Senior Lieutenant Petrova, satisfied with our answers, tells us that the Major is waiting on the flight line, and we file out to meet her. The regiment’s Po-2’s are in formation on the flight line, each fragile craft lovingly tended by a pair of mechanic-armorers. Senior Lieutenant Petrova forms us into rough order and salutes a stern older woman with gold shoulder boards—the Major. Next to her is Captain Lobodeva, who we met on the ferry—her Chief of Staff - along with several other officers. The Major looks us over.<br/><br/>The Major herself was not a particularly old woman, although she did look seasoned warrior.  She had dark brown hair with lose curls held back by her sharp khaki cap.<br/><br/>“Comrades, welcome to the regiment,” she says, “I am Major Yevdokiya Bershanskaya, your commander. I will expect you to comport yourselves at all times as natural-born Soviet airwomen. We will fly these”—and she points to the biplanes behind her. “The Polikarpov Po-2 LNB. A simple two-seat canvas-and-wood biplane has been determined to be  ideal for our mission by the great operational minds of the Fourth Army Air Force, and we are certainly not going to doubt their wisdom in this matter. Let’s talk about that mission, shall we?”<br/><br/>She walks over to one of the planes, a Red and Yellow looking death trap that has seen better days.<br/><br/>"There are three places you can put a bullet that will break the Po-2: The small fuel tank, the compact engine, or the pilot. Anything else just passes through and you keep flying. And, honestly, the pilot doesn’t count because you have a spare. "  She points out each of the points of interest.  You can tell by the way she points that she has lost some use of her fingers, and she is unable to point completely straight at the things."<br/><br/>"There is no radio in a Po-2. Individual aircrews communicate with hand signals or by using a speaking tube, and communication between planes in the same section is by flashlight, flare or hand signal. We will work together so closely, night after night, that you will be able to read another plane’s intention by instinct."<br/><br/>She has a cosmopolitan Leningrad accent and her voice is deep and loud. "The Po-2 is not a fighter but a bomber. Each wing has six attachment points for FAB-50 fragmentation bombs. The release mechanism for these bombs is unreliable. In the event of a hanging bomb, you navigators need to climb out on the wing and release it manually. When FAB-50s aren’t available, we will drop sawed-off railroad ties."<br/><br/>"Since our mission profiles rarely have us flying above 1200 meters and weight is at a premium, parachutes are not standard equipment."  She waits for a moment to let the gravity of that sink in.<br/><br/>"Formation drill at 1700; I expect you to be crisp. It is now my pleasure to administer the oath of a Soviet soldier and induct you into the Red Army Air Force Fourth Air Army."<br/><br/>She salutes us, and begins to lead us all in the oath. "I, give your name, promise to rise to the defense of my Motherland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as a fighting man [sic] of the Worker’s and Peasant’s Red Army, I promise to defend it bravely, skillfully, with dignity and honor, sparing neither my blood nor my life itself for the achievement of total victory over our enemies."