Night Witches
In 1941, Marina Raskova gained Stalin's approval to form three women's aviation regiments: the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment and the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. As a pilot with ten years of experience, Bershanskaya was chosen to lead the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, which flew Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. In 1943, the regiment received the Guards designations and was reorganized as the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. Later she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The women pilots were so fierce and accurate that the German soldiers began calling them Night Witches. They were called this because often during missions they would bring the engines of their planes down to idle speed and glide over their targets before dropping their bombs and bringing the engine back to full power. From its formation until its disbandment in October 1945, the regiment remained totally female. Collectively, they flew over 23,000 sorties, and dropped over 3,000 tons of bombs on enemy forces.