Machine gun fire and rifle bullets zing all around her as she maneuvers her plane to drop her bombs. Her fragile World War II biplane is low enough for her to hear the Germans screaming and yelling, as she presses forward to her drop zone.

This was a typical flight during one night's sorties. The German soldiers feared and hated the women they called the Nachthexen: Night Witches. There were three all-female aviation regiments in the Soviet Union during World War II. This is the story of female heroes who flew under incredibly adverse conditions: from women who flew the little, unarmed biplanes and bombed the Germans at night, to the fierce fighter pilots who fought the seasoned German Luftwaffe, humbling them before their peers.

This is a fictional account, based on true stories, of the amazing women who lived, loved and died bravely during the dark days of World War II.

Sally A. Laughlin

Books