The Night Witches

image taken form Armed Forces History Museum

The Night Witches were three all-female  aviation regiments, one of the most notorious one being the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, of the Soviet Union during WWII. They were labeled "Night Witches" by the Germans because of two main reasons:

1. they only attacked at night
2. and the sound of their planes (Polikarpov Pro-2s) allegedly sounded like a witch's broomstick to the Germans (NPR- Night Witch Flew Bomber Planes During World War II).

 These regiments, these women their stories, and the fact that they were told to withhold their stories will be the focus of my research project. 

I suppose I will be approaching this topic with a sociological and perhaps even psychological academic lens. At some other points I might try compiling answers through a linguistic disciplinary approach (the term "witches" is at the forefront of my mind). 

The types of question I wish to attempt to answer are along the following lines:

• What was the thought process behind of implementing female regiments in what most Americans believed to be a backwards and barbaric country (the Soviet Union)  when other 'progressive' countries would not even attempt to have active female units until years later?
• Why the label "witches"?
• What cultural forces/ beliefs were in play when after their service, these women were asked not to talk about their missions?