Women with Moxie
In 1944, during the graduation ceremony for the last WASP class, commanding General "Hap" Arnold stated that when the program started, he wasn't sure "whether a slip of a girl could fight the controls of a B-17 in heavy weather." General Arnold concluded though with the remarks, "Now in 1944, it is on record that women can fly as well as men." While less than 1,100 women flew as part of the WASP program, they contributed to the war effort in invaluable ways. The WASPs were not allowed to fly combat missions, but WASPs served their country by ferrying newly-made airplanes, flying airplanes that needed repair, testing newly repaired airplanes, towing targets while ground and air gunners fired live ammunition, and instructing male combat pilots. Undoubtedly, these jobs were extremely dangerous. Of the less than 1,100 WASPs that served, 38 were killed while serving their country.
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WASP Training
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The first batch of applications sent out by Cochran numbered 150, 130 responded immediately. Each potential WASP was personally interviewed by Cochran. Thirty of these women were selected for the first class and notified by telegram to report to Houston at their own expense. The trainees would spend nearly 12 hours a day at the airfield. Half their day was spent flying in crowded airspace practicing stalls, spins, turns, takeoffs, and landings. The other half of the day required training in navigation, physics, aerodynamics, electronics, mathematics, weather, communications, meteorology, Morse code, military law, and aircraft mechanics. The women followed a strict military regimen; barracks were six to a room and 12 to a bathroom.
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