[Clipping: WASP Pilots and the 'the 5th', Dallas Love Field] Part: 11 of 20
This clipping is part of the collection entitled: National WASP WWII Museum and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the National WASP WWII Museum.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
In June 1928, the City of Dallas bought the
167.10 acres for $325,000. Several airlines began
building service out of Love.The first paved run-
ways were completed in 1934. The air traffic
control tower commissioned in 1937.
When World War II came along, Dallas was
the perfect locale for a military flight base. It was
central to numerous aviation schools, manufac-
turers, and modification centers. The Army reac-
tivated Love Field as a major military aircraft
modification center and made it the home of the
5th Ferrying Group-the men, and later the
women, who would ferry those aircraft to points
all across the U.S.
Aircraft built in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,
and ferried by the men of the 5th Ferrying
Group, included the B-24 Liberator, built at
Consolidated's Fort Worth plant; the AT-6 train-
er and later the P-51 Mustang, manufactured at
the North American plant at Grand Prairie; and
the P-38 Lightning, which was modified at Love
Field's Lockheed Mod Center.' In 1944, the
women ferry pilots served as copilots on the B-
24s and those who had successfully trained as
pursuit pilots ferried the P-51s and P-38s. The
women of the 601st WASP squadron (as they
were known)' also were sent TDY (temporary
duty) to Wichita, Kansas, to ferry single- and
twin-engine Cessnas and Beeches manufactured
there.'
The area that housed the 5th Ferrying
Group, Bohn writes, was a compact space. "A
bus-type vehicle called the '5th Ferry-Go-
Round' operated twenty-four hours each day on
a route that permitted them to pick up and
deposit personnel and to speed them to mess,
barracks, jobs, on errands, and on their individ-
ual journeys. Members of overworked mainte-
nance, line and airplane crews were known to
fall asleep while standing and grasping a hand rail
and to require real effort by someone to awaken
them."
Also operating round-the-clock for the
benefit of 5th Ferrying Grouppersonnel was the
American Red Cross "survival station"-set out
on the flight line and served continuously by the
Ferry-Go-Round.
Ferry pilots, says Bohn, were always hungry.
Male and female, alike, they lived a life of uncer-Spring 2008 LEGACIES 53
thers
-rred
er of
signal
s) to
the
site
i the
ened
. had
iths.6,.
- - -tainty, no such thing as a schedule. They flew
when an airplane needed to be flown-some-
where. They got back to base when they could
by whatever available conveyance. They never
knew when and where they would have their
next meal-where they would sleep that night.
By the time the ferry pilots of the 5th
arrived back at base from deliveries, the mess hall
invariably was closed. "The good gray ladies of
the Red Cross never failed us," said Bohn. "With
their soup, sandwiches, cookies, Cokes, coffee,
milk and millions of carrot sticks, they were our
saviors."10
Firmly established in their new quarters,
Dorothy and the other women pilots went to
work checking out on basic trainers-BT-13s-
the next step up from the PTs they had flown at
New Castle.
On February 13, 1943, she writes home:
Iflew to a neighboring field to shoot landings. The
guy in the tower must have had a heart attack when
he heard a girl's voice calling on the radio, because a lit-
tle later I heard, "Army 214,from the Hensley Field
Tower, what is the pilot's name please?"
"Dorothy Scott, WAFS," I answered, and did not
ask "why?"
February 23, she writes:
BT-13 trip with Florene. Over Red Cross box
lunches, got dated up for the rest of the week in five
minutes.
Officer escorts were assigned to fly Dorothy
and Florene to Memphis in order to catch an
airliner that would have them back in Dallas by
11 P.M.
. We climbed into two BT-13s, Florene and a
major in one, a captain and me in the other. It was a
very clear night but dark. The stars looked like a mil-
lion smallfires. Coming over Memphis at 6,000 feet,
the city's lights looked like a magic carpet. I've never
had such a ride."
After we landed, we shocked the natives by walk-
ing into the terminal in our flying suits and on the
arms of a couple of handsome officers. They stayed with
us until plane time.
Upcoming Parts
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This clipping can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View seven places within this clipping that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this part or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current part of this Clipping.
Rickman, Sarah Byrn. [Clipping: WASP Pilots and the 'the 5th', Dallas Love Field], clipping, Spring 2008; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1164121/m1/11/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.