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breetome t1_ixdgxab wrote

I read somewhere that these ladies would deliver the planes to different bases. Very cool photo, thanks for sharing this.

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calguy1955 t1_ixe95rt wrote

They would also ferry servicemen to different bases. These women wanted to serve the war effort but they weren’t allowed in combat so they formed the WASP service and had them fly around the states.

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LanceFree t1_ixf1lli wrote

A friend of the family was in the first class of Wasps. She said the planes were designed for men, she actually had to sit on phonebooks or manuals.

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breetome t1_ixebdek wrote

Cool! Thanks for sharing. I know there was a small bit of a war documentary that mentioned these ladies. They were probably thrilled to be able to fly and help out.

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carmium t1_ixf5x2z wrote

In the UK they had Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). These women ferried every type of aircraft imaginable, with some having flown virtually every single-, twin-, and four-engined plane available. And most loved Spitfires the best!

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HawkeyeTen t1_ixengnz wrote

They flew them to Britain and other areas as well, from what I've read. Truly astonishing ladies.

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phasefournow t1_ixh8pi2 wrote

Took them nearly 50 years to get Government recognition and receive any kind of veterans benefits.

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donutboof t1_ixfnloc wrote

I’m the grandson of a WASP, 44-w-7. In addition to ferrying pretty much everything in the inventory, they also trained pilots, towed targets, and did checkout flights on repaired aircraft. Last year, I actually had the chance to fly an AT-6 flown by my grandmother at Avenger Field!

As a kid, I went to many of their reunions. They were an incredible group of ladies, decades ahead of their time. Returning to civilian life was HARD for most after their wartime experiences. It was really incredible to see what so many did later in life, too.

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katchoo1 t1_ixh03sh wrote

I remember seeing a film about the women who went to work in the war effort in a women's history class in college. It had the inspiring propaganda footage and photos we've all seen, women in coveralls and such, and the women like the WASPs. And then interviews with them as older women (probably filmed in late 70s/early 80s) almost all of them talking about how much some of them wanted to keep going in the workforce but they were all summarily fired to make room for the "fellas" returning from the war. Really felt like it was the most meaningful period of their lives for many and they missed it when it was over. Kind of gives another level to the Baby Boom -- give those ladies something to do at home so they get the hell out of the workforce! I'd always seen the inspiring side of it but it was a bummer to see how the women went from homefront hero one day to selfish jerk the next for staying in a factory job that a man "needed".

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GermsDean t1_ixhym62 wrote

That’s amazing! I read a really great book that I would highly recommend to any aviation nerds like myself called Winning My Wings by Marion Stegeman-Hodgson about her experience in the WASP program.

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DickweedMcGee t1_ixf8ab7 wrote

Dangerous work too. These were high performance aircraft with 1940s reliability, safety equipment and non-computerized traffic control. 38 WASP pilots lost their lives in WWII, some MIA to this day.

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breetome t1_ixf8jh5 wrote

Good point. They had to actually be pretty damn brave to do this.

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deepaksn t1_ixfht6k wrote

Yep.

Except for the bomber crews… I believe that more men were killed in training and non-operational accidents than were by the enemy.

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