After earning her Bachelor’s Degree and her civilian private pilot’s license, Lois Maxine Dobbin Auchterlonie paid her own way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas where she began WASP military flight training. Out of 95 female pilots who entered the 43-8 class, Lois was one of only 48 who successfully […]
“In an era when many women didn’t even drive cars, Downey’s office was an AT-6 Texan military trainer.” Jean Downey Harman, WASP Class 44-9. Hear Jean tell some of her amazing stories about her time serving in the Women Airforce Service Pilots in this 2010 interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq3e146U9VY P.S. We heard […]
Elizabeth “Betty” Evert Greene, Class 43-W-5 first assignment after WASP training was at Camp Davis flying an A-24 Dauntless on radar tracking missions as well as both day and night missions flying a B-34 towing targets. After WWII, Betty helped found Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and served as a pilot […]
You might recognize this iconic photo of a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) in the pilot’s seat of a Martin B-26 Marauder, but do you know who she is? If you guessed Elizabeth “Libby” Gardner of WASP Class 43-W-6, you were right! Gardner was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1921. […]
They say Margaret Kerry Boylan, WASP Class 43-W-2, drove fast, played vigorously, loved life, and charmed – literally – everyone she met. Born in Ada, Oklahoma, Margaret grew up riding horses and became a riding instructor at a girl’s summer camp in New Mexico. After attending college for a year, […]
Born on a cold February morning in a small farm house in West Liberty, Iowa, Marie Mountain Clark, WASP Class 44-W-1, got an early start in aviation. It was the responsibility of Marie and her younger sister to turn on the aircraft marker lights on the Des Moines Radio Range […]
Before becoming one of the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft and earning her wings as part of WASP Class 43-W-7, Caro Bayley Bosca learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot Training Program at St. Mary’s College in Columbus, Ohio in 1941. After completing her CPTP training, Bosca worked […]
Enid Clifford Fisher, WASP Class 43-6, was born in 1917 in Everett, Washington. From a young age, Enid had an interest in flying, and negotiated with her parents to let her take flying lessons after she graduated from college. Not long after graduating from Oregon State University, Enid signed up […]
Born in 1919 in a cabin in Washington State, Mary Koth McCabe, WASP Class 44-1, was described as a free spirit who believed, “If you don’t enjoy life, it’s your own fault.” After high school, Mary spent ample time on a Harley-Davidson, and eventually decided she wanted to learn how […]
“We can use you.” That’s what Jackie Cochran, wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), told young Marie Muccie after looking at the 300 hours in her flight log during an interview. Marie had a big hurdle to cross before she could join the WASP, though – she […]