Stars and Stripes Salutes Women Airforce Service Pilots Page: 4 of 16
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" WOMEN AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS "
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Important Dates in WASP History
1940
September - Cochran addresses the Ninety Nines, a
women pilots organization, at the New York World's Fair:
"There should be an organized women's air corps auxil-
iary to the other air forces in the government-controlled,
supervised and supported by our government."1939
September 28 - Jacqueline
Cochran contacts America's First
Lady, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt,
and suggests women.could fly
non-combat stateside military
missions: "As, for instance, in
flying ambulance planes, courier
planes, commercial and transport
planes, thereby releasing male
pilots for combat duty."1941
July 21 - Cochran submits her first
proposal outlining a detailed plan for
t, utilizing women pilots.
October 28 - Cochran meets with General Hap Arnold
CG, AAF, face to face and lays out her detailed plan.
The General is impressed and, although there is no
need at present, asks her to devise a women's training
program, including a proposal of what kind of piloting
women might do for the Armny Air Forces.November - General Arnold
asks Cochran to recruit and
oversee American women pilots
to fly with the British Air Trans-
port Command. She agrees to
take the job only with General
Arnold's promise to call her
back to direct women's work.
4 f
Cochran and Arnoei
December 7, 1941
Pearl Harbor attacked. WWII
declared next day.1942
March - Cochran takes 25 women
pilots to England to fly for RAF. She
stays to help the 8th AF.
May 25 - General Arnold desper-
ately needs pilots. He requests that
Cochran return and begin program to
train women to fly military aircraft.
June 18 - Colonel Tunner, ATC,
receives plan from Nancy Love to
hire women ferry pilots.September 10 - Nancy Love and
General George make official an-
nouncement about hiring women
pilots to ferry aircraft without ap-
proval of General Arnold.
September 12 - Cochran meets
with General Arnold regarding
her program for training women
pilots: "The use of women pilots
must not be limited to the Ferrying
Command, but must be recog-
nized as an over-alljob."
Three women pilots, recruited
by Love, hired as Civil Service em-
ployees on short term contracts
to ferry aircraft, report to New
Castle AFB (ATC), in new squad-
ron (Women's Auxiliary Ferrying
Squadron).Mid September - Female September 16 - November 16 - 28 pilots April 21 - First class of
pilots, hired as civilian contrac- Cochran is appointed of the Women's Flying WFTD trainees graduates a
tors to ferry planes for the Director of Women's Training Detachment January 5 - 2nd Women's Ellington Field, Houston. A
Ferrying Division, ATC, will sign Ferrying Training. Her (WFTD) report to Houston AuxiliaryFerrying Squadron is signed to Ferry Command.90 day contract with renewal
option if service is satisfactory.
They will receive four weeks of
orientation/transition training
at New Castle AFB: Newly
formed squadron unofficially
named 'Women's Auxiliary
Ferrying Squadron;' women
pilots nicknamed 'WAFS.'
September 15 - 319th
Women's Flying Training De-
tachment (WFTD) created and
officially approved. Women
to be given same training as
Army Air Forces cadets.salary is $1 per year.
Sept/Oct/November
A total of 28 civilian
women pilots report
to New Castle to ferry
aircraft for ATC.Municipal Airport for AAF
flight training.December 16 - 2nd class
WFTD reports 60 women
pilots.
December 25 - Orders from
Colonel Tunner, ATC: "Enroll
No More WAFS."'
formed at Love Field, Dallas.
February 7 - Women's Flying
Training Detachment to be
moved to Avenger Field, in
Sweetwater, Tex.
March 1 - Cochran writes to
trainees in the second edition of
the 'Fifinella Gazette':"The Women's Flying Training
program has already approached
the proportions of our entire air
program to the start of the war... You have my reputation
in your hands. Also, you have my faith. I have no fear -7
know you can do the job."March 7 - First WFTD
trainee, Margaret
Oldenburg, killed near
Houston.
March 21 - First Ameri-
can woman military pi-
lot, Cornelia Fort, killed
while ferrying aircraft.July 5 - WFTD and.WAFS
are consolidated into one
branch. Jacqueline Cochran
named as the Director of
Women Pilots.
' 2.' ~3 # e ll z 4 _ - .f Y F ' " - :( i jp
July 24 - First wo
assigned to Trainin
mand (Camp Davi
flying A-25, A-24 t
targets for ground
aircraft training.men pilots
g Com-
s, N.C.)August 15 - First women
check out as first pilots in
B-1 7s at Lockbourne.twng August 20 - Refusal of
to air anti- some women pilots to ac-
cept WASP name prompts
General Arnold, CG/AAF, to
issue a second order about
the naming of women pilots:
"ACRONYM FOR ALL AAF
WOMEN PILOTS WILL BE
'WASP', WOMEN AIR-
FORCE SERVICE PILOTS,
PERIOD."August - General Arnold
designates ALL women
pilots flying military aircraft as
WASP (Women Airforce Ser-
vice Pilots), names Cochran
as Director of Women Pilots
and Nancy Love as Execu-
tive of Women Ferry Pilots.(AAF Regulation 20-4)
October 14 - Some male
pilots are hesitant to fly
the B-26 Martin Marauder.
WASP women pilots report
to Dodge City for B-26 train-
ing to prove B-26 aircraft is
safe to fly.1944
June 21 - Congressc
to militarize WASP, nul
promise made to them
they entered training.
June 26 - General Ar
ders WASP to be dis
in December, 194!
December 7 - Lase c
WASP graduates.defeats bill
illifying them whon
nold or-
continued'
1a s rDecember 20 - From
120 airbases across
America, WASP fly their
last military aircraft, hang
up their Army para-
chutes, and pay their
own way back home.
They receive no benefits,
no honors, nor Vet-
eran status. Records are
sealed, stamped 'classi-
fied' and filed away in the
Government Archives for
the next 33 years.1977
WASP receive Veteran status. The
pilots are not invited to the 'signing'
ceremony.
1984
The medals the WASP had earned
were sent to them in plain brown
envelopes in the mail.2010
Congress will finally honor
the WASP's service with the
awarding of one Congres-
sional Gold Medal to be given
to the Smithsonian. Individual
WASP pilots will not receive a
duplicate bronze medal.. ..mo
Page 4
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Stars and Stripes. Stars and Stripes Salutes Women Airforce Service Pilots, newspaper, March 10, 2010; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth887633/m1/4/: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.