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Archives at The Museum of Flight


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, a lady gremlin designed by Walt Disney for the WASP organization, is visible. The second photograph is a group portrait of pilots and crew, including two members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), lined up in front of "Ladybird," at Eglin Field, Florida, June 1944, including Lieutenant Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr, Dorothea J. Moorman, Dora J. Dougherty, Sergeant Gallagher, Sergeant Duzenbury, Sergeant Lemley, Sergeant Wolfe, and Sergeant Ellis. The plane's designation is painted on the fuselage along with Fifinella. The prints are both 8x10" black-and-white prints. They are not vintage prints but are later reprints.

The collection also includes a photocopy of a transition certificate for Dora J. Dougherty, 6/24/44, qualified to fly B-29s.

Dates

  • Creation: June 1944

Language of Materials

All materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. For more information contact us.

Conditions Governing Use

The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Biographical Note: Dora Jean (Dougherty) Strother

Dora Jean (Dougherty) Strother served as a WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilot) during World War II who flew B-29 Superfortress demonstration flights.

She was born November 27, 1921 in Minnesota. She learned to fly fixed-wing aircraft in 1940. In World War II she served as a WASP flying a variety of aircraft, including liaison, training, cargo, bomber, and very heavy bomber aircraft. Her duties included ferrying, radio control piloting, target towing for antiaircraft gunnery, and flight crew standardization. Then she was an active reservist with the U.S. Air Force. She was the sixth woman in the country to earn an Airline Transport Pilot License.

She worked as a flight instructor and ferry pilot from 1944-1949 at various airfields. Then, she earned a Bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1949, a Master's degree from University of Illinois in 1953, and a Ph.D from New York University in 1955. While at the University of Illinois, she worked in the Institute of Aviation as a flight instructor and in the Aviation Psychology Laboratory as a research associate doing research on simulation, instrumentation and pilot training. From 1957-1958 she worked for Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland in the human engineering department. From there she joined the Bell Company and served as Chief of Human Factors Group. Additionally, she was a licensed psychologist, certified in the state of Texas.

In 1961 she set female helicopter records for non-stop distance in a straight line and for altitude, both without payload. In 1966 she was appointed by President Johnson to the Federal Aviation Agency as chairman of its Women's Advisory Committee on Aviation. That year she also received an achievement award from the American Association of University Women. She was also a recipient of the FAA's Certificate of Commendation, was named an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, received the Amelia Earhart award for academic achievement, and was inducted into the Military Aviation Hall of Fame.

Strother died November 19, 2013 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 letter size file folder)

Existence and Location of Copies

Materials from this collection have been digitized and are available at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections.

Title
Guide to the Dora Jean (Dougherty) Strother WASP Photographs Collection
Status
Completed Level 2
Author
N. Davis
Date
2021
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English
Edition statement
1st edition

Repository Details

Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository

Contact:
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-7874


The Museum of Flight | 9404 E. Marginal Way South | Seattle WA 98108-4097 | 206-764-5874
Contact us with a research request
curator@museumofflight.org