Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Witches.

This is coolbert:

Thanks in this case to RIA Novosti and the tip from Jungle Trader.

How so very apropos. I was just blogging about this the other day.

The Soviet era "Night Witches".

Soviet female combat aviators from the era of World War Two [WW2].

Flying bi-planes at NIGHT over German positions, dropping bombs, creating havoc, waking the sleeping and tired enemy, making a lot of aggravation for the invader.

"A tale of two night witches and one war"





"The Soviet Union’s all-female air regiments flew more than 30,000 missions and dropped 3,000 tons of bombs along the Eastern Front in World War II. At home they were known as Stalin’s Falcons, but terrified German troops called them the Night Witches."

"The daredevil female Soviet pilots flew flimsy wood-and-canvas Polikarpov Po-2 planes against the better-armed, better-equipped enemy during one of the longest and most brutal campaigns of the Second World War"

"The material effects of these missions may be
regarded as insignificant, but the psychological
effect on German troops was much more noticeable.
They typically attacked by complete surprise in
the dead of night, denying German troops sleep
and keeping them constantly on their guard,
contributing yet further to the already exceptionally
high stress of combat on the Eastern front."


YES INDEED! Flying a biplane, the Po-2 into combat, and at night time, NOT just missions for scouting, surveillance, transport, etc. COMBAT!!





The "Night Witches", as with all these female combat aviators, have my greatest respect and admiration.

* Valerie Andre.
* Anna Yegarova.
* American WASPS.

Bully for them all.

coolbert.

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