The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)

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The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) was one of the main reasons we won World War II. Thirty-five percent of women favored all-out war with Japan. The WASP training program was not easy to do. One thousand eight hundred and thirty women were accepted and one thousand seventy-four graduated. The WASP training program was rough. The flight training cost about $500 per person which was a lot of money in those days. The height requirement was five feet two inches and some stood on their tip-toes to get in.
The WASP work was not an easy job. The WASP served in the Army Air Forces from September 1942 to December 20, 1944. The WASP flew sixty million miles of operations flights. The WASP put a lot of hard work in their job. The WASP were given …show more content…

The Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) oversaw an intensive training program. August 5, 1943 the WFTD and Women in the Air Force (WAFs) were merged into one organization called the Women Air Force Service Pilots. The WASP had a lot of hard work to do to help in the war. “I hope all the WASP present and past will fly high on wing of our pride in their service…you have my profound gratitude for the legacy you have to us and the legacy you pass on to young women today.” Ann Richards, Governor of Texas – May 23, 1993.
In March 1944, one of the WASP, Ann Baumgartner, was assigned to the Fighter Flight Test Field in Wright Field in Dayton Ohio. She would be the only woman to fly experimental planes during the war and the first woman to fly a jet. She flew planes such as a Curtiss A-25, Helldiver, the Lockheed P-38 and B-29 Super Fortress and she was the first woman to participate in a series of experiments.
WASP needed to work hard to help in World War II. Twenty-five thousand women applied for the WFTD. “I’m so proud to follow in WASP footsteps and glad to know the public will get to hear their stories and finally get them the recognition that is long overdue.” Linda K McTeague, Brigadier General (Retired) District of Columbia Air National Guard. The WASP was a big help in World War

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