Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыста әйелдер-ұшқыштардың қатысуы

U. S. Army Air Corps female auxiliary pilots

WASP started out as two separate organizations. Pilot Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran wrote to the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1939 to suggest the idea of using women pilots in non combat missions. Cochran was introduced by Roosevelt to General Henry H. Arnold, chief of the Army Air Force, and to General Robert Olds, who became the head of the Air Transport Command (ATC). Arnold asked her to ferry a bomber to Great Britain in order to generate publicity for the idea of women piloting military aircraft. Cochran did go to England, where she volunteered for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and recruited American women pilots to help fly planes in Europe. Twenty five women volunteered for the ATA with Cochran. The American women who flew in the ATA were the first American women to fly military aircraft. The plan was to free male pilots for combat roles by using qualified female pilots to ferry aircraft from the factories to military bases, and also to tow drones and aerial targets. The U. S. was building its air power and military presence in anticipation of direct involvement in the conflict, and had belatedly begun to drastically expand its men in uniform. This period led to the dramatic increase in activity for the U. S. Army Air Forces, because of obvious gaps in "manpower" that could be filled by women. To compensate for the manpower demands of the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the government encouraged women to enter the workforce to fill both industrial and service jobs supporting the war effort.

Nancy Harkness Love's husband, Robert Love, was part of the Army Air Corps Reserve and worked for Colonel William H. Tunner. When Robert Love mentioned that his wife was a pilot, Tunner became interested in whether she knew other women who were pilots. Tunner and Nancy Love met and began to plan an aviation ferrying program involving women pilots. More formally, on June 11, 1942, Colonel Tunner suggested putting women pilots into the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). However, there were technical problems with this suggestion, so it was decided to pursue hiring civilian pilots for the ATC instead. By June 18, Love had drafted a plan to send to General Harold L. George who sent the proposal onto General Henry H. Arnold. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about women working as pilots during the war in her September 1 "My Day" newspaper column, supporting the idea. General George again broached the idea with General Arnold, who finally, on September 5, directed that "immediate action be taken and the recruiting of women pilots begin within twenty four hours." Nancy Harkness Love was to be the director of the group and she sent out 83 telegrams to prospective women pilots that same day. The Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) went into operation publicly on September 10, 1942. Soon, the Air Transport Command began using women to ferry planes from factory to airfields. Love started with 28 women pilots, but they grew in number during the war until there were several squadrons. Requirements for recruits were that they had to be between ages 21 and 35, have a high school diploma, a commercial flying license, 200 horsepower engine rating, 500 hours of flight time and experience in flying across the country. Uniforms for the WAFS were designed by Love and consisted of a gray gabardine jacket with brass buttons and square shoulders. The uniform could be worn with gored skirts or slacks also made of gabardine. Because they had to pay for their own uniforms, only 40 women ever wore the WAFS uniform. The first group of WAFS recruits were known as the Originals. Betty Gillies was the first woman to show up for training. On October 6, Gillies was made an executive officer and second in command of the WAFS. Gillies was familiar with drill and command techniques which she had learned at finishing school. The first WAFS assignment was run by Gillies on October 22, 1942. Six WAFS would ferry six L 4B Cubs from the factory to Mitchel Field. The original squadron of 28 was reduced to 27 when Pat Rhonie left on December 31 after disagreeing with Colonel Baker. The WAFS had an average of about 1,400 flying hours and a commercial pilot rating. They received 30 days of orientation to learn Army paperwork and to fly by military regulations. Afterward, they were assigned to various ferrying commands. At the beginning of 1943, three new squadrons were formed. The 4th Ferrying Group was in Romulus and commanded by Del Scharr. The 5th Ferrying Group was stationed at Love Field and was under the command of Florene Miller. The 6th Ferrying Group was stationed at Long Beach and commanded by Barbara Jane Erickson.

Cochran returned from England and arrived in the US the day before the announcement of the WAFS. Cochran was angry that Love's proposal had been accepted, while her own had seemingly been ignored. The next day, Cochran flew to Washington, D. C., and confronted General Arnold about her earlier proposal. The WAFS had been formed while General Arnold was out on prolonged medical leave. On September 13, Arnold sent a memo to General George E. Stratemeyer that designated Cochran as the director of "Women's Flying Training." On September 15, 1942, Cochran's training proposal was also adopted, forming the 319th Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). WFTD would be working with the Flight Training Command (FTC). WFTD was conceived of a program to train more women to ferry aircraft. On October 7, General Arnold proposed the goal of training 500 women pilots. By November 3, General Arnold was proposing a "maximum effort to train women pilots." The Aviation Enterprises at Howard R. Hughes Field became the base of the WFTD. The first trainees recruited for WFTD, class 43 1, started on November 16, 1942. Cochran made Dedie Deaton her staff executive and in charge of finding housing for class 43 1 also known as the "Guinea Pigs". Women trained on old planes, many of which bore "visible and invisible scars". WFTD pilots were issued large khaki coveralls (which the trainees called "zoot suits"), were ordered to wear any shoes they had, and a hairnet on the flight line. The WFTD women were housed in various locations and had to find their own transportation to training. The first deaths occurred when Margaret Oldenburg and her instructor were practicing spins on March 7, 1943. Oldenburg had put her plane, a PT 19 open cockpit, into a spin that she could not recover from and the crash killed her and her instructor. Because the WFTD were civilians, there was no money to cover the funeral costs. Cochran paid for the expense out of her own pocket and Deaton escorted Oldenburg's body home. Another crash took place on March 21, 1943, when Cornelia Fort, a former flight instructor who had been the first to encounter Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor, was ferrying a BT 13 with a group of male pilots. One of the pilots, while showing off, flew too close to Fort's plane and his landing gear collided with the wing of her plane, breaking part of it off. The plane went into a nose dive, killing her. Cochran pushed aggressively for a single entity to control the activity of all women pilots. Tunner, in particular, objected on the basis of differing qualification standards, and the absolute necessity of the ATC being able to control its own pilots. But Cochran's preeminence with Arnold prevailed, and in July 1943 he ordered the programs merged, with Cochran as director. Love continued with the program as executive in charge of WASP ferrying operations. The formal announcement combining WAFS and WFTD took place on August 20, 1943. WASP adopted a patch in 1943 that featured the female gremlin Fifinella. Fifinella was conceived by Roald Dahl and drawn by Walt Disney, and became the official WASP mascot. Additionally, women were also required to be at least five feet and two inches tall. Over 25,000 women made application to join the WASP; 1,830 were accepted but only 1,074 completed the training. Many of the women came from wealthy backgrounds that had afforded pilot training earlier in life, or had husbands who helped pay for their expensive training. All WASP recruits were interested in serving their country. Although the majority of WASPs pilots were white, they were not exclusively so. Two Chinese Americans, Hazel Ying Lee and Maggie Gee, two women of Hispanic descent, Verneda Rodriguez and Frances Dias, and one known Native American woman, Ola Mildred Rexroat completed the training. Rexroat was a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. While the total number of black women applicants for WASP training is unknown, several African American pilots made it to the final interview stage, where they were all rejected. Mildred Hemmans Carter, another African American applicant, was asked to withdraw her application because of her race. In 1940, at age 19, Carter had earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Tuskegee Institute. The following year, she received her aviation certification. However, because of her sex, Carter was also rejected from flying with the Tuskegee Airmen. Seventy years later, she was recognized retroactively as a WASP, and Carter took her final flight at age 90. Another African American applicant, Janet Harmon Bragg, was told by Cochran in her interview that "it was difficult enough fighting prejudice aimed at females without additionally battling race discrimination."

The WASP training spanned 18 groups of women. The first group was the Originals, who were the first group of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), led by Nancy Love. The second group was The Guinea Pigs which were Jacqueline Cochran's first class of women pilots for the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). The Guinea Pigs started training at the Houston Municipal Airport (now William P. Hobby Airport) on November 16, 1942, as part of the 319th Army Air Force Women's Flying Training Detachment (AAFWFTD). This was just after the WAFS had started their orientation in Wilmington, Delaware. Unlike the WAFS, the women that reported to Houston did not have uniforms and had to find their own lodging. The "Woofteddies" (WFTD) also had minimal medical care, no life insurance, crash truck, or fire truck, and the ambulance was loaned from the Ellington Army Airfield, along with insufficient administrative staff, and a hodgepodge of aircraft—23 types—for training. More than 25,000 women applied for the WASP, but only 1,830 were accepted into the program. During the course of their training, it was reported that 552 women were released for lack of flying proficiency, 152 resigned, 27 were discharged for medical reasons, and 14 were dismissed for disciplinary reasons. After completing four months of military flight training, 1,074 of them earned their wings and became the first women to fly American military aircraft. While the WASP were not trained for combat, their course of instruction was essentially the same as male aviation cadets. They received no gunnery training and very little formation and aerobatic flying, but went through the maneuvers necessary to be able to recover from any position. The percentage of those eliminated compared favorably with the elimination rate for male cadets' in the Central Flying Training Command. WASP recruits were required to complete the same primary, basic, and advanced training courses as male Army Air Corps pilots and many of them went on to specialized flight training. where they assumed numerous flight related missions. The original WAFS were organized specifically to ferry airplanes and free male pilots, around 900 in all, for combat roles. A WASP would go to the factory, test fly the airplane and then deliver it. During World War II, women pilots flew 80 percent of all ferrying missions. Between September 1942 and December 1944, the WASP delivered 12,652 aircraft of 78 different types. In order to set an example, Nancy Love who was in charge of training, made sure she was trained and qualified on as many different types of planes as was possible. They also towed targets for live anti aircraft artillery practice, simulated strafing missions, and transported cargo. The live target practice was announced by Jackie Cochran on July 19, 1943, to 25 recent WASP graduates at Avenger Field. Cochran told the group that she had a "top secret assignment" and that any WASP could opt out if they wished: none did. This group would be sent to Camp Davis to tow flying shooting targets for men on the ground to practice shooting airborne targets. Many of the planes were shot during this training and several WASP were shot in the feet. Sometimes the planes were shot on purpose, when service men mistakenly believed they were supposed to shoot the plane, not the target the WASP was towing. One of the planes used during target towing, an A 24 that, like many had not been adequately maintained by the Army Air Corps (AAC), killed WASP Mabel Virginia Rawlinson. Rawlinson was practicing night flying with a trainer when her A 24 began to experience technical issues. The instructor asked her to return to the airfield, but on the final approach, Rawlinson's plane connected with the top of a pine tree and the plane nosed down and crashed. The instructor was thrown free, but Rawlinson was stuck in the front seat as the plane went up in flames, unable to open the plane's broken canopy lock. The investigation into the crash and her death found that the towing planes were not maintained properly and the AAC was using the wrong octane fuel for the planes. The women flew almost every type of aircraft flown by the USAAF during World War II. In addition, a few exceptionally qualified women were allowed to test rocket propelled planes, to pilot jet propelled planes, and to work with radar controlled targets. When men were less willing to fly certain difficult planes, such as the YP 59 and B 29 Super Fortress, General Arnold recruited two WASPs to fly these aircraft. Arnold believed that if men saw women fly these planes successfully, they would be "embarrassed" into taking these missions willingly. Two WASPs, Dorthea Johnson and Dora Dougherty Strother, were chosen to fly the B 29. They flew to Alamogordo in the B 29s where there was a crowd waiting to see them land. General Arnold's plan worked, "From that day on, there was no more grumbling from male pilots assigned to train on and fly the B 29 Super Fortress." Women would also test fly the planes that had been repaired. When not flying, the pilots studied navigation, radio communications and new flying skills. Thirty eight members lost their lives in accidents: eleven during training, and twenty seven on missions. The War Department, however, consistently opposed the move, because there was no separate corps for male pilots as distinguished from unrated AAF officers. However, some in the media disagreed with General Arnold and began to write opinion pieces in some of the most important media of the day. TIME, The New York Daily News and the Washington Post all urged women to step down and give the jobs back to men. A journalist, Drew Pearson, questioned the legality of funding the WASP program, and even accused General Arnold of being manipulated by Jackie Cochran's "feminine wiles" in a Washington Times Herald column. The column caused male civilian pilots to increase their efforts to write letters against the program.

On June 21, 1944, the U. S. House bill to provide the WASP with military status, HR 4219, was narrowly defeated 188 against to 169 for. The civilian male pilots lobbied against the bill: reacting to closure of some civilian flight training schools, and the termination of two male pilot training commissioning programs. The committee had found that the program had cost $50 million in government funds. Because of the cost, the program needed to request funding through legislation. Cochran had been pushing for a resolution of the question: in effect, delivering an ultimatum to either commission the women or disband the program. The AAF had developed an excess of pilots and pilot candidates. As a result, Arnold (who had been a proponent of militarization) ordered that the WASP be disbanded by December 20, 1944.

text=The WASP has completed its mission. Their job has been successful. But as is usual in war, the cost has been heavy. Thirty eight WASP have died while helping their country move toward the moment of final victory. The Air Forces will long remember their service and their final sacrifice. On December 7, 1944, the final class of WASP pilots, 71 women in total, graduated from their training regardless of the plan to disband the WASP program within the following two weeks. Following the announcement approximately 20 WASP members offered to continue ferrying aircraft for the compensation of a year apiece but this offer was rejected. Before the WASP were disbanded, General Arnold ordered all commanding officers at bases where WASPs served, that the "women pilots be issued a certificate similar to an honorable discharge." Following the group's disbandment some WASP members were allowed to fly on board government aircraft from their former bases to the vicinity of their homes as long as room was available and no additional expenses were incurred. Others had to arrange and pay for their own transportation home. At the conclusion of the WASP program, 915 women pilots were on duty with the AAF: 620 assigned to the Training Command, 141 to the Air Transport Command, 133 to the numbered air forces in the continental United States, 11 to the Weather Wing, 9 to the technical commands and one to the Troop Carrier Command. The WASP members ferried fifty percent of the combat aircraft during the war to 126 bases across the United States. During November 1944 WASP members at Maxwell Air Field founded the Order of Fifinella organization. Many WASPs wanted to continue flying after they were disbanded. Commercial airlines turned women pilots away, "saying public opinion wouldn't stand for it." The United States Air Force offered commissions to former WASP in 1949, though all 121 who accepted the commissions were given support and administrative duties and did not fly.

The records of the WASP program, like nearly all wartime files, were classified and sealed for 35 years making their contributions to the war effort little known and inaccessible to historians. However, there were unofficial historians, like WASP Marty Wyall, who collected scrapbooks and newspaper clipping about what the WASP members had done and what they had gone on to do. Wyall also suggested in 1964, at a Ninety Nines convention, that the remaining WASP members should meet up with one another every other year. Another representative in the House, Lindy Boggs, introduced a bill around 1977 to give the WASP military status. In 1975 under the leadership of Col. Bruce Arnold, the son of General Hap Arnold, along with the surviving WASP members organized as a group again and began what they called the "Battle of Congress". Their goal was to gain public support and have the WASP officially recognized as veterans of World War II. Documents were compiled that showed during their service WASP members were subject to military discipline, assigned top secret missions and many members were awarded service ribbons after their units were disbanded. During hearings on the legislation opposition to the WASP members being given military recognition was voiced by the Veterans Administration (VA), the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The VA, led by Dorothy L. Starbuck, argued that WASP should not be given military recognition because the women were never subject to court martial. Honorable Discharge certificates were issued to the former WASP members in 1979. In 1984, each WASP was awarded the World War II Victory Medal. The 1977 legislation, either despite or because of its language, did not expressly allow WASPs to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. That was because Arlington National Cemetery, unlike most other national cemeteries, is administered by the Department of the Army, not the Department of Veterans Affairs, and thus the Secretary of the Army determines eligibility for Arlington burial. The Army ruled that the 1977 statute did not mandate the burial of deceased WASPs at Arlington. When WASP Elaine Harmon died on April 21, 2015, her request to have her ashes interred at Arlington was denied. Another WASP, Florence Shutsy Reynolds, began a social media campaign to advocate for Harmon and other WASP members who wished to be interred at Arlington. The 2016 law revived the long held concern about limited space at the cemetery. Thus, the legislation in the 114th Congress (S.2437 by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D Maryland) and H. R. 4336 by Rep. Martha McSally (R Arizona), a retired Air Force fighter pilot), provides only for interment of cremated remains and not ground burial. [[File:Madge Moore WASP. JPG|thumb|left|Madge Moore showing the WASP Congressional Gold Medal The hangar building used for the museum, Hangar One, was originally built in 1929 and was part of the Sweetwater Municipal Airport facilities which became Avenger Field. In 2005 the National WASP WWII Museum's grand opening was planned for May 28, 2005, which was the 62 anniversary of the first WASP graduating class. Along with the displays of uniforms, vehicles and other artifacts are several aircraft. These include a Boeing Stearman Model 75 biplane, a Fairchild PT 19 trainer, a UC 78 Bamboo Bomber and a Vultee BT 13 Valiant trainer that was donated in September 2017. In 2009, the WASPs were inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. On July 1, 2009, President Barack Obama and the United States Congress awarded the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. Three of the roughly 300 surviving WASPs were on hand to witness the event. During the ceremony President Obama said, "The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since. Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard earned recognition they deserve." On March 10, 2010, the 300 surviving WASPs came to the US Capitol to accept the Congressional Gold Medal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders. On New Year's Day in 2014 the Rose Parade featured a float with eight WASP members riding on it. It was designed by sculptor Don Everhart II. The medal is on display at the Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Other aspects of the WASP legacy include the designs and symbols of the WASP organization. Shutsy Reynolds took over WASP merchandising in 1988 and designed the scarf that many WASP members wore. and Terry London Rinehart, who was one of the first 10 women to be hired as a commercial airline pilot in 1976. Colonel Kimberly Olsen "credited the WASP for her opportunity to serve her country."

In the 1943 movie A Guy Named Joe, Pete Sandidge (Spencer Tracy) is the reckless pilot of a North American B 25 Mitchell bomber flying out of England during World War II. He is in love with Women Airforce Service Pilot Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), a civilian pilot ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic. Ladies Courageous is a 1944 film starring Loretta Young. Season 1, Episode 22 of Baa Baa Black Sheep was entitled "W*A*S*P*S". It first aired on March 1, 1977. The episode has several errors of fact. Two are that there is no "s" at the end of the name, because the name itself is plural, and the WASP never flew overseas. In the modern Wonder Woman continuity, Steve Trevor's mother, Diana Trevor, was a WASP who inadvertently crash landed on Themyscira on a mission in the 1940s and died helping the Amazons fight an attacking menace. A documentary produced by Ken Magid, Women of Courage, was shown on PBS in 1993. "Flygirl" by Sherri L. Smith, a 2009 YA novel about a young Black woman who passes as white to join the WASPs. In the 2012 Captain Marvel story from Marvel comics, Carol Danvers travels through time to 1943 where she fights alongside a squad of Women Airforce Service Pilots on an island off the coast of Peru. Season 3, Episode 15 of Army Wives is a flashback episode that mentions the WASP pilots from WWII. Meredith Dayna Levy wrote a play called Decision Height which tells the story of six WASP trainees. The Hugo and Nebula Award winning 2018 science fiction novel The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal depicts an alternative history of the 1950s space race where former WASP pilots become the first female astronauts. Fannie Flagg's 2013 book,The All Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion features three sisters who fly with WASP. Flight Officer Maude Garrett, the main character of the 2020 movie Shadow in the Cloud, is a WASP. The end credits of the movie feature pictures of the Women Air Service Pilots. Angel Wings, a French graphic novel series, is about Angela McCloud, a (fictional) WASP who – unlike the WASP pilots in real life – flies transport missions in Burma and then the Pacific as cover for secret duties as an agent with the wartime intelligence service, the OSS.