History of the Women Military Aviators
By Barbara (Brumme) Garwood
The Beginning
The organization called the Women Military Aviators, Inc. was formed by two groups of women pilots separated by 39 years of history. The first group entered history in 1942 because of the need for women pilots during World War II to perform ferry, transport, testing and other noncombat flying, which would allow more male pilots to be used for combat duties. In 1942, two highly experienced and accomplished female pilots, Jacqueline Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love, formed different but complementary flying organizations of women pilots. Their common goal was using women pilots in the war effort.
On August 5, 1942, the name given to all those women pilots was the name they are known by today, the Women AirForce Service Pilots (WASP).
There were 1102 women who completed the strenuous six month pilot training program at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. These women pilots endured a military type flight training program yet had no military status. Graduating WASP were given assignments to Army Air bases all over the United States and flew over 78 different types of aircraft in missions involving ferrying aircraft, testing aircraft, delivering new aircraft from factories to bases, post maintenance flights, target tows and flights in weather requiring instrument flight rules. The WASP proved that women could fly all types of military aircraft.
http://www.womenmilitaryaviators.org/history-of-wma.html
