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The tactic developed by the Night Witches was simple, effective and very dangerous. As they approached the target, Blackhawk dropped back to let Litvyak and her wingman take the lead. They climbed to a higher altitude and then, while still a distance from the target, switched off their engines and glided in.
The Germans arranged their air defenses in "flak circuses," a combination of searchlights and guns. They were alert and heard the sound of the wind in the biplanes' rigging. Brilliant white beams of light pierced the night, sweeping back and forth until they flicked across the Russian aircraft. Instantly, the lights' crews swung back looking for the little biplanes. The other lights joined the search of that patch of sky and soon the planes were centered at the apex of an enormous pyramid of light. The Flak 37 guns opened up and orange flowers of exploding shells blossomed around them. The two planes immediately went into evasive maneuvers, flying away from each other and drawing the searchlights and flak with them.
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