Latest news with #AirTransportAuxiliary
National Geographic
07-05-2025
- General
- National Geographic
These daredevil women pilots helped beat Hitler in WWII
Banned from flying in the U.S., these 25 American women headed to Britain to help ferry military aircraft—and fascinated the public with their free-wheeling lives. The women Of Air Transport Auxiliary flew the biggest bombers and the sleekest fighters. Photograph byThe United States barred women pilots from the armed forces during World War II, but that didn't stop 25 courageous young trailblazers. They bolted for Great Britain in 1942 to become the first American women to fly military aircraft. The pilots have been mostly forgotten ever since. But during the war, they shook things up wherever they landed, prompting headlines like one in the New York Herald Tribune. The pilots, it said, 'Fly 121 Types of Planes, Sleep Wherever They Land, Find Romance and Tragedy.' Jacqueline Cochran, American aviatrix, winner of Bendix Transcontinental Air Race, 1938. Photograph by Bettmann, GETTY IMAGES No wonder the public was fascinated. Noble, glamorous, and bold, the pilots represented a cross-section of American womanhood, from crop dusters to debutantes, college girls to performers in flying circuses. The famous aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran was the most celebrated, having risen from childhood poverty to become a millionaire cosmetics mogul who won cross-country air races and shattered records for speed. She set the adventure in motion by inviting the others to join her across the Atlantic. Britain, suffering under constant aerial attack from Germany, was desperate enough to accept a mix of pilots—even foreigners, and yes, even women. Those who made the grade performed one of the most dangerous jobs of the war for a unit called the Air Transport Auxiliary. One in seven pilots died in the course of the work, which called on them to deliver ultimately up to 147 different models of relatively untested fighters and bombers from factories to the frontline airfields of the Royal Air Force, then turn around and return shot-up wrecks for repair. They knew very little about what could go wrong until they were high in the sky. Many pilots crashed or made spectacular saves. Far from home, the free-wheeling, free-thinking American women proved themselves in the air, flying the world's most advanced aircraft in all conditions. On the ground, they reinvented themselves as they pleased, defying expectations for women at the time and often shocking their British hosts with thoroughly modern behavior. Under simulated flight conditions, Women's Air Service Pilots learned the intricacies of proper handling of equipment at high altitudes in a pressurized room at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, 1940s. Photograph(These female pilots broke down barriers in aviation) Bulgaria's cultural capital Socialites and speed demons Twenty-three-year-old Dorothy Furey was a stunning beauty determined to overcome an impoverished background and an eighth-grade education. She passed in England as a sort of American aristocrat by acting imperious and recycling a single red evening dress. Impervious to scandal, she carried on an adulterous affair with a British lord. Eventually she married him and became a countess. Meanwhile, Virginia Farr, also 23, was known back home as 'the flying socialite.' Her wealthy family expected her to marry well, but she seized on her service in Britain to escape from that gilded cage. Thanks to discipline and rock-solid nerves, Farr advanced quickly to the most difficult assignments in rugged outposts. In private, she fell in love with a woman. January 10th, 1940: Women pilots of the Transport Auxiliary Service, who ferried new RAF aircraft from factory to aerodromes, ran to their planes to give a demonstration of their skills. Photograph by Hudson/TopicalFarr's archrival in the sky was Winnie Pierce, a 25-year-old who lived for thrills and delighted in breaking the rules. When she first arrived, the British rolled their eyes at the hard-drinking party girl. But early in her service, the entire airfield watched in horror as her engine failed just after takeoff in a brand-new Hurricane fighter. Everyone knew this was one of the most perilous circumstances a pilot could face. The Hurricane was too low to offer time for Winnie to find a suitable farming field where she might glide down to safety. Protocol called for her to aim straight ahead and crash into some buildings, because any other alternative was even more likely to be fatal. To try to turn back to the airport was a maneuver known as 'the impossible turn,' because few pilots possessed the skill to pull it off. In a snap, Winnie decided to defy procedure. She pushed through shock with shaking hands as she swung aircraft around, wobbled into position and hit the field without a swerve. Suddenly, she was treated with new respect— 'all that rot about 'good show,'' she wrote in her diary. Hazel Jane Raines, a 25-year-old former stunt pilot in Georgia air shows, also showed her mettle when the engine of a Spitfire fighter failed just as she entered a cloudbank. The whiteout made it impossible to judge left from right, up from down. Raines slipped into a deadly spin that could have drilled the aircraft straight into the ground. But when she finally broke free from the haze, she used her stunt flying expertise to level out in time and save her life. On land, Raines befriended the rich and powerful Lady Astor, who wanted Hazel to marry one of her sons, but Hazel declined. She insisted, 'The sky is my home as long as there is a place up there for me.' American pilot Jacqueline Cochran (far right) talked to members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force at work on a Hawker Hurricane MkIIb fighter aircraft of 242 (Canadian) Squadron Royal Air Force Fighter Command. Photograph by Central Press/The women competed to fly the biggest, fastest, scariest aircraft, hoping that they could secure careers in the air when the war was over. Jackie Cochran returned home early in the fall of 1942 to help launch the Women Air Force Service Pilots [the WASP]. They delivered aircraft within the United States based on the success of the women in Britain. After the war, Cochran achieved more aviation landmarks, becoming the first woman to break the sound barrier. It was tough going for others as the war ended. Passenger airlines wouldn't hire female pilots, yet some found other aviation work. Ann Wood had been a college graduate who spent her downtime in London making connections with diplomats, generals, journalists, and spies who might help her career. After the war she had to decide between marrying a man she loved and pursuing a serious job. Wood eventually landed a position at Pan Am as the first woman vice president of an American airline. Nancy Miller, who today is the last surviving pilot at the age of 105, became the second American woman to earn a commercial helicopter license. She and her husband founded the first helicopter charter company in Alaska. Nancy Harkness Love, 28, director of the U.S. Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron, adjusted her helmet in the cockpit of an Army plane before taking off from an eastern United States base. The women under her command flew planes from factories to coastal airports, for transport to overseas battle fronts. Photograph by National Archives (208-N-4223) At the age of 19, Mary Zerbel had been the youngest woman flying instructor in the United States. When she returned from England, she delivered dicey surplus aircraft to dodgy locations around the world. Her career was so dramatic that Lana Turner starred in the movie The Lady Takes a Flyer based on Zerbel's life. Yet when she died in 2012, her obituary consisted of only three sentences in a newspaper in Idaho—no mention of her flying career. Few of her colleagues received any notice either. The pilots had lived as women ahead of their time, but despite their pioneering service, they were barely remembered when a busy world moved on after the war. Because they weren't permitted to serve within the United States military, they have been excluded from commemorations, and from history itself. With the 80th anniversary of VE-Day marking the end of the war in Europe on May 8th, 2025, it's time these Spitfires got their due.
BBC News
05-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Stamps capture Manx photographer's five-decade career
A new stamp set celebrates five decades of the career of a Manx photographer who captured images documenting aspects of World War Two as well as post-war the Lens of Leonard McCombe features the photojournalist's work from his early days on the island, wartime images and later magazine work in the United on Thursday's 80th anniversary of VE Day, the set coincides with an exhibition at the House of Manannan focusing on his war McCombe, who helped to develop the set, said his father's work had captured the "images, emotions and history of a world recovering from World War Two". The eight images featured include a fisherman on a Manx vessel near the Calf of Man, a female ferry pilot of the Air Transport Auxiliary, who transported aircraft from the factory to the aerodrome during the conflict, and a Texan cowboy rounding up spring-born calves. Born on the island in 1923 and growing up in Port Erin, McCombe took up photography at the age of 14, with his early work including capturing images of those held at the island's only all-female internment camp in moving to England, he went on to cover the allied advance during World War Two before moving to the United States and capturing American cowboys and the Navajo Nation. His portfolio of work also includes images of Winston Churchill and several US Presidents, as well as the Apollo moon launch. The Isle of Man Post Office's general manager for stamps and coins Maxine Cannon said many of the images used for the stamp issue had "never been seen or published since the rolls of film were developed several decades ago".That was because in his later years McCombe, who died in 2015, had spent most of his time farming, meaning his "treasure trove of scrapbooks, writings, negatives, prints and books lay forgotten in his study", she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- BBC News
Amy Johnson: Pilot's 1930 Australia flight feat to be celebrated
The 95th anniversary of aviation pioneer Amy Johnson's historic 11,000-mile (18,000 km) flight to Australia will be celebrated at the location where she departed the began her journey to become the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia at Croydon airport, south London, on 5 May 1930.A flypast of a biplane similar to the one used by Johnson is planned for Sunday."What we want to do is inspire future aviation enthusiasts, and also highlight women in aviation," said Micha Nestor, visitor centre manager at Croydon airport, which is now a museum. "Amy was one of the major celebrities of the 1930s. We really want to amplify her story, because Amy was a big deal."Throughout this weekend, the airport will host guided tours of the control tower and an exhibition dedicated to the Hull-born pilot, while discussions and workshops will take place at the adjacent Croydon Aerodrome Hotel. Uncharted land Johnson had only 100 hours of flying experience when she took off from Croydon in her second-hand Gipsy Moth plane, named 27-year-old had no radio link to the ground, no reliable weather information and only basic maps to guide her over uncharted land and some of the world's most inhospitable braved sandstorms, forced landings and the amorous attentions of Arab sheikhs to reach Darwin in northern Australia 19 days her return to Croydon, she was greeted by an estimated 200,000 people who lined the route to the airport. Ms Nestor said: "There's one term that she used to use, and that's air mindedness."At almost each stop (to Australia) she had to deal with a different problem, and use all those different skills she'd gathered, whether it's engineering, maths, all different bits and pieces, to figure it out."That's what we want to promote: thinking on the ball." Papers released by The National Archives in 2005 revealed that a senior UK diplomat wrote before the flight that there should be restrictions on Johnson's plans given her "sex, youth and comparative inexperience".She was an "adventuress" who needed protecting from herself, the official communique died aged 37 when a plane she was flying crashed into the sea off Herne Bay, Kent in January the time, she was serving as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary, which delivered aircraft for the body was never found.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
Amy Johnson's historic Australia flight to be celebrated on 95th anniversary
The 95th anniversary of aviation pioneer Amy Johnson's historic 10,000-mile flight to Australia will be celebrated at the location where she departed the UK. She began her journey to become the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia at Croydon airport, south London on May 5 1930. A flypast of a biplane similar to the one used by Miss Johnson is planned for Sunday. Throughout this weekend, the airport will host guided tours of the control tower and an Amy Johnson exhibition, while discussions and workshops will take place at the adjacent Croydon Aerodrome Hotel. Miss Johnson had only 100 hours of flying experience when she took off from Croydon in her second-hand Gipsy Moth plane, named Jason. The 27-year-old had no radio link to the ground, no reliable weather information and only basic maps to guide her over uncharted land and some of the world's most inhospitable terrain. She braved sandstorms, forced landings and the amorous attentions of Arab sheikhs to reach Darwin in northern Australia 19 days later. On her return to Croydon, she was greeted by an estimated 200,000 people who lined the route to the airport. Micha Nestor, visitor centre manager at Croydon airport – which is now a museum – told the PA news agency: 'What we want to do is inspire future aviation enthusiasts, and also highlight women in aviation 'Amy was one of the major celebrities of the 1930s. 'We really want to amplify her story, because Amy was a big deal.' She added: 'There's one term that she used to use, and that's air mindedness. 'At almost each stop (to Australia) she had to deal with a different problem, and use all those different skills she'd gathered, whether it's engineering, maths, all different bits and pieces, to figure it out. 'That's what we want to promote: thinking on the ball.' Papers released by The National Archives in 2005 revealed that a senior UK diplomat wrote before the flight that there should be restrictions on Miss Johnson's plans given her 'sex, youth and comparative inexperience'. She was an 'adventuress' who needed protecting from herself, the official communique suggested. Miss Johnson died aged 37 when a plane she was flying crashed into the sea off Herne Bay, Kent in January 1941. At the time, she was serving as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary, which delivered aircraft for the RAF. Her body was never found. Croydon airport opened in 1920, featuring the world's first air traffic control tower. Mike Thorn, a trustee of Historic Croydon Airport Trust, described it as the UK's 'first major international airport' and 'the equivalent of Heathrow before the Second World War'. He said: 'We get people travelling long distances to visit. He recently had some people from Hong Kong.' The airport was closed in 1959 and converted into a museum in 2000.
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Amy Johnson play to land in her hometown of Hull
A one-woman play celebrating the life of pilot Amy Johnson will end its tour in her hometown of play, called Amy Johnson: Last Flight Out, will land at Middleton Hall, the University of Hull, on 20 May after taking in venues in Sheffield, Glasgow, Croydon and was born in Hull in 1903 and became the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. She died in a plane crash while flying for the Air Transport Auxiliary in Lockyer, who has written and performs in the play, said: "My aim is to explore with audiences of all ages how Amy had a dream and made it happen." She added: "It's been almost a hundred years since Amy's incredible flight to Australia and her story is still as relevant and exciting as ever."Understanding how we can bring our ideas to reality is not just the basics of engineering but inspires all kinds of other decisions in our lives."The event in Hull will also feature a talk from Amanda Harrison, a pilot who recreated Johnson's record-breaking flight in her own vintage made history in 1930 when she flew her Gypsy Moth biplane, called Jason, 11,000 miles (18,000 km) from Croydon to Darwin. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
