Do you think female pilots are as competent as their male
counterparts? Do women aviators have the ability, knowledge, skill and strength to operate aircraft as well as
men? These questions have been debated ever since the Wright brothers flew but
it was a daring young American woman who opened the door to the male/female pilot
controversy.
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| Harriet Quimby and her Bleriot monoplane |
In August 1911 Harriet Quimby was the first
woman in the United States to be granted a pilot certificate and eight months
later she flew her Bleriot across the English Channel, another first for
female pilots. Apparently well aware of the public relations she would generate,
Harriet's flying garb included included knee-high leather boots and a hooded, full-length, purple
satin flight suit.
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Jackie Cochran Nancy Love
|
In the summer of 1941, with WW II underway in Europe and
U.S. involvement lurking on the horizon, two famous aviatrixes—Jackie
Cochran and Nancy Love—independently petitioned the Army Air Forces (AAF) to
establish a flight training program for women pilots who would ferry military aircraft
from the factories to domestic air bases, thereby releasing male pilots for
combat operations.
The AAF turned down the proposals but the surge in military
aircraft production soon after Pearl Harbor (President Roosevelt had called upon the airplane industry to produce 60,000 warplanes in 1942) made it clear there would not be
enough male pilots for both combat and non-combat roles. With that obvious manpower problem
in mind the Cochran/Love proposals were approved and the Women Airforce Service
Pilot program (acronymically reduced to WASP) was off and running.
PATRIOTIC WOMEN SIGNED UP BY THE
THOUSANDS
The announcement of the WASP training program resulted in a
resounding 25,000-plus responses, only a small portion of which could be
accepted or even reviewed. According to Jackie Cochran, who had been appointed
director of the program, "The selection of potential trainees was entirely
a matter of choosing clean-cut, stable-appearing young girls of the proper
ages, educational background and height and who could show the required number
of flying hours." Early on, the requisite flight time for applicants was
reduced from a stringent 500 hours to a more reasonable 35 hours, a change that
provided a larger pool of trainees with at least a modicum of flight experience.
WASP flight training began in 1943 at Howard
Hughes Field in Houston, Texas but heavy air traffic and weather problems resulted in relocation to the
Sweetwater Army Air Field in a small town 200 miles west of Dallas, in the
middle of nowhere. The base was renamed "Avenger Field" (perhaps in
retribution for Pearl Harbor?) and from February 1943 until the WASP program
was terminated it was the sole AAF base for training women pilots.
YOU'RE IN THE ARMY NOW, LADIES…WELL, ALMOST
WASP trainees were accepted as members of the U.S. Civil Service and were treated like GIs (read government issue) without stripes. They lived in GI barracks,
ate GI food, learned to march GI-style and of course were subjected to GI
calisthenics (WASP barracks in the background).
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| One, two, three, four.... |
In all but a few sensitive areas the women were treated much the
same as male aviation cadets. The unique problem of urinary management in flight (read relief tube) was never entirely successful; experimental flying suits
for women were considered but the WASP program ended before a full-scale trial
was attempted.
During their training the WASPs were issued flight
suits, leather jackets, goggles and helmets etc. but they had to provide their
own uniforms…khaki slacks, an overseas cap and a white shirt. Following
graduation, each WASP had to cough up about $100 for proper uniforms.
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| The flight suits (men's sizes only) didn't always fit. |
WASPs were paid $172.50 a month during their flight training.
After graduation and assignment to operational duties their pay was increased to
$287.50 a month, slightly less than that of a male 2nd Lt. with flight pay.
There would be no promotions or pay increases based an individual's length of
service.
LET THE TRAINING BEGIN
The WASP program at Avenger Field consisted of 23 weeks of
training, including 180 hours of ground school and 115 hours of flight time. Subsequent
changes expanded the program to 30 weeks with 393 hours of classroom time and
210 hours in the air. Traditional AAF three-phase flight training—primary,
basic and advanced—was altered by elimination of the basic phase in recognition
of the fact that even the least-experienced trainees would have had previous
exposure to flying.
The training fleet at Avenger Field was a conglomeration of 200-plus
airplanes, including open-cockpit biplanes and monoplanes, the AT-6, several light twins and utility aircraft. After graduation the WASPs moved on to checkouts in a wide
variety of AAF equipment including cargo airplanes, high-performance fighters
and heavy bombers.
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| WASP wings |
Classes graduating in 1944 and thereafter were awarded silver wings similar to those of AAF male pilots. The WASP wings were unique because of a lozenge in the center that symbolized the shield of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war.
To add a bit of pizzazz and color to their program the WASPs adopted a Walt Disney cartoon character as their official mascot and ensign. Fifinella was a female gremlin, a mischievous, imaginary creature with a tendency to inflict annoying problems on pilots and airplanes.
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| Fifinella |
These young women were the crème de la creme; 14 training classes
produced 1,074 full-fledged WASPs who provided yeoman service that released hundreds
of male pilots for combat duty. Between September 1942 and December 1944, the WASPs delivered 12,650 military aircraft
of 77 different types and flew 60 million miles in the process. More than half
of the high-performance fighter aircraft (P-38s, P-47s, P-51s) and numerous heavy
bombers (B-17s and B-24s) were delivered to U.S. air bases by WASP pilots.
DOOMSDAY
FOR THE WASPS AND A BELATED RECOVERY
The WASPs were disbanded in December 1944. Proponents claimed
that the services provided by these women were still needed and that social pressure—i.e.
women doing male pilots' work—was the major reason for ending the WASP program.
In general, it seemed the WASPs were not appreciated and their contributions to
the war effort were largely ignored.
In the final report of the WASP program submitted by Jackie
Cochran, every aspect of the male/female pilot controversy was discussed
thoroughly and concluded that indeed, women who undergo the same training as
men can perform flying tasks as well as their male counterparts.
General "Hap" Arnold, commander
of the USAAF, speaking at
the graduation ceremony for the last WASP training class, remarked that when the WASP
program began "...he wasn't sure whether a slip of a girl could fight the controls
of a B-17 in heavy weather." Then he told the newly-minted WASPs "You and more than
900 of your sisters have shown that you can fly wingtip to wingtip with your
brothers. If ever there was a doubt in anyone’s mind that women can become
skillful pilots, the WASPs have dispelled that doubt.” For all intents and
purposes, the male/female pilot controversy was settled. In 1974 Barbara Rainey earned Navy wings, thereby becoming the
first female pilot in the U.S. armed services.
In 1977--following 33 years of vigorous WASP protestations--President
Jimmy Carter signed the G.I. Bill Improvement Act that granted WASP pilots
full military status…including all the relevant benefits. In July 2009 the
WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of their service to
the nation during World War II.
Military status for the Womens Airforce Service Pilots was long overdue…but recognition in 1977 and 2009 was far better than no recognition at all.
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