Four female pilots leaving their ship, Pistol Packin' Mama, at the four engine school at Lockbourne AAF. They are members of a group of Women Airforce Service Pilots who have been trained to ferry the B-17 Flying Fortresses. World War II, 1944.
They are, left to right: Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner and Blanche Osborn. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees.
Over 25,000 women applied, but only 1,074 were accepted into the WASPs. The women all had prior experience and airman certificates. Of those accepted, the majority were white; aside from white women, the WASP had two Mexican American women, two Chinese American women (Hazel Ying Lee and Maggie Gee), and one Native American woman (Ola Mildred Rexroat). Due to the existing climate of racial discrimination, Mildred Hemmans Carter, the only African American applicant was asked to withdraw her application. Mildred Hemmans Carter came highly qualified, earning her BA at age 19 at Tuskegee Institute and receiving aviation certification the following year (1941). She was rejected from the opportunity to fly with the Tuskegee Airmen due to her gender and denied entry within the WASP due to her race. Seventy years later, she was retroactively recognized as a WASP and took her final flight at age 90.
marinamaral on January 23rd, 2018 at 18:18 UTC »
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They are, left to right: Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner and Blanche Osborn. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees.
Over 25,000 women applied, but only 1,074 were accepted into the WASPs. The women all had prior experience and airman certificates. Of those accepted, the majority were white; aside from white women, the WASP had two Mexican American women, two Chinese American women (Hazel Ying Lee and Maggie Gee), and one Native American woman (Ola Mildred Rexroat). Due to the existing climate of racial discrimination, Mildred Hemmans Carter, the only African American applicant was asked to withdraw her application. Mildred Hemmans Carter came highly qualified, earning her BA at age 19 at Tuskegee Institute and receiving aviation certification the following year (1941). She was rejected from the opportunity to fly with the Tuskegee Airmen due to her gender and denied entry within the WASP due to her race. Seventy years later, she was retroactively recognized as a WASP and took her final flight at age 90.
Desmodromic1078 on January 23rd, 2018 at 18:58 UTC »
The B-17 is one of the most elegant pieces of machinery ever produced.
RingWraith75 on January 23rd, 2018 at 19:51 UTC »
Isn’t that a Bing Crosby song?