Home » Other Categories » Air forces & warfare » Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series)

13%OFF

Stock image for illustration purposes only - book cover, edition or condition may vary.

Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series)

Sarah Byrn Rickman

€ 26.99

€ 23.43

You save € 3.56!

FREE Delivery in Ireland

Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days

Description for Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series) Paperback. Series: North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series. Num Pages: 352 pages, black & white illustrations, frontispiece. BIC Classification: 1KBB; 3JJH; BGH; HBWQ; JWG. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 156 x 254 x 23. Weight in Grams: 498.
She flew the swift P-51 and the capricious P-38, but the heavy, four-engine B-17 bomber and C-54 transport were her forte. This is the story of Nancy Harkness Love who, early in World War II, recruited and led the first group of twenty-eight women to fly military aircraft for the U.S. Army.

Love was hooked on flight at an early age. At sixteen, after just four hours of instruction, she flew solo “a rather broken down Fleet biplane that my barnstorming instructor imported from parts unknown.” The year was 1930: record-setting aviator Jacqueline Cochran (and Love’s future rival) had ... Read morenot yet learned to fly, and the most famous woman pilot of all time, Amelia Earhart, had yet to make her acclaimed solo Atlantic flight.

When the United States entered World War II, the Army needed pilots to transport or “ferry” its combat-bound aircraft across the United States for overseas deployment and its trainer airplanes to flight training bases. Most male pilots were assigned to combat preparation, leaving few available for ferrying jobs. Into this vacuum stepped Nancy Love and her civilian Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS).

Love had advocated using women as ferry pilots as early as 1940. Jackie Cochran envisioned a more ambitious plan, to train women to perform a variety of the military’s flight-related jobs stateside. The Army implemented both programs in the fall of 1942, but Jackie’s idea piqued General Hap Arnold’s interest and, by summer 1943, her concept had won. The women’s programs became one under the name Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), with Cochran as the Director of Women Pilots and Love as the Executive for WASP.

Nancy Love advised the Ferrying Division, which was part of the Air Transport Command, as to the best use of their WASP ferry pilots. She supervised their allocation and air-training program. She proved adept at organizing and inspiring those under her command, earning the love and admiration of her pilots. Her military superiors trusted and respected her, to the point that she became Ferrying Division commander Gen. William H. Tunner’s troubleshooter.

By example, Love won the right for women ferry pilots to transition into increasingly more complex airplanes. She checked out on twenty-three different military aircraft and became the first woman to fly several of them, including the B-17 Flying Fortress. Her World War II career ended on a high note: following a general’s orders, she piloted a giant C-54 Army transport over the fabled China-Burma-India “Hump,” the crucial airlift route over the Himalayas.

Nancy Love believed that the women attached to the military needed to be on equal footing with the men and given the same opportunities to prove their abilities and mettle. Young women serving today as combat pilots owe much to Love for creating the opportunity for women to serve. Her foresight and tenacity nearly seventy years ago helped ensure their future. Now author Sarah Byrn Rickman, aviation historian, presents the first full-length biography of Nancy Love and her role in the WAFS and WASP programs. Her book will appeal to all with a love of flight. Show Less

Product Details

Publisher

University of North Texas Press

Format

Paperback

Publication date

2014

Series

North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series

Condition

New

Weight

494g

Number of Pages

352

Place of Publication

Denton, United States

ISBN

9781574415766

SKU

V9781574415766

Shipping Time

Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days

Ref

99-3

About Sarah Byrn Rickman

Sarah Byrn Rickman left her newspaper editor job in 1989 to write books. A Masters in Creative Writing, coupled with access to the WASP and WAFS through her freelance job with the International Women’s Air and Space Museum, produced first an award-winning WASP novel, Flight from Fear, and then The Originals: The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War II. ... Read more

Reviews for Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series)

Shop By

Categories

Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series)

Sarah Byrn Rickman

Product Details

Goodreads reviews for Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series)

Subscribe to our newsletter