Question

What jobs did women find during World War II that were a break from traditional women's roles?

Answer 1

Everything!

Explanation:

Working in:

• Factory Jobs
• Farming
• Truck Driving
• Book Keeping
• Telegram Operators
• Spies
• Joined the Military
• Recruiting
• Bankers
• Map makers
• Photographers
• Pharmacist
• Professional workers
• Radio operators
• Scientists
• Legislators
• Pilots
• Mechanics
• Government Jobs
• Health care providers

and more

Answer 2

It is true they did a lot. One of the most interesting things they did in World War 2 however was in the USSR. 3 great examples are the 588th Night Bomber Regiment known the the Germans as the Night Witches, there was a handful of snipers also and there was the Soviet Tank Ace Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya.

Explanation:

Now to the fun part of explaining.

Before we begin, a lot of these women were brought into the Soviet army because of the lack of men to fight due to the mass killings of them and capture during the first year when Operation Barbarossa began. The Soviet government also probably allowed the women to fight because of the need for men to move the factories (yep) behind the Caucuses and to work the factories. There is also the added factor that it may have also been a stunt for Communism at the same time.

588th Night Bomber Regiment was one of 3 women's air force units, ordered to be created by Stalin. Mainly women in their late teens and early twenties made up these units.
By no means can someone say they were well equipped. They flew 1928 training and crop dusting Polikarpov Po-2s, made of canvas and wood.
These women would seem to be ill equipped against the technologically advanced German Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, however, as with all under dog stories, they were very successful.
The reason for this success was due to the planes themselves, Polikarpov Po-2s were hard to detect on radar due to the materials they were made of, they also had extraordinary manoeuvrability, and were difficult for the advanced German planes to find and shoot down, due to a tactic of turning off their engines, the ladies would glide with only a wooshing sound (like a witch broom) and the lower speed meant that the German Pilots would have to slow down to not over shoot them, only thing was if they did they'd stall and fall.

These units would fly night bombing raids, carrying only 6 bombs, they often did a few more raids a night to compensate for this.

.
Soviets are well known for their amazing tendency to have pumped out many amazing marksmen during the Second World War, and some of them were women, much like the Ukrainian Liudmyla Mykhailivna Pavlychenko, who had over 309 confirmed kills.
Liudmyla is said to have been one of the most successful female snipers in history.

.
Finally, Mariya Oktyabrskaya. Which is an amazing story to tell.
She was the widow of Red Army soldier killed in Kiev in 1941, the news of his death however took over 2 years to reach her. She was full of anger and vowed to avenge her husband.
She sold her home and all her belongings and sent a letter to the Soviet government telling them how of she wanted revenge and had the money to buy here own tank. Of course, her money was not enough to buy a tank, but the government was so taken with her ferocity, they took the money and put her in commander's cupola of one of the greatest soviet tanks of that time; the T-34.
As you would know, women in the early and mid 20th century were still under the 'housewife' stigma, and that was how her fellow tank members originally treated her, seeing it as a joke. This however changed when she first entered her first battle in the 'Fighting Girlfriend' (what she named her tank).
In this first battle, her tank got hit by gunfire, and despite orders, she got out of her tank and repaired it. Due to this, she was promoted to Sergeant.

However, a year later she was killed in combat, but was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award in recognition.

Hope this helps. :)