On September 8, 1941, aviatrix Marina Raskova called for Soviet women to be "ready at any moment to sit in a combat machine and plunge into battle with the bloodthirsty enemy." It wasn't the first time she'd been so outspoken. It wouldn't be the last.

Bowing to Raskova's tireless lobbying, Stalin signed Order No. 0099, a month latter ordering the Soviet Air Force to form three all-female air force regiments.

In Part I of this series, we look at the most famous all-female air regiment: The 588th Night Bomber Regiment. You might also know them as the "Night Witches."

Sources:
A Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II by Anne Noggle
"Bomb-Dropping Bombshells: An Analysis of the Motivations and Accomplishments of the All-Female 46th Taman Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment" by Yasmine L. Vaughan
Combat Biplanes of World War II by Peter C. Smith
"Nachthexen: Soviet Female Pilots in WWII" by Rochelle Nowaki
Night Witches: A History of the All Female 588th Night Bomber Regiment by Fergus Mason
"Not Just Night Witches" by Reina Pennington
Soviet Women on the Frontline in the Second World War by Roger D. Markwick and Euridice Charon Cardona
"Stalin's Falcons: the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment" by Reina Pennington
The Eastern Front Air War, 1941–1945 by Anthony Tucker-Jones

Credit to Kilmbim for the colorized images

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