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historyandclassicactors · 8 years ago

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The Original Fly Girls: WASPs, WAAFs, WDs, WAAAFs

This post comes, in part, because of Elinor Florence’s Bird’s Eye View, which I mostly read because after reading Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire, I was just dying to read anything and everything I could about female pilots during WWII. (More on both Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire later, I promise. [Image from goodreads]

Summary: Rose Jolliffe, bored of country life and itching to join the war effort, leaves behind her precious Canada and journeys to Britain, hoping to join the RAF as a female pilot. However, her skills in printing photographs lands her a special military job. And although it’s not the front row seat she’d been hoping for, her work is critical to the Allies’ victory.

So, today’s post is a tribute to the amazing and daring female pilots from America, Britain, Canada, and Australia (and if I forgot someone, I am incredibly sorry). And, as a special treat, a additional section at the end! So, be prepared for an extra long post - there was just so much to get in. They were the unsung heroes of WWII.

WASPs:

In the Summer of 1941, “Female pilots Jackie Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love submitted proposals to the USAAF, arguing that placing female pilots in non-combat roles would free up their male counterparts for combat missions” (Source). On September 5, 1942, after drawing up a proposal that would allow women to deliver military aircraft to military air bases, Love was named the Commander of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, (WAFS). They were based at Newcastle Army Air Base in DE.

On November 16, 1942, The 319th Women’s Flying Training Detachment was officially established at Municipal Airport in Houston, TX by Col. William H. Turner. It was under Cochran’s command.

“The WFTD had fewer resources than their WAFS counterparts, which meant that they had no uniforms, no life insurance, no crash truck, and no fire truck. Morale became an issue that was never truly resolved with WFTD, especially after the 7 Mar 1943 incident where pilot trainee Margaret Oldenburg and instructor Norris G. Morgan were killed in a crash south of Houston” (Source).

In July 1943, the two programs were merged together to form the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Training took place in Sweetwater, TX.

Unlike the Army Airforce, WASP was a civil service branch, which meant that the 39 WASP aviators who proudly gave their lives during WWII were deprived of both military honors and funeral funding. On June 22, 1944, uniforms were finally provided. It consisted of “of a blue blouse with three buttons, a matching skirt, and a white shirt with black tie.” Many also wore “A-2 or B-3 leather flight jackets over their uniforms” (Source).

On December 20, 1944: WASP was disbanded by Arnold because it was believed they had completed their mission and could do no more. On December 7, he was quoted: “The Air Forces will long remember their servies and their final sacrifice” (Source).

In 1997, President Jimmy Carter signed the GI Bill Improvement Act, granting WASP pilots full military status.

1,830 WASPs served. Only 1,074 earned their silver wings. They delivered 12,650 Aircrafts. 39 died in service. [Below: Bomber Girls]

WAAFs (or ATA Girls):

“The term war hero doesn’t usually bring to mind images of it-girls or front page glamour shots… But the ladies of the female section of the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) singlehandedly transformed the idea of what it meant to be a war hero” (Source).

WAAFs were the first women to receive equal pay! Much like the WASPs, though, ATA Girls were considered part of a civil service organization. However, this did not stop them.

On January 1, 1940, the first eight women joined ATA, recruited by “Pauline Gower, who made a living giving joy rides” (Source). Despite the fact that the women recruited held flying experience (sometimes more than their male counterparts), they were only allowed to fly non-operational crafts, “such as trainers or communications aircraft” (Source). On July 19, 1941, “Winnie Crossley was the first woman to be checked out on a Hurricane fighter, and from then on the sky was the limit” (Source).

ATA Girls worked as ferry pilots and delivered “military airplanes from factories to the RAF at the front lines” (Source). They were eventually upgraded from flying only Tiger Moths to flying 147 different types of aircraft! Some of these even included “four-engine bombers that even intimidated male pilots” (Source). Even ferrying was dangerous. Pilots had to endure hypothermia and learn to navigate barrage balloons. To make matters worse, they flew without radios or ammunition and had to learn to navigate solely by landmarks. 1 in 10 ATA pilots did not survive.

Their uniform consisted of a “dark blue skirt or trousers, a forge cap, black tie, and single breasted jacket with ATA insignia and gold threaded wings” (Source).

168 ATA Girls served. They delivered 308,000 Aircraft. 15 died while flying (I couldn’t find actual numbers anywhere). [Below: ATA Girls]

WDs:

On July 2, 1941, the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (CWAAF) was created. On February 3, 1942, it was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division or WDs. They operated under Flight Officer Kathleen Oonah Walker. Training originally took place at Havergal College in Toronto, “soon to be designated as No. 6 Manning Depot” (Source). Training went so well that a second center was opened on April 11, 1942: No. 7 Manning Depot in Rockliffe, Ottawa.

In January of 1942, the first wave of WD’s “joined No. 2 Service Flying Training School at Uplands” (Source). Unfortunately, their duties were kept rather limited: “administrative and clerical work, dental assistants, equipment assistants, weather observers, telephone operators, photographers, wireless operatives, fabric workers, tailors, laundry staff, cooks” (Source). After a few months, their responsibilities extended to: “chauffeurs, hairdressers, musicians, pharmacists, lab assistants, parachute riggers,” even electrical and mechanical work (Source). By mid-1942, some WD’s finally found themselves with more war-oriented work: as reconnaissance photographic interpreters.

Unfortunately, the RCAF denied women the opportunity to fly fighter or reconnaissance planes. Apparently, they were too dangerous for women - in fact, they were not trained for flying of any kind. Though, like many early Americans, a number of Canadian women did manage passage to Britain to serve with the WAAF. Additionally, many WD’s still found plenty of danger, namely in the form of bombing raids, “especially during the summer of 1944 when Germany launched V-1 raids over Britain” (Source).

Their uniform was based off the WAAF uniforms: “a blue-gray (’air force blue’) tunic and skirt, blue shirt, black necktie, greatcoat, rain coat, black shoes, navy cardigan, blue smock, overshoes, lisle gray stockings, gloves, khaki coveralls, gray shorts, tee shirt, summer dress, rank badges, and a cap with a pleated crown” (Source).

In total, 17,038 WD’s served. 28 died in service. [Below: RCAF WD’s]

WAAAFs:

In February of 1941, the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was created. “A WAAAF Training Depot was established at Malvern, Melbourne” (Source). They worked under Director Group Officer Clare Grant Stevenson.

Their postings included: “highly skilled technical employment on aircraft. In addition to telegraphists, women became armament workers, electricians, fitters, flight mechanics, fabricworkers, instrument makers and meteorological assistants, besides using skills in many clerical, medical, transport, catering, equipment, signals and radar fields of employment. Over 700 women held commissioned rank and like airwomen, worked in a great variety of administrative, technical and professional tasks. A number commanded units in operations rooms, at General Douglas MacArthur's Headquarters in Brisbane dealing with intelligence matters, at Operational Units, in RAAF Hospitals, Aircraft Depots, Radar Stations, RAAF Bases – wherever they were needed, they served” (Source).

The WAAAF was the first women’s military branch in Australia (outside of nursing). Unfortunately, the WAAAF were not permitted to serve outside of Australia, aside from “a few visits to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Northern Territory” (Source).

The WAAAF uniform consisted of a navy blue woolen serge single-breasted dress jacket, a skirt, a cap, blue shirt, black necktie, and the appropriate insignia.

Approximately 27,000 WAAAFs served. 57 died in service. [Below: WAAAF]

Ariel Photographic Interpretation:

The British brought “about a revolution in ariel photography and air intelligence that was to play a vital part in transforming the fortunes of the war” (Source). Using unarmed Spitfires and Mosquitoes with cameras mounted on the wings, ariel photographers took photographs to be used to chart Axis air defenses.

In Britain, No. 1 Photographic Development Units (PDU) were based at RAF Heston and RAF Benson. Later, the Central Interpretation Unit (CIU) at RAF Medmenham made great strides in reconnaissance with their photo interpretation. The interpreters’ job was to identify objects and judge their significance. Some of the basic principles include: location, size, shape, shadow, tone/color, texture, pattern, height/depth, and site/situation/association. Using these, interpreters can determine if something in the image seems out of place. In fact, photographic intelligence eventually expanded, taking part in nearly every operation of the war. “Of particular significance in the success of the work of Medmenham was the use of stereoscopic images, using a between plate overlap of exactly 60%” (Source).

“Major operations made possible by the work at Medmanham included, on 17 and 18 August 1943, an offensive against the V-2 rocket development plant at Peenemünde. Later offensives were also made against potential launch sites at Wizernes and 96 other launch sites in Northern France. It is claimed that Medmanham's greatest operational success was "Operation Crossbow" which, from 23 December 1943, destroyed the V-1 infrastructure in Northern France” (Source).

By VE-Day, the print library of Dansfield House, were RAF Medmenham HQ were located, housed some 5,000,000 prints. [Below: RAF Medmenham: Dansfield House]

Up Next: Sinking of The Wilhelm Gustloff

#WWII #History Series #Bird's Eye View #WASP #ATA #Women Pilots #Fly Girls #History #WAAF #RCAF #WAAAF

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