logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2021
32m 6s

The Night Witches

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
About this episode

October 4, 1938. Soviet pilot Marina Raskova beats a world record: the longest continuous flight ever recorded by a woman. She'll soon break another barrier-- she'll lead the first-ever female air force pilots to fly on the front lines of World War Two. One of her regiments in particular will wreak havoc on Nazi German soldiers and become the most notorious night bombers in the entire Soviet Union. They'll become known as the Night Witches. Who were these barrier-breaking pilots? And how did they become some of the most feared forces on the Eastern front?


Thank you to our guests, Claudia Hagen, author of "Tonight We Fly!" The Soviet Night Witches of WWII, and to Christer Bergström, author of "Black Cross Red Star - Air War over the Eastern Front: Volume 1 Operation Barbarossa."


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Today
Operation Mincemeat Revisited | Episode + Bonus Interview with Natasha Hodgson
When we first aired "Operation Mincemeat" back in 2020, it was a daring WWII thriller that felt almost too wild to be true. Now, it’s not just history — it’s a hit Broadway musical. This week, we're revisiting our original episode about the ingenious Allied ruse that helped turn ... Show More
54m 46s
Jul 7
Superman Takes Flight
July 7, 1938. Superman has the villain in his grasp. They soar through the air, then slam into the ground. This villain wants to start a war. Our hero won’t let that happen. At this point, Superman only has two comic book appearances. And yet, his legend is already beginning to g ... Show More
39m 14s
Jun 30
The Colosseum Becomes a Wonder | A Conversation with Barry Strauss & Alison Futrell
July 7, 2007. In a dramatic ceremony featuring pop stars, fireworks, and smoke cannons, the Colosseum is named one of the seven new wonders of the world. It’s an appropriately over-the-top blowout for an arena which, centuries before, was home to its own lavish events. How did sp ... Show More
37m 23s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
The Night Witches of World War Two
Orna Merchant learns how, during World War Two, a desperate Soviet Union created three all-female aerial combat units. The most celebrated of these was the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. Using Polikarpov Po-2 wooden biplanes, as the aviators approached their target they would cut t ... Show More
27m 10s
Jul 2019
The Night Witches: How an All-female Soviet Bomb Squad Terrorized Nazi Germany
The 588th Night Bomber Regiment didn't have the best equipment, and they didn't have the best planes. What this all-female bomber regiment did have, however, was unstoppable ambition, brilliant strategies and dozens of fearless pilots. Listen in to learn more about the rise of th ... Show More
30m 11s
Feb 2024
217 - How the Luftwaffe Lost the skies over Germany
Starting with small raids at the start of the war, the aerial offensive grew into a massive operation. Huge air armadas would eventually pulverise Germany, with the Mighty Eigth Airforce flying by day and the Lancasters of Bomber Command by night. This 24-hour campaign seriously ... Show More
54m 19s
Nov 2020
SYMHC Classics: The Night Witches
This episode from 2015 covers the Night Witches, an all-female bombing regiment in the Soviet Air Force. Flying biplanes meant for dusting crops and training new recruits, they dropped 23,000 tons of bombs on German forces in WWII. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www. ... Show More
24m 37s
Jan 2024
The Ghost Army of World War 2
In the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of young GIs—including such future luminaries such as Bill Blass, Ellsworth Kelly, Arthur Singer, Victor Dowd, Art Kane, and Jack Masey—landed in France to conduct a secret mission. From Normandy to the Rhine, the 1,100 men of the 23rd He ... Show More
41m 39s
Aug 2023
Alexander Hill, "The War on the Eastern Front: The Soviet Union, 1941-1945 - A Photographic History" (Pen & Sword Military, 2021)
In The War on the Eastern Front: The Soviet Union, 1941-1945 - A Photographic History (Pen & Sword Military, 2021), Professor Alexander Hill has collected photographs from the brutal conflict on the Eastern Front and the extraordinary experience of the soldiers and civilians who ... Show More
51m 16s
Jun 2022
80 años de la batalla de Stalingrado
La serie del año 2 continúa y esta vez le hablaremos de la batalla que definió el curso de la Segunda Guerra Mundial: La batalla de Stalingrado. 80 años después les contamos porque este enfrentamiento se considera clave para el desarrollo del conflicto más devastador de la histor ... Show More
55m 16s
May 2023
The Heroic Exploits of WWII’s Pacific Paratroopers
When people think of the paratroopers of World War II, they tend to think of the European theater — the 101st Airborne Division and the Band of Brothers.But paratroopers were also deployed in the Pacific, and here to unpack their lesser-known but equally epic and heroic story is ... Show More
53m 25s
Jun 2023
Women Warriors: From Boudicca to Ukrainian Snipers
From Boudicca to Ukrainian snipers, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. Today Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by Sarah Percy to get to the bottom of why women were allowed to be astronauts a full thirty years before they were allowed to fight in com ... Show More
44m 56s
Jan 2022
35. Etre soldat dans la première guerre mondiale
Au début de l’été 1914, l’Europe est en paix, c’est le continent le plus riche du monde.  4 ans plus tard, 70 Millions d’hommes ont été mobilisés dans tous les camps.  Et sur ce total, 9,5 M d’Hommes sont morts La guerre que ces soldats ont mené était une guerre moderne, industri ... Show More
13m 26s