Women Airforce Service Pilots (U.S.)
Organization
Historical Note
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was a civilian pilots' organization founded in 1943 by Jacqueline Cochran. It was a merger of the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), both started in 1942. It had no military standing.
The goal of the group was to free male pilots for combat roles. Members of WASP were trained as pilots and they tested aircraft, ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots. The WASP program was ended on December 20, 1944. While active, WASP members flew over 60 million miles; transported every type of military aircraft; towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice; simulated strafing missions and transported cargo.
In 1977, WASP members received recognition for their World War II service by being granted veteran status and in 2009, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
The goal of the group was to free male pilots for combat roles. Members of WASP were trained as pilots and they tested aircraft, ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots. The WASP program was ended on December 20, 1944. While active, WASP members flew over 60 million miles; transported every type of military aircraft; towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice; simulated strafing missions and transported cargo.
In 1977, WASP members received recognition for their World War II service by being granted veteran status and in 2009, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Citation
https://www.army.mil/women/history/pilots.htmlFound in 6 Collections and/or Records:
Martha L. (Smith) Bullock Collection
Collection
Identifier: 2003-09-08
Scope and Contents
The Martha L. (Smith) Bullock Collection is a small collection of items associated with Bullock's time as a Women Air Service Pilot (WASP) during World War II. The collection includes one folder of photographs and one folder of textual materials. The photographs, all black-and-white, are comprised of four (4) portraits of Bullock with planes and one image of a B-26 in flight over Dodge City, Kansas. The textual items include clippings documenting her flying career after World War II,...
Carol (Nicholson) Lewis Collection
Collection
Identifier: 2009-05-07
Abstract
Carol (Nicholson) Lewis (1923-1987) joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in 1943 and was assigned to Moore Air Base (Texas), Class 44-W-7. The collection includes official documents, photographs, correspondence, clippings, and ephemera related to Lewis' 1943-1945 WASP service. A small amount of correspondence and ephemera concerning her marriage is also included in the collection.
Nordhoff and Dunnam Families Collection
Collection
Identifier: 2018-08-13
Overview
The Nordhoff and Dunnam Families Collection contains items relating to the World War I and II service of the Nordhoff and Dunnam families.
Nordhoff and Dunnam families papers
Collection
Identifier: 1993-05-11
Abstract
Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, and assorted ephemera from the Nordhoff and Dunnam families, who served as pilots in World War I and World War II and later founded the Bellevue Airport.
Dora Jean (Dougherty) Strother WASP Photographs Collection
Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: 1986-12-09-A
Content Description
The Dora Jean (Dougherty) Strother WASP Photographs Collection is a small collection consisting of two photographs of Women Air Service Pilots at Elgin Air Force Base with the B-29 "Ladybird" before a B-29 demonstration tour in 1944.The first photograph depicts Women Airforce Service Pilots Dora J. Dougherty and Dorothea J. Moorman accepting aircraft papers from a representative of the Boeing Company for the B-29 "Ladybird" at Eglin Field, Florida, June 1944. Nose art of Fifinella,...
Jeanette R. (Rogowski) Witzkowski World War II Collection
Collection
Identifier: 2013-11-27
Contents of the Collection
The Jeanette R. (Rogowski) Witzkowski World War II Collection relates to the World War II-era experience of Jeanette Witzkowski, who served as a pilot and air traffic controller during World War II. It includes primarily textual materials and a small amount of photographic prints, with the bulk of the material falling within 1935-1947. Textual materials include Civial Aeronuatics Administration (CAA) air traffic control instructional documents and aircraft clearance forms and incoming...