Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)
These pilots changed the face of military history.
When the United States entered World War II in 1941 it brought about many changes to the role of women in the workforce and as members of the military forces.
With much of the available male population serving in the military or in wartime jobs, it fell to women to fill the gaps in both civilian and military support occupations. Prior to WWII only 15% of women worked outside the home, but during the war that rose to 25%. The women who went on to become part of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) left behind traditional roles and exchanged them for dangerous jobs in high-powered military aircraft. They would play a key role for the Army Air Force and impact the course of military history.
We will not again look upon a women’s flying organization as an experiment. We will know they can handle our fastest fighters, our heaviest bombers. AAF Commanding General Henry "Hap" Arnold, 1944. (Source: War Department Press Release, Address by General H.H. Arnold, Thursday, December 7, 1944)
Groundwork Laid
In September 1939, just after the outbreak of war in Europe, Jacqueline (Jackie) Cochran, an American aviator, wrote to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to suggest the formation of an all-female auxiliary pilot corps for the military. Cochran explained that women pilots could fly non-combat stateside missions, releasing male pilots for combat duty. In early 1940, Nancy Harkness Love, a commercial and test pilot, wrote to Air Corps Colonel Robert Olds with a similar proposal for the military to use female pilots to transport planes from factories to military bases. The proposed groups differed in a couple of ways. Nancy Love intended for her group to remain small, only ferry planes from one location to another, and would remain civilian pilots. Jackie Cochran proposed that her auxiliary flying group would preform a variety of duties and would eventually become part of the Army Air Forces (AAF) once the program showed success. Neither proposal was initially accepted by General H. “Hap” Arnold, the Commanding General of the AAF.
We are in a war, and we need to fight it with all our ability and with every weapon possible. Women pilots, in this particular case, are a weapon waiting to be used. Eleanor Roosevelt, 1942. (Source: Eleanor Roosevelt “My Day” column September 1, 1942)
First to Fly
In 1941 there were 2,100 licensed women pilots in the U.S. including Jackie Cochran who became the first woman to fly a military bomber across the Atlantic. There she joined with the British Air Transport Auxiliary to promote the idea of women pilots. In September 1942 the first women’s auxiliary pilot group proposed by Nancy Love received approval to recruit pilots. Love was appointed commander of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). She employed skilled female pilots who, as civil service employees, would ferry planes between factories and Army Air Force installations as part of the Air Transport Command.
On hearing of the formation of the WAFS, Jackie Cochran returned from Britain to again advocate for her women’s pilot proposal. Hap Arnold agreed to its formation and appointed her head of the 319th Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), a civilian auxiliary that would include ground and flight training. The first recruits began work in November 1942 at the Houston Municipal Airport.
Training in Texas
The 319th WFTD training facility in Houston proved insufficient for the needs of the program, and another training location was approved at Avenger Field, in Sweetwater, Texas. Avenger Field was an all-female air base except for its instructors and support crews. The first three training classes initially remained in Houston, while the fourth class transferred to Sweetwater. The first class graduated at Avenger Field in April 1943. On June 28, 1943, the WAFS under Nancy Love and the WFTD under Jackie Cochran were combined and officially renamed as the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a name chosen by General Hap Arnold. Cochran was officially appointed Air Force Director of Women Pilots, and Love was put in charge of all ferrying operations.
Women Airforce Service Pilots flew 70 hours each of basic, primary, and advanced training. At graduation, the WASP pilots had 560 hours of ground school and 210 hours in flight training. Their ground training covered 12 areas of college-level courses including math, physics, navigation, and maintenance. Flight training involved take-offs and landings, snap rolls, parachute bailouts, night flying, cross country flying, and work in a Link trainer. Trainees were held to a high standard; at any time, the civilian or military instructor could order a “check ride” to assess how the students were doing. If the women failed the check ride they were dismissed from the program. Twenty-five thousand women applied for admission to the WASP training program; 1,830 were admitted and 1,074 completed the course.
Not Welcome
Not all who applied to the WASP program were accepted, but Black women pilots were rejected outright. The United States military was segregated during World War II, and even though Black women served as nurses and in civilian women’s auxiliary groups like the Women’s Auxiliary Corps (WAC) or the United States Naval Women’s Reserve (WAVES), they were barred from joining the WASP program. This included barring pilots like Mildred Hemmons. Born in Alabama in 1921, Hemmons became the first Black woman in that state to earn her pilot's license. Hemmons applied to join the WASPs but received a letter saying the U.S. Government had no plans to include Black female pilots in the Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots program.
Born in Georgia in 1907, Janet Bragg, the first Black woman in the country to earn a full commercial pilot's license, was also rejected from the WASP program despite her credentials. She tried to apply to the program but was sent away without even being granted an interview. Out of the 1,074 WASPs who completed the program, only five were women of color: Hazel Ying Lee and Margaret Gee were Chinese American, Ola Mildred Rexroat was Oglala Lakota, and Frances Dias Gustavson and Verneda Rodríguez McLean were Hispanic.
Stand Up and Stand Down
After finishing their training, Women Airforce Service Pilots were handed orders to report to one of 125 Army air bases or airfields across the U.S.; 23 of those bases were located in Texas. Their missions included towing targets, ferrying planes, training bombardiers, tracking radar, providing instrument training to cadets, testing engineering repairs, and multiple other assignments. They also flew nearly every type of airplane used by the AAF, including heavy bombers and fighter jets. In total, Women Airforce Service Pilots flew more than 60 million miles in service to their country.
Although they were stationed at U.S. military bases and flew U.S. Army Air Force planes, Women Airforce Service Pilots were classified as civilians, and did not receive the benefits given to military personnel. Jackie Cochran was pushing to change that. With the support of General Arnold, a bill was introduced by U.S. Representative John Castello in the spring of 1944 that would authorize the commissioning of women as officers in the Army Air Forces and provide for the WASP program to become part of the AAF. Initially General Arnold thought the bill would be passed, but opposition from returning male pilots and others turned the tide of public opinion against the bill. The press also implied that inexperienced women were taking the place of better, more experienced male pilots and that the WASP program was an expensive failure. The final vote on the bill was 188 against, 169 for, with 79 abstaining. Opposition to the bill actually pushed Congress to end the WASP program entirely. The female pilots were no longer seen as releasing male pilots for duty but replacing them instead.
Lest We Forget
Over the course of the WASP program, between 1942 and December 1944, 38 women lost their lives, 11 in accidents and 27 during missions. Although these women sacrificed their lives in the defense of their country, none were given military funerals, none of their families received military benefits, and no money was provided for transport or burial of their remains by the military. Jackie Cochran, Nancy Love, and fellow WASP pilots contributed to pay expenses for some of the fallen.
Cornelia Fort was a civilian pilot instructor in Hawaii and was airborne when Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7th, 1941. Her plane was hit by machine gun fire from a Japanese Zero, and narrowly missed being shot down. Her heroic story of surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor was reported in the newspapers and she was the first woman pilot to join the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron under Nancy Love. Fort was the first WASP pilot to be killed when her plane was hit on March 21, 1943, in a training accident. The final death of a WASP while piloting on an active-duty mission was Hazel Ying Lee, a Chinese American pilot who had volunteered to fly for China during the Sino-Japanese war. She died on November 25, 1944, from wounds received in a crash with another plane on November 23rd.
| Jane Champlin | Susan Clarke | Marge Davis | Katherine Dussaq | Marjoriee Edwards |
| Elizabeth Erickson | Cornelia Fort | Frances Grimes | Mary Hartson | Mary Howson |
| Edith Keene | Kathryn Lawrence | Hazel Ying Lee | Paula Loop | Alice Lovejoy |
| Lea McDonald | Peggy Martin | Virginia Moffatt | Beverly Moses | Dorothy Nichols |
| Jeanne Norbeck | Margaret Oldenburg | Mabel Rawlinson | Gleanna Roberts | Marie Robinson |
| Bettie Mae Scott | Dorothy Scott | Margaret Seip | Helen Severson | Ethel Sharon |
| Evelyn Sharp | Betty Stine | Marian Toevs | Gertrude Tompkins | Mary Trebing |
| Mary Webster | Bonnie Jean Welz | Betty Taylor Wood |
The WASP Legacy
In the years following World War II, the WASP story largely faded from memory. After the program was disbanded at the end of 1944, WASP records were classified and stored in government archives for 33 years. The women received no military benefits and no acknowledgement of their service. In 1976, the United States Air Force admitted women into its program to fly military aircraft, saying that it was a "first" in U.S. history. The former WAFS and WASP pilots were upset to hear that the U.S. Air Force did not acknowledge their WWII service, and it spurred them to action. Bee Faulk, a former WASP pilot, Colonel Bruce Arnold (son of General Hap Arnold), and Senator Barry Goldwater spearheaded the effort to finally bring military recognition to the WASP pilots and grant them veteran status. As in 1944, there was vocal opposition to the bill, including by the American Legion and Veteran’s of Foreign Wars groups. The WASP advocates were granted a hearing before Congress in 1977 and were given their long overdue military veteran status in 1978. The remaining WASP members still alive finally received their WWII service medals in 1984.
In 2010 Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison introduced Senate Bill S.614 to award the Women Airforce Service Pilots the highest civilian honor — the Congressional Gold Medal. The bill passed unanimously, and on March 10, 2010, the Women Airforce Service Pilots were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their pioneering military service, exemplary record, and revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. These women pilots of WWII paved the way for the women commercial airline pilots, military pilots, and astronauts of today.
Women Auxiliary Service Pilots (WASP) Timeline
The Allied Powers of Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declared war on Germany following its invasion of Poland on September 1st. Tensions in Europe had been building for years, and there was a growing feeling among some European nations that German aggression needed to be confronted with force.
German troops parade through Warsaw, Poland 1939. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Jackie Cochran, famed American aviator, wrote to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to suggest the formation of an all-female auxiliary pilot corps to fly non-combat missions for the military. Cochran hoped the First Lady would support her proposal explaining that women pilots could fly "...ambulance planes, courier planes, commercial and transport planes, thereby releasing male pilots for combat duty."
Later in 1942 Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the use of women pilots in her “My Day” column, saying “They were a weapon waiting to be used.”
Photo of Eleanor Roosevelt. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Jackie Cochran became the first woman to fly a military plane across the Atlantic Ocean. She traveled to England to meet with the women pilots of the British transport command to determine if American female flyers were needed to help the war effort in a besieged Britain.
Image of Jackie Cochran. Courtesy United States Air Force
Army Air Forces (AAF) Commander General Henry "Hap" Arnold met with Cochran and asked her to develop a proposal outlining the duties that women pilots might perform for the U.S. Army Air Forces.
General Henry “Hap” Arnold. Courtesy AFFTC History Office, United States Air Force
Just before 8 a.m. local time, hundreds of Japanese planes bombed the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in addition to other US bases in the Pacific. The strike was a well-planned and surprise retaliation against the US efforts to halt Japan's war with China. At Pearl Harbor alone eight battleships, 20 other ships, and almost 200 airplanes were destroyed. Over 2,400 American sailors and soldiers died in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Oveta Culp Hobby, a native Texan and wife of former Texas governor William P. Hobby, became the first director of the Army-based Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), later known as the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Under her command, 150,000 women served in Army jobs both stateside and abroad. In 1945, Colonel Hobby received the Distinguished Service Medal for her outstanding contributions to the war effort.
Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby in her new WAAC Uniform at her desk in Washington, DC. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC
This recruitment film was made to encourage women to sign up to serve in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corp (WAAC), commanded by Oveta Culp Hobby. The WAAC was a component of the U.S. Army and the women underwent military training and held military rank. 150,000 women served in the WAAC during WWII.
U.S. Army recruiting film for the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. Courtesy National Archives, Washington, DC
In September 1942, Nancy Love was appointed commander of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). She recruited highly skilled and experienced female pilots who were sent on noncombat missions ferrying planes between factories and Army Air Force (AAF) installations. Between September and December 1942, 28 women were sworn into the WAFS.
Mrs. Nancy Harkness Love, 28, director of the US Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron. The women under her command ferried planes from factories to coastal airports, from which they were flown to overseas battle fronts. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
A civilian program proposed for women pilots was begun as the 319th Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), under Jacqueline Cochran. In November 1942, the 23-week training began at the Houston Municipal Airport, and included ground school and practical flying instruction.
Image of Houston Municipal Airport. Courtesy 1940 Air Terminal Museum
As more women entered flight training, it became clear that the facilities at the Houston Municipal Airport were no longer adequate. A second training facility was approved at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Half of the women pilots of Class 43-4 reported to Avenger Field to begin training on February 14th. The first class of WFTDs graduated here in April of 1943.
Women’s Airforce Service Pilots arriving at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Courtesy Wings Across America
Fifinella, the mascot of the Women's Flying Training Detachment and later the WASP program, was designed by Walt Disney animators. It was inspired by Roald Dahl's fairy tale "The Gremlins." The mascot became known as "Fifi," and her mission was to watch over the women and keep them safe.
Shoulder patch for the 318th Army Air Force Training Detachment. Courtesy Wings Across America
On June 28, 1943, the WAFS under Nancy Love and the WFTD under Jackie Cochran were combined and officially renamed as the Women Airforce Service Pilots, a name chosen by General Hap Arnold. Jacqueline Cochran was officially appointed Air Force Director of Women Pilots and joined the Commander General's offices at the Pentagon.
WASPs Ann McClelland and Anne Johnson. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC
Women Airforce Service Pilots flew 70 hours each of basic, primary, and advanced training. They spent half of each day in ground school and half in flight school. 25,000 women applied for admission to the WASP training program; 1,830 were admitted and 1,074 completed the course.
Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner, and Blanche Osborn are shown at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Ohio. Courtesy University of North Texas, Portal to Texas History, National WASP WWII Museum, Sweetwater, Texas
One pilot rejected by the WASP program was Mildred L. Hemmons. Born in Alabama in 1921, Hemmons became the first Black woman in that state to earn her pilot's license. Hemmons applied to join the WASPs but she received a letter saying the U.S. Government had no plans to include Black female pilots in the WASP program.
Civil Pilot Training Manual. Courtesy of University of North Texas, Portal to Texas History, National WASP WWII Museum, Sweetwater, Texas
The WASP pilots did their advance training on AT-6A “Texans” and eventually flew 77 types of aircraft, including the P-38, P-39, P-40, P-63, C-54, C-46, B-26 and B-24.
AT-6A "Texan" trainer on display at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. Courtesy Bullock Texas State History Museum
WASP Class 44-1 became the first class to graduate wearing the official Santiago blue uniform that was designed by Bergdorf Goodman of New York and made by the Neiman Marcus company in Dallas. Jackie Cochran pinned the coveted silver Women Airforce Service Pilots wings above the left pocket of the graduates' jackets.
Women Airforce Service (WASP) pilot's badge. Courtesy National Air and Space Museum, donated by the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, Inc.
U.S. Representative John Costello from California introduced H.R. 2419, which would authorize the commissioning of women as officers in the Army Air Forces (AAF) and provide for the WASP program to go from being a civilian auxiliary to being part of the AAF.
Representative Costello (seated at left) at a bill signing. Courtesy Library of Congress, Washington, DC
The Press and many male pilots spoke out against H.R. 2419, and after less than an hour of debate, the bill was defeated by a vote of 188 to 169. It was also recommended that the entire Women Airforce Service Pilots program be deactivated. Those WASP already in training were allowed to complete their service. All Women Airforce Service Pilots who were in service at the time of this decision had to pay their own way home.
Newspaper clipping from Sweetwater Reporter. Courtesy University of North Texas, Portal to Texas History, National WASP WWII Museum
Between 1942 and 1944, 38 women pilots lost their lives, 11 in accidents and 27 during missions. Hazel Yin Lee, a Chinese-American pilot, was the last WASP to lose her life in the service of her country while piloting on an active duty mission.
Image of Hazel Yin Lee. Courtesy Frances M. Tong, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Hazel Ying Lee & Frances M. Tong Collection
The Women Airforce Service Pilots were shut down for good in December 1944 after having flown more than 60 million miles in service to their country. After the program was disbanded, WASP records were classified and stored in government archives for 33 years.
Eight WASP pilots in front of a North American AT-6A Texan days before the WASPs were disbanded, Waco Army Airfield, Texas, United States, November 27, 1944. Courtesy United States Air Force
Nancy Harkness Love was awarded the Air Medal for her "operational leadership in the successful training and assignment of over 300 qualified women fliers in the flying of advanced military aircraft."
Army Air Forces Air Medal. Courtesy National Air and Space Museum, donated by Alexander J. Kaylas
The Allies declared Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, after Germany's unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945. The war in the Pacific theater against Japan, however, continued on.
Announcement of Victory in Europe. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC
Jacqueline Cochran was the first civilian woman to receive the Distinguished Service Medal. Her citation in part read: "For exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility from June 1943 to December 1944 ... Under her leadership the WASP performed, with the utmost loyalty and efficiency, multiple flying services in direct and effective support of the Army Air forces."
General H. H. Arnold presents the Distinguished Service Medal to Jacqueline Cochran. Courtesy San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives, United States Air Force
Emperor Hirohito accepted the surrender terms of the Potsdam Conference after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic weapons. Witnessed by General Douglas MacArthur and other Allied leaders, Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed the official Instrument of Surrender on September 2nd aboard the USS Missouri.
Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signing the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, formally ending World War II. Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command
In 1948 Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Reserve Bill, which allowed women to serve in the military reserves. During the next two years, over 300 Women Airforce Service Pilots were commissioned into the reserves as 2nd Lieutenants. They were only offered non-flying assignments.
President Harry S. Truman signing the Women's Armed Services Integration Act into law. Courtesy United States Air Force
Although initially opposed by the American Legion and other veteran's groups, Congress passed Public Law 95-20 in November 1977. The law, signed by President Jimmy Carter, went into effect in 1979 and finally granted Women Airforce Service Pilots official military status but with limited benefits.
WASP Victory Postcard. Courtesy University of North Texas, Portal to Texas History, National WASP WWII Museum
Women Airforce Service Pilots finally receive their WWII Victory Medals in the mail.
WWII Victory Medal. Courtesy National Air and Space Museum, donated by Alexander J. Kaylas
This mini-documentary produced by Houston PBS features Marjorie Thompson and Sylvia Granader who were both WASP pilots with Class 43-5. Marjorie from Illinois and Sylvia from Michigan both had their Civilian pilots licenses and were contacted by Jackie Cochran to join the WASP program. They share stories of what it was like to be pilots in the program and the hardships of not being official members of the military.
Marjorie Sanford Thompson and Sylvia Schwartz Granader remember their days as Women Airforce Service Pilots, Class 43-5. Courtesy Houston PBS
Former WASP pilot Deanie Bishop Parrish and her daughter Nancy had a vision to build a museum devoted to the WASP program. In 2005, the National WASP World War II Museum opened at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where most of the WASP trained during World War II. Their mission is to "preserve the history of the WASP and its airfield and promote their legacy down to our youngest generation."
National WASP WWII Museum. Courtesy National WASP WWII Museum, Sweetwater, Texas
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and co-sponsor Senator Barbara Mikulski introduced Senate Bill S.614 to award the Women Airforce Service Pilots the highest civilian honor — the Congressional Gold Medal. The bill passed unanimously.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison presents Betty Jo Streff Reed with a commemorative copy of Public Law 111-40, which was passed by Congress to award the WASP a Congressional Gold Medal. Courtesy United States Air Force
President Obama authorized awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the WASPs. The law states in part: " ... the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII ... faced overwhelming cultural and gender bias against women in nontraditional roles and overcame multiple injustices and inequities in order to serve their country ... the WASP eventually were the catalyst for revolutionary reform in the integration of women pilots into the Armed Services."
Caption: Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. Courtesy United States Air Force
Over 200 Women Airforce Service Pilots attended the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Members of all military branches escorted the WASP, many of whom wore their World War II uniforms. Deanie Parrish of Texas, WASP Class 44-4, accepted the medal on behalf of all the Women Airforce Service Pilots, and each WASP received a replica of the commemorative medal.
Members of Congress hosted a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on March 10th in the Capitol in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II. Courtesy United States Air Force
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