Four WASP Pilots in front of the B-17 Pistol Packing Mama. US AIr Force photo
The Little-Known Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)
Contributed by Col Suellyn Wright Novak
Did you know that female pilots were serving as contract civilian pilots for the Army in World War II? They performed many duties such as instructor pilots, aerial target towing for gunners, transportation of personnel, ferrying new aircraft from manufacturer to Army bases, and even ferrying the latest fighters and bombers to England.
One of the early volunteers for what was then known as the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), was Cornelia Fort. She had been instructing a student when they were enveloped with the melee of the opening salvo of WWII, the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. The head of the WAFS was Nancy Love and since women in aviation was a small, select community she had her choice of the best. Qualifications were a high school diploma, age between 21-35, commercial pilot license, 500 hours flight time, and a 250 hp rating. Cadets were to report at their own expense, for interview and flight check, and provide two letters of recommendation, proof of education and flight hours. Nancy and Col Robert H. Baker of the US Army Air Forces' Ferrying Command, formed the WAFS at New Castle Army Air Force Base in Wilmington, DE.
Nancy Love (a prominent name in aviation, she was the youngest American woman to have earned her private pilot's license until that time), was joined by Cornelia Fort, Teresa James, and a hand-picked cadre of women pilots totaling 28. Keeping the program small, allowed Nancy to be highly selective; the women's flight time averages 1,162 hours, far exceeding the initial 500 hour requirement.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran, a female aviation giant with dozens of aviation trophies, sought to take over from Nancy Love. But the Army Air Force Ferrying Command was impressed by Nancy Love's pilots and initially wouldn't budge. So, Jackie started her own pipeline training school, named the Women's Flying Training Detachment. Therefore, for a period of time, there were two female led programs in WW II. Jackie had already shown the feasibility of women ferrying aircraft by flying a lend-lease bomber to England and organizing a group of female pilots for war transport service as part of the British Air Transport Auxiliary. Jackie, ever the self-promoter and aviation living legend, had the ear of General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, and in 1943 Hap placed Jackie in charge of all women pilots, to hereafter be known as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). In December 1944, after logging more than 60 million miles at the cost of 38 lives, the WASP program quietly disbanded.
Although repeated attempts were made in WW II to make them veterans, they were not officially recognized as such in 1977, due to a herculean effort by the WASPS themselves with the aid of Senator Barry Goldwater, a fellow ferry pilot. In 2010, President Obama awarded the Congressional Gold Medal upon the more than 200 surviving WASP.