skeptics that the female air unit has the right to exist and can fight on an equal basis with male units, and sometimes even more successfully than them. “In the combat history of aviation there is hardly another example where a unit, whose personnel had undergone almost no military training, managed to win such widespread military glory in such a short time... ...Vigor and cheerfulness never left the regiment. It is surprising that severe hardships and difficulties never depressed people; they seemed to go unnoticed. But the most important thing that distinguished the women's air regiment was its fearlessness and heroism. This was such a widespread phenomenon that the regiment got used to it as something taken for granted...” Memoirs of the commissar of the 218th air division, Major General GORBUNOV.
Slide 14
Slide description:
From the first to the last day of our regiment’s existence, it was commanded by Evdokia Bershanskaya (Bocharova). She came to the regiment as an experienced pilot, with ten years of experience in civil aviation. We, then girls, were from 17 to 23 years old, and Evdokia Davydovna was ten years older. Strong-willed, courageous, she was at the same time surprisingly feminine. If a particularly difficult operation was ahead, Evdokia Davydovna was the first to fly out. 25 Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia grew up in our regiment. But the commander of this heroic unit does not have such a rank! It seems to us that the 60th anniversary of the Victory is an excellent occasion to restore justice. Heroes of the Soviet Union Polina GELMAN, Natalia MEKLIN-KRAVTSOVA, Nadezhda POPOVA, Nina RASPOPOVA; Chief of Staff of the Regiment Irina RAKOBOLSKAYA OUR 46th Guards Taman Order of the Red Banner and Suvorov 3rd Class air regiment was the only women's night bomber unit in the world. We flew on small “plywood” Po-2 biplanes. Speed - 120–140 km/h. And if there was a strong headwind, the plane would hang in the air. But our vehicles were easy to control; above the target, the pilots turned off the engine, and in silence bombs fell on the enemy, destroying equipment, warehouses, headquarters, and crossings. We also carried unusual cargo: medicines, ammunition, food, bags of mail. Sometimes it was incredibly difficult, almost jewelry work. For example, in Eltigen - a fishing village in the Crimea - our paratroopers occupied a tiny piece of land, which was under fire from the enemy. We had to find a schoolyard in pitch darkness, descend to 50, and sometimes 30 meters, very accurately drop the load and have time to shout to our people: “Polundra! The cartridges have arrived!” And the Germans are still shooting at you... During the long autumn and winter nights, the crews made 8-10, or even 12-15 combat sorties. We dropped more than three million kilograms of bombs on the enemy in more than 24 thousand sorties. Modern aviators probably won’t believe it, but the navigators carried small bombs - thermite, lighting - ... on their knees! And they threw them by hand over the side of the plane. It is clear that the Po-2 could not lift many bombs. The strength of these airplanes lay elsewhere: they dropped their cargo with exceptional accuracy. Of course, small bombs did not always cause serious damage to the enemy. But we kept the Germans in suspense every night and did not let them sleep. One day, the patience of their command burst - twin-engine Messerschmitt -110 night fighters were transferred from the Western Front. This night of August 1, 1943 we will never forget. Then, in a few hours, a German night hunter burned four of our planes over Taman, killing 8 girls. This was the first time we encountered such an enemy, but we quickly learned to recognize him. If searchlights are working in the target area, but anti-aircraft artillery is silent, it means that a German “night light” is patrolling somewhere nearby. There was only one way to escape from them: fly as low as possible. For obvious reasons, high-speed fighters were afraid to go to low altitudes. But we also tried not to go below 300 meters - there was a risk of getting fragments of our own bombs “in the belly”. Despite the all-female team, within two or three months we were equal to the male units in terms of combat effectiveness. And six months later our regiment was the first in the division to become a guards regiment. From right to left - regiment commander E.D. Bershanskaya, squadron commissioner I.V. Dryagina, squadron commissar Ksenia Karpulina, squadron commander S.T.Amosova, squadron commander E.A. Nikulina and regiment commissar E.Ya.Rachkevich...
15 slide
Slide description:
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, an excellent pilot, Dina Nikulina, was appointed squadron commander and a former student of the astronomy department of Moscow State University, Zhenya Rudneva, as a navigator. 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. Some time later, Amosova's plane arrived. There was no third plane. All the deadlines have passed when, according to the most optimistic calculations, the fuel in Olkhovskaya’s plane should have run out. We realized that something was wrong. The first combat loss... What happened to Lyuba Olkhovskaya and Vera Tarasova? For almost twenty-three years we knew nothing. At the beginning of 1965, the regiment commander received a letter in which residents of the village of Sofyino-Brodsky contacted the editors of the newspaper Pravda. The letter reported that around mid-June 1942, at night in the direction of the city of Snezhny, they heard bombs exploding, and then saw shooting at the plane. In the morning, a downed Po-2 plane was found near the village. In the front cabin, sitting with her head bowed on the side, was a beautiful dark-blond girl in a flight suit. In the second cabin there was another girl - a round face, a slightly upturned nose. Both were dead. Residents of the village secretly buried the pilots. Now, when the country was preparing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, residents decided to find out the names of the dead. There was no doubt that they were talking about Lyuba Olkhovskaya and Vera Tarasova. The regiment commissar Evdokia Yakovlevna Rachkevich began to get ready for the journey... On May 8, 1965, a funeral took place in front of a huge crowd of people. The ashes of the dead pilots were transferred from an unmarked grave to the city square of Snezhnoye. Among the many wreaths on the new grave were wreaths from fellow soldiers. .." Monument at the grave of L. Olkhovskaya and V. Tarasova in the city of Snezhny (Donbass)
16 slide
Slide description:
On June 12, 1942, the regiment's first flight took place, and on February 8, 1943, it was awarded the honorary title of a guards regiment. The regiment's combat path took place in 1942 - in the Rostov region, Stavropol Territory, and North Ossetia. In 1943 he took part in breaking through enemy defenses and liberating Novorossiysk, and later supported landing operations on the Kerch Peninsula and the liberation of Crimea and Sevastopol. In June-July 1944, the regiment liberated Belarus, in August 1944 - Poland, in January 1945 - East Prussia. In April 1945, the regiment's pilots met on the Oder, where they broke through the enemy's defenses. During the three years of the war, the regiment was not reorganized; its composition remained female, although it was part of a larger “male” aviation unit - the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division, and for some time - the 2nd Guards Night Bomber Aviation Division ( in May 1944, during the fighting for the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula). The regiment flew Po-2 bombers. At the beginning of the war, the regiment had 20 aircraft, at the height of hostilities - 45, and the regiment met victory with 35 aircraft. In October 1943, the commander of the Air Army, General K.A. Vershinin, speaking at the general meeting of the regiment, said words that veterans of the unit still remember. “You are the most beautiful girls in the world,” said Vershinin, “because your beauty lies not in painted lips and eyebrows, but in that wonderful spiritual impulse with which you fight for the happiness and freedom of our Motherland.” One cannot indifferently watch how small, fragile girls lift entire trees to camouflage an airplane, how female pilots masterfully control an airplane, how armed girls hang bombs that are heavier than their own weight. Your work is very difficult, but also rewarding...
Slide 17
Slide description:
Mechanics at the airport. Summer 1943 Regimental engineer S. Ozerkova talks with mechanics Three regiment navigators: Sonya Burzaeva, Zhenya Rudneva, Larisa Rozanova. 1942
18 slide
Slide description:
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. Regiment commander E.D. Bershanskaya accepts the Guards banner. June 10, 1943, Art. Ivanovskaya Regimental standard bearer Natasha Meklin (Kravtsova).
Slide 19
Slide description:
Pashkovskaya village. Monument to pilots E. Nosal, P. Makagon, L. Svistunova, Yu. Pashkova Monument at the grave of O. Sanfirova. Grodno 32 girls from our regiment died during the war. Our friends burned and fell in the territory occupied by the enemy. The population buried them secretly from the invaders under inconspicuous signs “Here lies the unknown pilot” - we did not take documents with us. Monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Olga Sanfirova
20 slide
Slide description:
In October 1943, the Nazis were thrown out of the Taman Peninsula. For active participation in the battles for Taman, on October 9, 1943, the women's regiment of night bombers received the name “Tamansky.” More than 250 girls of the regiment were awarded orders and medals. Monument to the pilots of the regiment in the village of Peresyp. Taya Volodina and Anya Bondareva are buried here
21 slides
Slide description:
Dina Nikulina, Zhenya Rudneva, Natasha Meklin, Irina Sebrova. Ivanovskaya 1943. T. Sumarokova, G. Bespalova, N. Meklin, E. Ryabova, M. Smirnova, T. Makarova, M. Chechneva. Heroes of the Soviet Union Marina Chechneva and Ekaterina Ryabova The squadron was built. The commander of the 2nd squadron, Amosova, reports. Assinovskaya 1942
22 slide
Slide description:
A regiment in which, simultaneously with combat operations, new pilots and navigators were continuously trained and commissioned, and as a result its composition doubled, despite losses. A regiment for which wooden runways were built, in which flights were serviced using the brigade method. It seems to me that such a regiment no longer existed. And there were definitely no women! The pilots who joined it were bright personalities with high piloting skills. After all, in order for a woman to graduate from a flight school or flying club, she had to have a genuine love for the sky, a passion for flying. Then she could become an instructor at a flying club, a squad leader, or a passenger airliner pilot. And their navigators were mostly university students - mathematicians, physicists, historians, who had already demonstrated an ability for science and sacrificed it to help their Motherland. They quickly mastered a new specialty and brought a special atmosphere to the regiment: in the short breaks between battles, philosophical and tactical conferences were held, literary magazines were published, poetry was written... The navigator of the regiment and the navigators of the three squadrons were students of the Mechanics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University, the chief of staff and the head of the operational department - also students at Moscow University. And we were all united by a special passion, mutual respect and the desire to prove that girls can be no worse than men in battle... The Nazis called them “night witches.” The French pilots of the legendary air regiment "Normandie - Neman" gallantly - "lovely witches." Our soldiers and commanders are “good fairies” and “heavenly angels”. Belarus, a place near Grodno. Future Heroes of the Soviet Union T. Makarova, V. Belik, P. Gelman, E. Ryabova, E. Nikulina, N. Popova
Slide 23
Slide description:
On April 24, 1944, the regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its participation in the liberation of Feodosia. The regiment was noted 22 times in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. For the liberation of Belarus, the regiment was awarded the Order of Suvorov, III degree. Eight times Moscow saluted units, among which was the regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Bershanskaya.
24 slide
Slide description:
Monument to U-2 in Mytishchi, Germany, Stettin region. Deputy regiment commander E. Nikulin sets a task for the crews. And the crews are already wearing custom-made ceremonial dresses.
25 slide
Slide description:
During the war years, 23 servicemen of the regiment were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Guard Art. Lieutenant Aronova Raisa Ermolaevna - 960 combat missions. Awarded May 15, 1946. Guard Art. Lieutenant Belik Vera Lukyanovna - 813 combat missions. Awarded posthumously on February 23, 1945. Guard Art. Lieutenant Gasheva Rufina Sergeevna - 848 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945. Guard Art. Lieutenant Gelman Polina Vladimirovna - 860 combat missions. Awarded May 15, 1946. Guard Art. Lieutenant Zhigulenko Evgenia Andreevna - 968 combat missions. Guard Art. Lieutenant Tatyana Petrovna Makarova - 628 combat missions. Awarded posthumously. Guard Art. Lieutenant Meklin Natalya Fedorovna - 980 combat missions. Awarded on February 23, 1945. Guard captain Evdokia Andreevna Nikulina - 760 combat missions. Guard Lieutenant Evdokia Ivanovna Nosal - 354 combat missions. Awarded posthumously. The first female pilot awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War. Guard Art. Lieutenant Parfyonova Zoya Ivanovna - 680 combat missions. Awarded on August 18, 1945. Participant in the Victory Parade. Guard Art. Lieutenant Pasko Evdokia Borisovna - 790 combat missions. Guard captain Nadezhda Vasilievna Popova - 852 combat missions. Guard Art. Lieutenant Raspopova Nina Maksimovna - 805 combat missions. Guard captain Larisa Nikolaevna Rozanova - 793 combat missions. Guard Art. Lieutenant Rudneva Evgenia Maksimovna - 645 combat missions. Awarded posthumously. Guard Art. Lieutenant Ryabova Ekaterina Vasilievna - 890 combat missions. Guard captain Olga Aleksandrovna Sanfirova - 630 combat missions. Awarded posthumously. Guard Art. Lieutenant Sebrova Irina Fedorovna - 1004 combat missions. Guard captain Maria Vasilievna Smirnova - 950 combat missions. Guard Art. Lieutenant Syrtlanova Maguba Khusainovna - 780 combat missions. Awarded May 15, 1946. Guard Art. Lieutenant Ulyanenko Nina Zakharovna - 915 combat missions. Awarded on August 18, 1945. Guard Art. Lieutenant Khudyakova Antonina Fedorovna - 926 combat missions. Guard captain Marina Pavlovna Chechneva - 810 combat missions. Awarded May 15, 1946. In 1995, two more regiment navigators received the title of Hero of Russia: Guard Art. Lieutenant Akimova Alexandra Fedorovna - 680 combat missions. Guard Art. Lieutenant Sumarokova Tatyana Nikolaevna - 725 combat missions. One pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Guard Art. Lieutenant Dospanova Khiuaz - more than 300 combat missions.
26 slide
Slide description:
The squadron has been built. The commander of the 2nd squadron, Amosova, reports. Assinovskaya 942 Evdokia Davydovna Bershanskaya sets a combat mission. 1943 During the war, the regiment inflicted enormous damage to enemy personnel and equipment. The brave pilots carried out 23,672 combat missions 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. Novorossiysk is captured! Katya Ryabova and Nina Danilova are dancing. The girls not only bombed, but also supported paratroopers on Malaya Zemlya
Slide 27
