Women Airforce Service Pilots
WASPS Purpose in WW2
The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)
were a brave and dedicated group of aviators who helped the U.S. win the
WWII battles in the air. They did not participate in combat directly.
But they did take the place of men who could and did fight in the air.
The women were not military service members, but were civilian
employees. Their training was nearly identical to male pilots except for
the combat-related portion of instruction. In all, 25,000 women applied
for admission to the WASP training program;
1,830 were admitted and 1,074 completed the course and were assigned to
operational duty. They were assigned to air bases across the country to
ferry planes. WASP eventually flew 77 types of
aircraft, including the P-38 and F-5, P-39, P-40, P-63, C-54, C-46, B-26
and B-24.
Although ferrying was the first and principal duty of
WASP, in 1943 women pilots were assigned to
the Training Command where they gunnery towed targets and served as
flight instructors. After April 1944 fighter plane ferrying became the
main WASP activity. A few exceptionally
qualified women were allowed to test early jet aircraft. The women
encountered the same flying conditions and problems as male pilots,
sometimes guarding their own planes at understaffed airfields, sometimes
having to improvise refueling facilities, and flying open-cockpit
training planes in subzero weather. A total of 37
WASPs lost their lives in aircraft accidents,
while 7 suffered major injuries and 29 suffered minor injuries. With the
need for pilots diminishing, on in December 1944 the
WASP were deactivated. In 1977
WASP were awarded veterans status. In 2009
WASP were awarded the Congressional Gold
Medal.