TheWomen Airforce Service Pilots (WASP; alsoWomen's Army Service Pilots[2] orWomen's Auxiliary Service Pilots[3]) was acivilian women pilots' organization, whose members wereUnited States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft and trained other pilots. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat roles duringWorld War II. Despite various members of the armed forces being involved in the creation of the program, the WASP and its members had no military standing.
WASP was preceded by theWomen's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Both were organized separately in September 1942. They were pioneering organizations of civilian women pilots, who were attached to theUnited States Army Air Forces to fly military aircraft during World War II. On August 5, 1943, the WFTD and WAFS merged to create the WASP organization.[4]: 45, 49–50, 173
The WASP arrangement with theUS Army Air Forces ended on December 20, 1944. During its period of operation, each member's service had freed a male pilot for military combat or other duties. They flew over 60 million miles; transported every type of military aircraft; towed targets for liveanti-aircraft gun practice; simulatedstrafing missions and transported cargo. Thirty-eight WASP members died during these duties and one,Gertrude Tompkins, disappeared while on a ferry mission, her fate still unknown.[5] In 1977, for their World War II service, the members were grantedveteran status,[6] and in 2009 awarded theCongressional Gold Medal.[7][8]
WASP started out as two separate organizations. PilotJacqueline "Jackie" Cochran wrote to the First Lady,Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1939 to suggest the idea of using women pilots in non-combat missions.[9][10] Cochran was introduced by Roosevelt to GeneralHenry H. Arnold, chief of theArmy Air Force, and to GeneralRobert Olds, who became the head of theAir Transport Command (ATC).[11] Arnold asked her to ferry abomber toGreat Britain in order to generate publicity for the idea of women piloting military aircraft.[9] Cochran did go to England, where she volunteered for theAir Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and recruited American women pilots to help fly planes in Europe.[12] Twenty-five women volunteered for the ATA with Cochran.[13] The American women who flew in the ATA were the first American women to fly military aircraft.[12] While in England, Cochran studied the organization of both the ATA and theRoyal Air Force (RAF).[14]
In the summer of 1941, Cochran and test-pilotNancy Harkness Love independently submitted proposals to the U.S. Army Air Forces to allow women pilots innon-combat missions after the outbreak ofWorld War II in Europe.[15] The plan was to free male pilots for combat roles by using qualified female pilots to ferry aircraft from the factories to military bases, and also to towdrones andaerial targets. The U.S. was building its air power and military presence in anticipation of direct involvement in the conflict, and had belatedly begun todrastically expand its men in uniform. This period led to the dramatic increase in activity for theU.S. Army Air Forces, because of obvious gaps in "manpower" that could be filled by women. To compensate for the manpower demands of the military after theattack on Pearl Harbor, the government encouraged women to enter the workforce to fill bothindustrial and service jobs supporting the war effort.[16][17]
Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) pilots, March 7, 1943
Nancy Harkness Love's husband, Robert Love, was part of theArmy Air Corps Reserve and worked for ColonelWilliam H. Tunner.[17] When Robert Love mentioned that his wife was a pilot, Tunner became interested in whether she knew other women who were pilots.[18] Tunner and Nancy Love met and began to plan an aviation ferrying program involving women pilots.[18] More formally, on June 11, 1942, Colonel Tunner suggested putting women pilots into theWomen's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC).[19] However, there were technical problems with this suggestion, so it was decided to pursue hiring civilian pilots for the ATC instead.[19] By June 18, Love had drafted a plan to send to GeneralHarold L. George who sent the proposal onto GeneralHenry H. Arnold.[19]Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about women working as pilots during the war in her September 1 "My Day" newspaper column, supporting the idea.[20] General George again broached the idea with General Arnold, who finally, on September 5, directed that "immediate action be taken and the recruiting of women pilots begin within twenty-four hours."[21] Nancy Harkness Love was to be the director of the group and she sent out 83telegrams to prospective women pilots that same day.[21]
The Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) went into operation publicly on September 10, 1942.[22][23] Soon, the Air Transport Command began using women to ferry planes from factory toairfields. Love started with 28 women pilots, but they grew in number during the war until there were several squadrons.[24] Requirements for recruits were that they had to be between ages 21 and 35, have a high school diploma, acommercial flying license, 200horsepower engine rating, 500 hours offlight time and experience in flying across the country.[25]
Uniforms for the WAFS were designed by Love and consisted of a graygabardine jacket with brass buttons and square shoulders.[26] The uniform could be worn withgored skirts or slacks also made of gabardine.[26] Because they had to pay for their own uniforms, only 40 women ever wore the WAFS uniform.[22] All WAFS were issued a flight uniform ofkhakiflight coveralls, aparachute,goggles, aflying scarf and leatherflying jacket sporting the ATC patch.[27]
Headquarters for WAFS was established at the new (May 1943)New Castle Army Air Base (the formerWilmington Airport).[22] Tunner ensured that there were quarters for the women to live in at the base.[28]
WAFS worked under a 90 day, renewable contract.[29] WAFS earned $250 a month and had to provide and pay for their ownroom and board.[30]
The first group of WAFS recruits were known as the Originals.[31]Betty Gillies was the first woman to show up for training.[31] On October 6, Gillies was made anexecutive officer and second-in-command of the WAFS.[32] Gillies was familiar withdrill and command techniques which she had learned at finishing school.[14] The first WAFS assignment was run by Gillies on October 22, 1942.[33] Six WAFS would ferry sixL-4B Cubs from the factory toMitchel Field.[33] The originalsquadron of 28 was reduced to 27 whenPat Rhonie left on December 31 after disagreeing with Colonel Baker.[34]
The WAFS had an average of about 1,400 flying hours and a commercial pilot rating. They received 30 days of orientation to learn Army paperwork and to fly by militaryregulations. Afterward, they were assigned to various ferryingcommands.[35] At the beginning of 1943, three new squadrons were formed.[36] The 4th Ferrying Group was inRomulus and commanded byDel Scharr.[36] The 5th Ferrying Group was stationed atLove Field and was under the command ofFlorene Miller.[36] The 6th Ferrying Group was stationed atLong Beach and commanded byBarbara Jane Erickson.[36]
Cochran returned from England and arrived in the US the day before the announcement of the WAFS.[37] Cochran was angry that Love's proposal had been accepted, while her own had seemingly been ignored.[14] The next day, Cochran flew toWashington, D.C., and confrontedGeneral Arnold about her earlier proposal.[38] The WAFS had been formed while General Arnold was out on prolonged medical leave.[14] On September 13, Arnold sent a memo to GeneralGeorge E. Stratemeyer that designated Cochran as the director of "Women's Flying Training."[39] On September 15, 1942, Cochran's training proposal was also adopted, forming the 319thWomen's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD).[40] WFTD would be working with the Flight Training Command (FTC).[41] WFTD was conceived of a program to train more women to ferry aircraft.[42] On October 7, General Arnold proposed the goal of training 500 women pilots.[43] By November 3, General Arnold was proposing a "maximum effort to train women pilots."[43]
Fifinella, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) mascot, created by The Walt Disney Company.
The Aviation Enterprises atHoward R. Hughes Field became the base of the WFTD.[44][4] The first trainees recruited for WFTD, class 43-1, started on November 16, 1942.[45] Cochran madeDedie Deaton her staff executive and in charge of finding housing for class 43-1- also known as the "Guinea Pigs".[46][47] Women trained on old planes, many of which bore "visible and invisible scars".[48]
WFTD pilots were issued large khaki coveralls (which the trainees called "zoot suits"), were ordered to wear any shoes they had, and ahairnet on the flight line.[49] The WFTD women were housed in various locations and had to find their own transportation to training.[50] The first deaths occurred when Margaret Oldenburg and her instructor were practicingspins on March 7, 1943.[51] Oldenburg had put her plane, aPT-19 open cockpit, into a spin that she could not recover from and the crash killed her and her instructor.[51] Because the WFTD were civilians, there was no money to cover the funeral costs.[51] Cochran paid for the expense out of her own pocket and Deaton escorted Oldenburg's body home.[51] Another crash took place on March 21, 1943, whenCornelia Fort, a former flight instructor who had been the first to encounter Japanese aircraft atPearl Harbor, was ferrying aBT-13 with a group of male pilots.[52] One of the pilots, while showing off, flew too close to Fort's plane and hislanding gear collided with the wing of her plane, breaking part of it off.[53] The plane went into anose-dive, killing her.[54]
Cochran pushed aggressively for a single entity to control the activity of all women pilots. Tunner, in particular, objected on the basis of differing qualification standards, and the absolute necessity of the ATC being able to control its own pilots. But Cochran's preeminence with Arnold prevailed, and in July 1943 he ordered the programs merged, with Cochran as director.[12] The WAFS and the WFTD were combined to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).[55] Love continued with the program as executive in charge of WASP ferrying operations. The formal announcement combining WAFS and WFTD took place on August 20, 1943.[56]
WASP adopted a patch in 1943 that featured the female gremlinFifinella.[1] Fifinella was conceived byRoald Dahl and drawn byWalt Disney, and became the official WASP mascot.[1]
WASP adopted many of WAFS requirements, but added one other. Recruits still had to be between 21 and 35 years old, in good health, in possession of a pilot's license and 35 hours of flight time.[57][58] Additionally, women were also required to be at least five feet and two inches tall.[59] Over 25,000 women made application to join the WASP; 1,830 were accepted but only 1,074 completed the training.[60] The applicants all had prior experience andairman certificates. Several WASPs had been trained previously in theCivilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP).[61][62][63] Many of the women came from wealthy backgrounds that had afforded pilot training earlier in life, or had husbands who helped pay for their expensive training.[64] All WASP recruits were interested in serving their country.[64]
Although the majority of WASP pilots were white, they were not exclusively so. TwoChinese Americans,Hazel Ying Lee andMaggie Gee, two women ofHispanic descent,Verneda Rodriguez andFrances Dias,[65][66][67][68] and one knownNative American woman,Ola Mildred Rexroat completed the training. Rexroat was a member of theOglala Sioux tribe from thePine Ridge Indian Reservation inSouth Dakota.[69] While the total number of black women applicants for WASP training is unknown, severalAfrican American pilots made it to the final interview stage, where they were all rejected.[70]Mildred Hemmans Carter, another African American applicant, was asked to withdraw her application because of her race. In 1940, at age 19, Carter had earned aBachelor of Arts degree from theTuskegee Institute. The following year, she received her aviation certification. However, because of her sex, Carter was also rejected from flying with theTuskegee Airmen. Seventy years later, she was recognized retroactively as a WASP, and Carter took her final flight at age 90.[71] Another African American applicant,Janet Harmon Bragg, was told by Cochran in her interview that "it was difficult enough fighting prejudice aimed at females without additionally battling race discrimination."[72]
Start of WASP training – class of 43-3 in January 1943. Photo by Lois Hailey.Short film about the Women Airforce Service Pilots, part of theArmy–Navy Screen Magazine film series in 1943
The WASP training spanned 18 groups of women. The first group was the Originals, who were the first group of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), led byNancy Love.[31]
The second group was The Guinea Pigs which wereJacqueline Cochran's first class of women pilots for theWomen's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD).[47] The Guinea Pigs started training at the Houston Municipal Airport (nowWilliam P. Hobby Airport) on November 16, 1942, as part of the 319thArmy Air Force Women's Flying Training Detachment (AAFWFTD). This was just after the WAFS had started their orientation inWilmington, Delaware. Unlike the WAFS, the women that reported toHouston did not have uniforms and had to find their own lodging.[73] The "Woofteddies" (WFTD) also had minimal medical care, no life insurance, crash truck, or fire truck, and the ambulance was loaned from theEllington Army Airfield, along with insufficient administrative staff, and a hodgepodge of aircraft—23 types—for training.[74] As late as January 1943, when the third class was about to start their training, the three classes were described by Byrd Granger inOn Final Approach, as "a raggle-taggle crowd in a rainbow of rumpled clothing", while they gathered for morning and evening colors.[75] There was also a lack of equipment, such as aLink trainer, that was necessary for training.[40]
The first Houston class started with 38 women with a minimum of 200 hours. Twenty-three graduated on April 24, 1943, at the only Houston WASP graduation at Ellington Army Air Field. The second Houston class, started in December 1942 with a minimum of 100 hours, but finished their training just in time to move toSweetwater, Texas and become the first graduating class from Avenger Field on May 28, 1943. The third class completed their advanced training at Avenger Field and graduated July 3, 1943. Half of the fourth class of 76 women started their primary training in Houston on February 15, 1943, and then transferred to Sweetwater. Later in the summer of 1943, both the WAFS and WFTD were combined into the WASP.[76] The first group to train as WASP started in Sweetwater in September 1943 and were designated as Class 44-W-2.[77]
Avenger Field - WASP trainees with T-6 Texan, 1943
Each WASP had apilot's license, but was retrained to fly the Army way by the U.S. Army Air Forces atAvenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas.[78] More than 25,000 women applied for the WASP, but only 1,830 were accepted into the program.[60][79] During the course of their training, it was reported that 552 women were released for lack of flying proficiency, 152 resigned, 27 were discharged for medical reasons, and 14 were dismissed for disciplinary reasons.[80] After completing four months of military flight training, 1,074 of them earned their wings and became the first women to fly American military aircraft. While the WASP were not trained for combat, their course of instruction was essentially the same as male aviation cadets.[81] They received no gunnery training and very little formation and aerobatic flying, but went through the maneuvers necessary to be able to recover from any position.[82] The percentage of those eliminated compared favorably with the elimination rate for male cadets' in theCentral Flying Training Command.
WASP recruits were required to complete the same primary, basic, and advanced training courses as male Army Air Corps pilots and many of them went on to specialized flight training.[8] They spent around 12 hours a day at the airfield with half the day spent practicing actual flight and the other half studying.[78] By graduation, WASP recruits had 560 hours of ground school and 210 hours of flight training.[78] They knew Morse code, meteorology, military law, physics, aircraft mechanics, navigation and other subjects.[78]
After their training, the WASP were stationed at 122 air bases across the U.S.,[83] where they assumed numerous flight-related missions.[84] The original WAFS were organized specifically to ferry airplanes and free male pilots, around 900 in all, for combat roles.[85] A WASP would go to the factory, test fly the airplane and then deliver it.[86] DuringWorld War II, women pilots flew 80 percent of all ferrying missions.[86] Between September 1942 and December 1944, the WASP delivered 12,652 aircraft[87] of 78 different types. In order to set an example, Nancy Love who was in charge of training, made sure she was trained and qualified on as many different types of planes as was possible.[88]
They also towed targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, simulated strafing missions, and transported cargo. The live-target practice was announced by Jackie Cochran on July 19, 1943, to 25 recent WASP graduates at Avenger Field.[54] Cochran told the group that she had a "top secret assignment" and that any WASP could opt out if they wished: none did.[54] This group would be sent toCamp Davis to tow flying shooting targets for men on the ground to practice shooting airborne targets.[54] Many of the planes were shot during this training and several WASP were shot in the feet.[89] Sometimes the planes were shot on purpose, when service men mistakenly believed they were supposed to shoot the plane, not the target the WASP was towing.[90] One of the planes used during target towing, anA-24 that, like many had not been adequately maintained by the Army Air Corps (AAC), killed WASPMabel Virginia Rawlinson.[91] Rawlinson was practicing night flying with a trainer when her A-24 began to experience technical issues.[91] The instructor asked her to return to the airfield, but on the final approach, Rawlinson's plane connected with the top of a pine tree and the plane nosed down and crashed.[91] The instructor was thrown free, but Rawlinson was stuck in the front seat as the plane went up in flames, unable to open the plane's broken canopy lock.[91] The investigation into the crash and her death found that the towing planes were not maintained properly and the AAC was using the wrongoctane fuel for the planes.[91]
The women flew almost every type of aircraft flown by the USAAF during World War II.[92] In addition, a few exceptionally qualified women were allowed to test rocket-propelled planes, to pilot jet-propelled planes, and to work with radar-controlled targets. When men were less willing to fly certain difficult planes, such as theYP-59 andB-29 Super Fortress, General Arnold recruited two WASPs to fly these aircraft.[93] Arnold believed that if men saw women fly these planes successfully, they would be "embarrassed" into taking these missions willingly.[94] Two WASPs, Dorthea Johnson andDora Dougherty Strother, were chosen to fly the B-29.[93] They flew toAlamogordo in the B-29s where there was a crowd waiting to see them land.[93] General Arnold's plan worked, "From that day on, there was no more grumbling from male pilots assigned to train on and fly the B-29 Super Fortress."[93] Women would also test-fly the planes that had been repaired.[86]
When not flying, the pilots studiednavigation, radio communications and new flying skills.[86]
Thirty-eight members lost their lives in accidents: eleven during training, and twenty-seven on missions.[60] Because they were not considered part of the military by the guidelines, a fallen WASP was sent home at family expense.[95] Traditional military honors or note of heroism, such as allowing the U.S. flag to be placed on the coffin or displaying aservice flag in a window, were not allowed.[96][97][95]
The WASP members were U.S. federal civil service employees, and did not qualify for military benefits.[12] Each member paid for her own transportation costs to training sites, for her dress uniforms and room and board.[60] Although attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces, the members could resign at any time after completion of their training. On September 30, 1943, the first of the WASP militarization bills was introduced in theUnited States House of Representatives by RepresentativeJohn Costello.[64] Both Cochran and Arnold desired a separate corps headed by a woman colonel (similar to theWAC,WAVES,SPARS, and theMarine Corps Women's Reserve heads).[98] The War Department, however, consistently opposed the move, because there was no separate corps for male pilots as distinguished fromunrated AAF officers.[98] In December 1943, the G-1 division of the General Staff decided that the WASPs should be taken into the existing WAC organization and therefore disapproved the changes made by the Air Staff. This decision was concured in by G-3.[99] In January 1944, Costello introduced a bill, HR 4219, to authorize women's commissions in the Army Air Forces.[100] General Arnold felt that there was room for women and men to work as pilots in the Army Air Forces.[100] He testified in front of the House military committee that the WASP were all "good fliers and that he plans to send all the male pilots to fight."[101]
However, some in the media disagreed with General Arnold and began to write opinion pieces in some of the most important media of the day.[94]TIME, TheNew York Daily News and theWashington Post all urged women to step down and give the jobs back to men.[94] A journalist,Drew Pearson, questioned the legality of funding the WASP program, and even accused General Arnold of being manipulated by Jackie Cochran's "feminine wiles" in aWashington Times Herald column.[94] The column caused male civilian pilots to increase their efforts to write letters against the program.[94]
On June 21, 1944, the U.S. House bill to provide the WASP with military status, HR 4219, was narrowly defeated 188 against to 169 for.[102] The civilian male pilots lobbied against the bill: reacting to closure of some civilian flight training schools, and the termination of two male pilot training commissioning programs.[103] The House Committee on the Civil Service (Ramspeck Committee) reported on June 5, 1944, that it considered the WASP unnecessary, unjustifiably expensive, and recommended that the recruiting and training of inexperienced women pilots be halted.[103] The committee had found that the program had cost $50 million in government funds.[102] Because of the cost, the program needed to request funding through legislation.[102]
Cochran had been pushing for a resolution of the question: in effect, delivering an ultimatum to either commission the women or disband the program.[102] The AAF had developed an excess of pilots and pilot candidates. As a result, Arnold (who had been a proponent of militarization) ordered that the WASP be disbanded by December 20, 1944.[12] Arnold is quoted from a speech he delivered at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas on December 7, 1944:[104]
The WASP has completed its mission. Their job has been successful. But as is usual in war, the cost has been heavy. Thirty-eight WASP have died while helping their country move toward the moment of final victory. The Air Forces will long remember their service and their final sacrifice.
On December 7, 1944, the final class of WASP pilots, 71 women in total, graduated from their training regardless of the plan to disband the WASP program within the following two weeks.[105] Following the announcement approximately 20 WASP members offered to continue ferrying aircraft for the compensation ofUS$1.00 (equivalent to $17.86 in 2024) a year apiece but this offer was rejected.[106] Before the WASP were disbanded, General Arnold ordered all commanding officers at bases where WASPs served, that the "women pilots be issued a certificate similar to anhonorable discharge."[107]
Following the group's disbandment some WASP members were allowed to fly on board government aircraft from their former bases to the vicinity of their homes as long as room was available and no additional expenses were incurred. Others had to arrange and pay for their own transportation home.[108] At the conclusion of the WASP program, 915 women pilots were on duty with the AAF: 620 assigned to the Training Command, 141 to the Air Transport Command, 133 to the numbered air forces in the continental United States, 11 to the Weather Wing, 9 to the technical commands and one to the Troop Carrier Command.[74] The WASP members ferried fifty percent of the combat aircraft during the war to 126 bases across the United States.[60] Because of the pioneering and the expertise they demonstrated in successfully flying military aircraft the WASP records showed that women pilots, when given the same training as men pilots, were as capable as men in non-combat flying.[109]
During November 1944 WASP members at Maxwell Air Field founded the Order of Fifinella organization.[110] The organization's initial goals were to help the former WASP members find employment and maintain contact between themselves.[110] Through the years the Order of Fifinella issued newsletters, helped influence legislation and organized reunions.[110] The group held its final meeting in 2008 and was disbanded in 2009.[110]
Many WASPs wanted to continue flying after they were disbanded.[111]Commercial airlines turned women pilots away, "saying public opinion wouldn't stand for it."[111] WASPTeresa James wrote to Congress requesting veteran's status.[30] In order to keep flying, some women wroteMadame Chiang Kai-shek and volunteered for theChinese Air Force, who were still fighting against Japan.[111][3] TheUnited States Air Force offered commissions to former WASP in 1949, though all 121 who accepted the commissions were given support and administrative duties and did not fly.[112]
The records of the WASP program, like nearly all wartime files, were classified and sealed for 35 years making their contributions to the war effort little known and inaccessible to historians.[97] However, there were unofficial historians, like WASPMarty Wyall, who collectedscrapbooks and newspaper clippings about what the WASP members had done and what they had gone on to do.[113] Wyall also suggested in 1964, at aNinety-Nines convention, that the remaining WASP members should meet up with one another every other year.[113]
Early efforts to gain recognition for the WASP continued in the early 1970s.[30] There was support from the office of SenatorBarry Goldwater, who had flown with WASP during WWII.[30] Goldwater's efforts to get the WASP veteran's status was met with shocking prejudice in Congress.[30] According to Goldwater's legislative assistant, Terry Emerson, "Women were treated as non-persons."[30] In the House, RepresentativePatsy Mink introduced a bill on May 17, 1972, to give the WASP veterans status.[114] Another representative in the House,Lindy Boggs, introduced a bill around 1977 to give the WASP military status.[115]
In 1975 under the leadership of Col. Bruce Arnold, the son of General Hap Arnold, along with the surviving WASP members organized as a group again and began what they called the "Battle of Congress". Their goal was to gain public support and have the WASP officially recognized as veterans of World War II.[116] In 1976, there was a bill in the Senate Veteran's Affairs Committee to give the WASPs military status.[111] The bill would allow WASP pilots to use veteran's services.[111] In 1977, WASP records were unsealed after an Air Force press release erroneously stated the Air Force was training the first women to fly military aircraft for the U.S.[97][117][60][116] Documents were compiled that showed during their service WASP members were subject to military discipline, assigned top secret missions and many members were awarded service ribbons after their units were disbanded.[116] It was also shown that WASP member Helen Porter had been issued anHonorable Discharge certificate by her commanding officer following her service.[116][107] This time, the WASPs lobbied Congress with the important support of Goldwater, who himself had been a World War II ferry pilot in the 27th Ferrying Squadron.[118] During hearings on the legislation opposition to the WASP members being given military recognition was voiced by theVeterans Administration (VA), theAmerican Legion and theVeterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).[119] The VA, led byDorothy L. Starbuck, argued that WASP should not be given military recognition because the women were never subject tocourt martial.[115] The VFW felt that giving WASP military recognition would "destroy the special status of veterans and do irreparable damage to veterans benefits."[115]
PresidentJimmy Carter signed legislation, P.L.95–202, Section 401, The G.I. Bill Improvement Act of 1977, providing that service as a WASP would be considered "active duty" for the purposes of programs administered by the Veterans Administration.[120] Honorable Discharge certificates were issued to the former WASP members in 1979.[121] In 1984, each WASP was awarded theWorld War II Victory Medal.[60] Those who served for more than one year were also awarded American Theater Ribbon/American Campaign Medal for their service during the war.[60] Many of the medals were accepted by the recipients' sons and daughters on their behalf.[95]
The 1977 legislation, either despite or because of its language, did not expressly allow WASPs to be buried inArlington National Cemetery. That was because Arlington National Cemetery, unlike most other national cemeteries, is administered by the Department of the Army, not the Department of Veterans Affairs, and thus theSecretary of the Army determines eligibility for Arlington burial.[122][97] The reason for the position taken by the Army on this issue may have been the rapidly diminishing space at Arlington. But in 2002, the Army re-considered and decided that deceased WASPs were able to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 2015, however, the Army re-interpreted the law and its own regulations against the backdrop of thirteen years of war, which once again threatened to deplete the cemetery of land.[123] The Army ruled that the 1977 statute did not mandate the burial of deceased WASPs at Arlington. When Irene Kinne Englund died on February 15, 2002, the family was shocked to learn that although she could be inurned at Arlington as the spouse of a Navy Veteran, she was denied that rite under her own status as a WASP. Although the 1977 statue allowed WASPs and other Active Duty Designees inurnment rites, they were denied honors and a flag. After a series of highly visible editorials appearing in the Washington Post,[124][125] the Army officials overseeing the policy, ruled that WASPs inurned at Arlington were entitled to military honors. On June 14, 2002, Irene Kinne Englund became the first WASP to be inurned with military honors. Nine other members of the WASPs were present at the ceremony which featured a rifle team, a bugler, and a flag presentation to the Englund family.[126] When WASPElaine Harmon died on April 21, 2015, her request to have her ashes interred at Arlington was denied.[127] Another WASP,Florence Shutsy-Reynolds, began a social media campaign to advocate for Harmon and other WASP members who wished to be interred at Arlington.[127] Legislation in 2016 seemingly overruled the Army's interpretation and it was widely reported that WASPs could "again" be buried at Arlington.[128] The 2016 law revived the long-held concern about limited space at the cemetery.[129][130] Thus, the legislation in the114th Congress (S.2437 by Sen.Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) and H.R. 4336 by Rep.Martha McSally (R-Arizona), a retired Air Force fighter pilot), provides only for interment of cremated remains and not ground burial.[131]
Madge Moore showing the WASP Congressional Gold Medal[132] she received in Washington, D.C.
In 2002 WASP memberDeanie Bishop Parrish with her daughter began plans for a museum dedicated to telling the WASPs story.[133] The hangar building used for the museum, Hangar One, was originally built in 1929 and was part of the Sweetwater Municipal Airport facilities which became Avenger Field.[134] In 2005 theNational WASP WWII Museum's grand opening was planned for May 28, 2005, which was the 62 anniversary of the first WASP graduating class.[135] Along with the displays of uniforms, vehicles and other artifacts are several aircraft. These include aBoeing-Stearman Model 75 biplane, aFairchild PT-19 trainer, aUC-78 Bamboo Bomber and aVultee BT-13 Valiant trainer that was donated in September 2017.[136][137]
On July 1, 2009,PresidentBarack Obama and theUnited States Congress awarded the WASP theCongressional Gold Medal.[7][132] Three of the roughly 300 surviving WASPs were on hand to witness the event. During the ceremony President Obama said, "The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since. Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve."[139] On March 10, 2010, the 300 surviving WASPs came to the US Capitol to accept the Congressional Gold Medal from House SpeakerNancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders.[140] On New Year's Day in 2014 theRose Parade featured a float with eight WASP members riding on it.[141] It was designed by sculptorDon Everhart II.[142] The medal is on display at theBoeing Aviation Hangar at theSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.[143]
Other aspects of the WASP legacy include the designs and symbols of the WASP organization. Shutsy-Reynolds took over WASP merchandising in 1988 and designed thescarf that many WASP members wore.[62] She also created unique jewelry based on the WASP wings symbols.[62]
WASP members faceddiscrimination because of their sex during their work numerous times. Some male pilots and commanders were unhappy to have a women's presence in the traditionally male setting of the military.[146] One WASP,Lorraine Rodgers, later recalled that some men "refused to acknowledge their ability," or that the men did not trust the smaller women to be able to handle the planes.[112] Some commanders would give out "undesirable" planes to the WASP to fly.[112] One commander at Love Field was eventually formally admonished for treating the women unfairly.[112] WASPTeresa James believed that the women pilots were disliked because they "flew longer than the men (service pilots). We flew our tails off."[111] However, James also reported that she was sometimes "treated like a celebrity" when she stopped at Army bases for refueling.[147] She said, "They had never seen a woman pilot in an Air Force airplane."[147]
Camp Davis at North Carolina had the most prejudice and discrimination against the WASP.[112] The base commander, Major Stephenson, told the women that "both they and the planes were expendable."[112] Women at Camp Davis were unfairly evaluated in their flying, according to WASPAlia Corbett.[112] Women were not given practice time, unlike the men.[112]Sabotage was suspected in some incidents at the camp and Cochran found traces of sugar in the engine at one WASP crash site.[112] Two WASP women died in the line of duty at Camp Davis.[112] There were fourteen accidents involving improperly maintained towing planes at Camp Davis and planes at Camp Davis were found to be using the wrong octane fuel.[91]
While the women were doing the same job as men who were also civilian ferry pilots, the WASP were paid at two-thirds the rate of their male counterparts.[112]
The initial force of the Women's Army Ferrying Service (WAFS) put the cap on the age of recruits at 35 in order "to avoid the irrationality of women when they enter and go throughmenopause."[148] At the time, the military had determined that age 40 was the time when menopause began, so if the war lasted more than 5 years, most recruits would just be entering the time of "debilitating irrationality."[148] The WASP were even grounded for a time during theirmenstrual cycles by male commanders because they believed they were "less efficient during menses."[72] This was stopped when flight records showed that this thinking was false.[72] Some WASP were allowed to choose not to fly during menstruation and the pilots' periods were seen as a form of medical disability by military doctors.[149]
On the military planes, there were no facilities for the women to use the bathroom.[111] When women were ferrying the planes, they had to touch down occasionally, and women were not allowed to eat in some restaurants because they were wearing pants.[3]
Velta Benn – First woman to land a military jet on a Navy aircraft carrier[150]
Betty Tackaberry Blake (1920–2015), the last surviving member of the first WASP training group (Class 43-W-1 at Sweetwater, Texas, graduated April 24, 1943),[151]
Dorothy Hilliard Davis, campaigned to get women pilots recognition as military veterans.
Cornelia Fort – One of the original WAFS. Fort's experience included evading attackingIJNAS carrier planes at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She became the first WAFS fatality in a midair collision while flying a BT-13 nearMerkel, Texas on March 23, 1943.
Marion Stegeman Hodgson wrote a detailed account of her time as a WASP in her autobiographyWinning My Wings: A Woman Airforce Service Pilot in World War II.[166]
Marge Hurlburt – She was named to the Board of Directors of the Professional Race Pilots Association to represent the interests of female pilots and held the woman's international airspeed record at the time her death in July 1947. Marge died while performing as part of aflying circus that she joined to raise money to build a new racing airplane.[169][170]
Hazel Ying Lee – One of two Asian-Americans (Chinese) in the WASP, the other being Maggie Gee. Lee was the last WASP member to die while serving in program.
Dorothy Swain Lewis – Worked atPiper Aircraft Lockhaven, Pennsylvania, Graduate ofPhoebe Omlie's Tennessee Bureau of Aeronautics Women Aviation Instructor Program in Nashville TN (Feb 1943), Instructed Navy pilots V-5 program classes 43F, W3G, W3H, Instructed WASP classes 43-W8,44-W2,44-W4, joined WASP in class 44-W7&5, towed targets in B-26, engineering flights various other aircraft, sculpted WASP trainee statue onUnited States Air Force Academy Honor Court, Colorado Springs, painted official portrait[174] ofJanet Reno for US Department of Justice
Barbara Erickson London – The only WASP member to be awarded theAir Medal during World War II.[176] Following the war, medals were awarded to other WASP members.
Annabelle Craft Moss – Moss flew the AT-6 Trainer, and was responsible for transporting officers from base to base.[178][179]
Anne Noggle – Following the war she became a noted photographer and writer. She took the photos forFor God, Country and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Pilots of World War II, with an introduction byDora Dougherty Strother.[180]
Vilma Lazar Qualls (May 5, 1917 – November 2, 2003) A member of class 43-W-3, she was assigned to Long Beach Army Airbase after training. She flew BT-13, C-47, B-17 and B-24.[184]
Evelyn Sharp – In 1938, Evelyn Sharp was the youngest person in the United States to receive a commercial pilot license.[187]
Florence Shutsy-Reynolds (1923-2018) – earned her pilot's license in 1941, just before women were barred from the government-operated training program at local airports due to the expected need of more male pilots. Following the death of her husband around 1988, she took over the WASP organization's "Stores" job, making and selling intricate silver and bronze jewelry, banners, scarves and other WASP-themed items.[188]
Gertrude Tompkins Silver – The only WASP member to go missing during World War II. She departed from Mines Field (currently LAX) for Palm Springs, on October 26, 1944, flying a P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey but never arrived. In January 2010 search efforts to locate the possible crash site inSanta Monica Bay were unsuccessful.[189][190][191][192]
Shirley Slade, born in Chicago 1921. On the cover ofLife (magazine), July 19, 1943. Trained to fly Bell P-39 Airacobras and Martin B-26 Marauders at three bases: Dodge City AAF, Kansas, Harlingen AAF, Texas, and Love Field, Dallas.
In the 1943 movieA Guy Named Joe, Pete Sandidge (Spencer Tracy) is the reckless pilot of a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber flying out of England during World War II. He is in love with Women Airforce Service Pilot Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), a civilian pilot ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic.
Season 1, Episode 22 ofBaa Baa Black Sheep was entitled "W*A*S*P*S".[citation needed] It first aired on March 1, 1977. The episode has several errors of fact. Two are that there is no "s" at the end of the name, because the name itself is plural, and the WASP never flew overseas.
In the modernWonder Woman continuity,Steve Trevor's mother, Diana Trevor, was a WASP who inadvertently crash-landed onThemyscira on a mission in the 1940s and died helping the Amazons fight an attacking menace.
A documentary produced by Ken Magid,Women of Courage, was shown on PBS in 1993.[92]
A 2009 episode of the TV showCold Case features the investigators looking for the murderer of a WASP, after her plane is found in modern-day Philadelphia.[242]
"Flygirl" by Sherri L. Smith, a 2009 YA novel about a young Black woman who passes as white to join the WASPs.
In the 2012Captain Marvel story from Marvel comics,Carol Danvers travels through time to 1943 where she fights alongside a squad of Women Airforce Service Pilots on an island off the coast of Peru.[243]
Season 3, Episode 15 ofArmy Wives is a flashback episode that mentions the WASP pilots from WWII.
Meredith Dayna Levy wrote a play calledDecision Height which tells the story of six WASP trainees.[244]
Fannie Flagg's 2013 book,The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion features three sisters who fly with WASP.
Flight Officer Maude Garrett, the main character of the 2020 movieShadow in the Cloud, is a WASP. The end credits of the movie feature pictures of the Women Air Service Pilots.
Angel Wings, a French graphic-novel series, is about Angela McCloud, a (fictional) WASP who – unlike the WASP pilots in real life – flies transport missions inBurma and then thePacific as cover for secret duties as an agent with the wartime intelligence service, theOSS.
^"Cornwall Postmaster Ferried Warplanes in World War II,"The Evening News, Oct. 8, 1971, p. 3a; "Women Pilots May Become Members of the Army Air Forces,"The Reading Eagle, Nov. 1, 1943, p. 20; "Veterans Begin Aid Fight,"The Age, May 25, 1977, p. 20; "Veterans Bill Advances,"St. Petersburg Times, Nov. 4, 1977, p. 3A; "Women in the military,"Sarasota Herald Tribune, May 26, 1995, p. 5B; "Sunday's the Day for Washington Gals to Fly Somewhere for Breakfast,"The Evening Independent, July 31, 1947, p. 6; "War Prisoner's Wife Enters Flying Group,"Prescott Evening Courier, June 16, 1944, p. 8; and "Early Decision Pilots Her Through Life,"Toledo Blade, January 10, 1975, p. 10.
^Cochran, Jacqueline (September 3, 1943)."American Women Pilots"(PDF) (Press release). United States Army. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on January 11, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 16, 2019.
^abcdefHaggerty, Gillian (November 11, 1991)."Women of the Wind".The Palm Beach Post. p. 1. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and"WWII Fliers Didn't Have Glamour Job".The Palm Beach Post. November 11, 1991. p. 10. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^abcd"Training".Texas Woman's University. Archived fromthe original on July 28, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 19, 2019.
^"Folder 1". Virginia Mae Hope Papers, Box: 1. Minnesota Historical Society.
^Stewart-Smith, Natalie Jeanne (1981)."2".The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Of World War II: Perspectives On The Work Of America's First Military Women Aviators (Thesis). Washington State University. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2018.
^abcdefgO'Meilia, Tim (October 2, 1976)."Ladies Courageous Flew Into Blue During WWII".The Palm Beach Post. pp. B1. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and"WASPs".The Palm Beach Post. October 2, 1976. pp. B5. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^abWilliams, Ernestine (May 13, 1993)."Pilot Soars With Stars".The Palm Beach Post. pp. 1D. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and"Space Would be Pilot's Final Frontier".The Palm Beach Post. May 13, 1993. pp. 4D. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^Hodgson, Marion Stegeman (1996).Winning My Wings: A Woman Airforce Service Pilot in World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 3.ISBN9781557503640.
^"Evelyn Greenblatt, WASP".WASP on the Web. Wings Across America. February 13, 2008.Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. RetrievedDecember 12, 2018.
^Ure, James W. (2017).Seized by the Sun: The Life and Disappearance of World War II Pilot Gertrude Tompkins. Chicago Review Press.ISBN978-1-61373-587-9.
^Finding aid for the Mary Ellen Williamson Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (onlineArchived December 28, 2016, at theWayback Machine)
Clark, Marie Mountain.Dear Mother and Daddy: World War II Letters Home from a WASP. Livonia Michigan: First Page Publications, 2005.ISBN978-1-928623-63-2.
Cornelsen, Kathleen (2005). "Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II: Exploring Military Aviation, Encountering Discrimination, and Exchanging Traditional Roles in Service to America".Journal of Women's History.17 (4):111–119.doi:10.1353/jowh.2005.0046.S2CID145174776.
Dubois, Ellen Carol; Dumenil, Lynn (2012). "Women in the Military".Through Women's Eyes (3rd ed.). Boston: St. Martin's.ISBN978-0-312-67607-0..
Granger, Byrd Howell (1991).On Final Approach: The Women Airforce Service Pilots of W.W.II. New York: Falconer Publishing Co.ISBN978-0-9626267-0-8..
Haynsworth, Leslie and David Toomey.Amelia Earhart's Daughters. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1998.ISBN978-0-688-15233-8.
Keil, Sally Van Wagenen,Those Wonderful Women in Their Flying Machines: The Unknown Heroines of World War II. New York: Four Directions Press, 1990.ISBN978-0-9627659-0-2.
Landdeck, Katherine Sharp, "The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II".: Crown, 2020.ISBN978-1-5247-6281-0.
LoPinto, Winnie,I was a Woman Pilot in 1945. Sheffield, UK: Green Leaf Publishing, 2001.ISBN978-1-4912-8347-9
Myers, Sarah Parry.Earning Their Wings: The WASPs of World War II and the Fight for Veteran Recognition. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.ISBN978-1-4696-7503-9.
Noggle, Anne.For God, Country and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots During WWII. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. 1990.ISBN978-0-89096-401-9.
Sage, Jenny (2017). "Ladies of Lockbourne: Women Airforce Service Pilots and the Mighty B-17 Flying Fortress".Ohio History.124 (2):5–27.doi:10.1353/ohh.2017.0013.S2CID148720217.
Schrader, Helena.Sisters in Arms: British and American Women Pilots During World War II. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword Books, 2006.ISBN978-1-84415-388-6.
Simbeck, Rob.Daughter of the Air: The Brief Soaring Life of Cornelia Fort. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. 1999.ISBN978-1-56000-461-5.
Strebe, Amy Goodpaster.Flying for her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. 2009.ISBN978-1-59797-266-6.
Williams, Vera S.WASPs: Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1994.ISBN978-0-87938-856-0.
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