In 1938, a young woman bailed out of a flawed bomber and survived ten days alone in the Siberian taiga without supplies. This deep dive traces the unlikely life of Marina Raskova, the aspiring opera singer who became the mother of Soviet female military aviation and organized the legendary Night Witches.

After a childhood ear infection ended her singing dreams, Raskova pivoted to chemistry and engineering, becoming the first woman in the Soviet Union to earn a professional air navigator diploma. Her record-breaking flights made her a national hero and gave her the political capital to reshape the military.

• The grueling craft of 1930s dead-reckoning navigation
• The 26-hour flight of the Rodina and her parachute jump into the taiga
• Her direct appeal to Stalin to form all-female aviation regiments
• Why the Nigh ...