Speaking Of Female Military Pilots: 'Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls' - NPR

[GGoss]

Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls - NPR


WASP (from left) Frances Green, Margaret Kirchner, Ann Waldner and Blanche Osborn leave their B-17, called Pistol Packin' Mama, during ferry training at Lockbourne Army Air Force base in Ohio. They're carrying their parachutes.
National Archives

In 1942, the United States was faced with a severe shortage of pilots, and leaders gambled on an experimental program to help fill the void: Train women to fly military aircraft so male pilots could be released for combat duty overseas.

The group of female pilots was called the Women Airforce Service Pilots — WASP for short. In 1944, during the graduation ceremony for the last WASP training class, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces, Henry "Hap" Arnold, said that when the program started, he wasn't sure "whether a slip of a girl could fight the controls of a B-17 in heavy weather."

"Now in 1944, it is on the record that women can fly as well as men," Arnold said.

A few more than 1,100 young women, all civilian volunteers, flew almost every type of military aircraft — including the B-26 and B-29 bombers — as part of the WASP program. They ferried new planes long distances from factories to military bases and departure points across the country. They tested newly overhauled planes. And they towed targets to give ground and air gunners training shooting — with live ammunition. The WASP expected to become part of the military during their service. Instead, the program was canceled after just two years.

Link: https://www.npr.org/2010/03/09/123773525/female-wwii-pilots-the-original-fly-girls

[malthaussen]

1. The Soviets had female combat pilots.

Two of them became Aces: Lydia Litvyak and Katya Budanova. The WASPs didn't fly operationally, but instead were reluctantly permitted to fly the most boring and vital of missions: ferrying new aircraft to the combat theatres. And there were plenty of fossils in the USAAF who thought even that was too much for them.

-- Mal

[Irish_Dem]

2. I read a recent article saying female military drone pilots are better than the male pilots.

Women don't crash the drones like the men do.
They are safer pilots.

[maxrandb]

5. One female Navy fighter pilot I served with

commented about a story of some Air Force pilots drawing a penis in the sky with their flight plan.

She said, that's why we're better pilots, we draw vulvas.

[Irish_Dem]

6. That's funny.

Good for her.

[GGoss]

7. Oh... I Bet The Bars Where Pilots Hang Out

Are A LOT more interesting these days.

I wonder what they are calling the "Cockpit" now-a-days?

[StarryNite]

3. That is an awesome photo.

[GGoss]

4. Agreed... And Ya Know What I Wonder ???

Later in their lives, when they looked like "Little Old Ladies"...

If ANYBODY would know what they did. Hell I didn't know this story until 10 or 15 years ago.

It was never taught in any of the schools I attended, including college.

If someone tapped a teen or twenty-something on the shoulder, pointed to said "Old Lady", and whispered, "Did you know she flew B-29s during WWII?"

That kid would turn around and call you crazy.

[AleksS]

8. This site has some good pictures and quotes

But it doesn’t work well on phones (it used to) and I’ll have to check and see if it still even works well on computers.

https://00-80020365.nhdwebcentral.org/home

[GGoss]

9. Wow... Thank You !!!

[AleksS]

10. You're welcome!

It looks like it still works well on a computer.

Make sure to scroll down on the pages--some are loooooooooooooooooooong, but have a ton of fun (and sad) information about the program and what the women went through. Hearing them sing their last graduation song is tear-wrenching.

The words at the top take you to the other pages. And wherever you see the < and > arrows at the sides of an image it means there's a gallery you can scroll through of more images by clicking the arrows.

[leftyladyfrommo]

11. My mother helped build the planes in Wichita. ,nt

[GGoss]

12. Then She's A Hero Too

[Deep State Witch]

13. My Aunt was Good Friends with One of Them

She used to hang with the WASPs when she was flying. I think they looked at her like their kid sister.