Nacht Hexen
by Mike Wohl
Night Witch – Pilot 46th Guards Bomber Regiment, 1942
Not too long ago I came across a book in which one of the main characters was what the Germans called a Nacht Hexen or Night Witch.
These were female Russian pilots who flew small biplanes at night over German lines to bomb rail yards, ammo dumps, troop concentrations and the like.
I then found another book, “A Dance with Death” that dealt at length with interviews of surviving pilots, aircrew, and ground personnel.
There were in fact, three regiments of female pilots flying the biplane, twin-engine bombers and single-engine fighters.
This pilot could really be from anyone of the three groups. I choose the 46th regiment to sculpt simply because they are the best known and because of the German nickname.
Photos by Phil Novak