Sywell Aviation Museum are pleased to announce our Winter Talks for winter 2024/2025.

All talks are held in the Cirrus Room at the Aviator Hotel. Admission to each talk is £5 per person on the door and we usually hold a small raffle too. Large groups may book tickets in advance (tel: 07711 363392).

Stalin’s Female Pilots – The Night Witches

A talk by Debbie Land (remember her excellent ‘Secret War – Lysander & SOE Operations’ talk?)

Sunday 12th January 2025 at 14.30hrs

1941: under cover of darkness whilst flying ancient Polikarpov PO2 biplanes, these Russian women braved gunfire and frostbite in the air.

They were feared and hated by the Nazis; German forces nicknamed them the Nacht Hexen, “Night Witches,” because their flying tactics made them appear like ghosts in the night.

After a career in the WRAF, Debbie Land has had a long association with the Shuttleworth Collection. Now retired, with more time to devote to her historical interests – the Night Witches, the colourful women involved in the pioneering years of Aviation and Motoring, and the Special Operations Executive; she writes and gives presentations on these subjects.