26 of The Most Dangerous Female Criminals The World Has Seen Till Date

13. The Night Witches: Bravery Doesn’t Need Balls

Officially members of the Soviet Air Force’s 588th Night Bomber regimen, these female pilots were one of the three all-female Soviet squadrons formed in 1941 under the order of Joseph Stalin. These women, hand-picked and chosen from thousands of volunteers, were the first women in modern military who had combat orders. Flying in plywood planes, which were better suited for crop-dusting rather than bombing, in the stealth of the night, they put the fear of God in Nazi soldiers and their moniker – Night Witches – was given to them by their German enemies in a moment of begrudged respect.

The Germans couldn’t believe that these daredevil airmen, who switched off their engines midair and glided down towards their target to drop the bombs, were actually women! These 80-odd women were fearless, and any German who shot down even one plane was automatically awarded the Iron Cross, for they had to be brave to shoot down the bravest.