16. The Night Witches Made the Most Out of Their Obsolescent Airplanes
The Polikarpov Po-2 planes flown by the Night Witches could only carry a light bombload – just two bombs, one under each wing. So the aviatrixes of the 588th often flew in relatively thick formations in order to make a dent. A typical mission often involved up to forty Po-2 airplanes, each with a pilot in front and a navigator in the back. Because of weight constraints, they almost never had any ammunition with which to defend themselves if attacked.
Because of their wood and canvass construction, the Po-2s did not show up on radar, and the distinctive sound of their engines was often the first warning Germans had that the raiders were near. The first planes usually went in as bait to attract the attention of German spotlights, whose illumination helped the raiders. They would then release flares to further illuminate the target, drop their bombs, turn around to make the short flight back to base to rearm, and fly another sortie.