Museum Audio Tour 8a: Air Power Gallery: WASP

DAYTON, OH, UNITED STATES

12.31.1969

Audio by NMUSAF PA 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

As early as 1930, the War Department considered using women pilots, but the Chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps called the idea "utterly unfeasible," stating that women were too "high strung." Nothing was done until after the American entry into World War Two. Facing the need for male combat pilots, the situation by mid-1942 favored the use of experienced women pilots to fly U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft within the United States. Two women's aviator units were formed to ease this need, and more than 1,000 women participated in these programs as civilians attached to the Army Air Forces. In August 1943, they were merged into a single group, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP program, and broke ground for all U.S. Air Force female pilots who would follow in their footsteps. As you walk by the AT-10, notice the mannequin representing a female pilot and learn more about the WASP uniforms in the Women Airforce Service Pilots exhibit. You may also read more about women pilots in World War Two by visiting the links in the Resources section of this podcast or listening to audio recordings of guest lectures in the Carney Auditorium portion of the pod map.

• Date Taken: 12.31.1969
• Date Posted: 09.02.2015 12:15
• Category: Newscasts
• Audio ID: 41896
• Filename: 1509/DOD_102704050.mp3
• Length: 00:01:18
• Album: Museum Audio Tour
• Track #: 08
• Location: DAYTON, OH, US