Why did female pilots tie ordinary tin cans to bombs?

The Night Witches: A Feared Regiment00:00:10

The video introduces the 'Night Witches', a women's regiment of pilots during the war, who flew rudimentary wooden Po-2 planes. They were feared by the Germans despite their low-tech aircraft.

The Challenge of Stealth00:00:30

Initially, the pilots approached targets in darkness, but the Germans learned to detect faint engine noise, compromising their stealth.

The Tin Can Tactic00:00:41

To counter this, the women devised a unique tactic: they tied empty tin cans to their bombs with wire before dropping them.

A Weapon of Psychological Warfare00:00:57

The spinning cans in the air produced a 'sick, trembling wail'—a death rattle—that the Germans heard just seconds before impact. This sound created immense psychological terror, as by the time they heard it, it was too late to take cover, turning an ordinary can into a weapon of pure psychology.