@aviationhistgal
I tell veterans' stories. Retired USAF. Freelance writer on aviation history topics and author of "The Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women Who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat." https://eileenbjorkman.com/ Please help me tell your stories!
She was stationed at Wright Field and one day they brought the XP-59 there for all the pilots to fly it, so she h he it to fly it too. Here’s her book: www.amazon.com/WASP-Among-E...
Ann Baumgartner was a WASP during World War II. She was the only WASP to fly as an experimental test pilot and, on October 14, 1944, the first woman to pilot a jet aircraft, the X-59A.
Today's shero is Capt Mary Klinker, a USAF nurse who was killed on April 4, 1975 in the crash of a C-5 after takeoff from Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. Capt Klinker and the C-5 were taking part in Operation Babylift, the evacuation of orphans during the fall of Saigon.
Continuing the theme of the DoD-less Women's History Month, today's shero is my great-aunt PFC Florence Eighmy who proudly served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. She operated a flight simulator to train Army Air Corps pilots.
Since DoD is no longer celebrating Women’s History Month, us retired folks will do it for them.
Jeanne Holm was the USAF’s first female Brig Gen. She advocated strongly for opening more roles to women, including pilots & combat. She lived long enough to see women fly in combat.
On Feb. 18, 1943, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps' first class of flight nurses graduated at Bowman Field, Kentucky.
About 500 flight nurses served during World War II, providing medical evacuation to 1,000,000+ patients.
Seventeen flight nurses lost their lives during the war.
On Feb 19, 1988, the FAA permanently retired the registration number for the Lockheed Electra aircraft Amelia Earhart was flying when she disappeared in July 1937 during her around the world flight attempt. Her sister, Muriel Earhart Morrissey, requested the number be retired.
Ugh. And especially appalling because cadets have few opportunities to socialize off campus so these groups are essentially shut down.
On Feb 4, 1969, the surviving XB-70 was retired and flown to Wright-Patterson AFB, where it is now on display at the NMUSAF. More than 50 years later, the iconic Mach 3 bomber still looks futuristic and continues to inspire aircraft designers and enthusiasts around the world.
Appalling. What’s next? Take a sledgehammer to the Vietnam Memorial?
On Feb 2, 1970, during a training mission, an F-106 went into a flat spin. After the pilot ejected, the aircraft recovered on its own. It then made a belly landing in a field in Montana. The aircraft, dubbed the ‘Cornfield Bomber,' flew again and is now on display at the NMUSAF.
This is insane. For those who think they’re safe because they are white and born in the US: I’ve had people question my citizenship because of my Swedish last name. I also was born near the southern border because my father was in the Air Force. I’m safe for now, but when do they come for me?
Exactly this! Anyone who doesn’t fit their mold of an “American” will be at risk. Speaking as a veteran myself, I find it reprehensible that a fellow veteran was harassed.
Agree!
#OTD in 1961: Goldsboro B-52 crash (N. Carolina, US). USAF B-52 [58-0187] crashes in Goldsboro. 3 of 8 crew die. Jet had 2 nuclear bombs aboard: 1 was heavily damaged but did not cause contamination. Cause: fuel leak due to metal fatigue on wings, which were later redesigned.
When I was going through OTS I had to give a briefing about the Tweet. Of course research in 1980 was a lot harder than it is these days, but I fell in love with the Tweet and I’ve never forgotten that briefing! As an FTE, I got two T-37 flights & a lot more A-37 flights (sports car version).
Agree. I sat on/oversaw hiring of 100s of civilians in DOD/DAF & I had no idea what someone’s religion was. Factors such as gender or ethnicity were never a part of the hiring decision except in a handful of cases 30 years ago when my organization was following a court-ordered lawsuit settlement.
The early 60s were a hotbed of record-setting by the US military. For example, on Jan 14, 1961, a B-58 crew from Carswell AFB, TX set a record of 1,284.73 mph over a 1,000-kilometer course.
Why? It was during the Cold War, and the records sent a message to the Soviet Union.
What's your favorite US Air Force aircraft? It probably was tested at Edwards AFB.
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What do these three aircraft have in common? They all had their first flights a few days before Christmas! Nice holiday presents for the Navy and the Air Force. Maybe some holiday cheer or workers motivated by their upcoming break got them in the air? Wrong answers only!
The P-63 was mostly used in the Soviet Union under lend-lease. The aircraft were ferried to Nome, Alaska where Soviet pilots, many of them women, picked up the 2500+ airplanes and delivered them across the Bering Sea. Members of the WASP were also involved in ferrying in the US.
Nice!
WWII search & rescue aircraft were amphibians. This OA-10 was designed to hunt submarines but its endurance was valuable as a rescue aircraft in both the European & Pacific theaters. One of the people rescued by an OA-10 was Russell Johnson, who later played the Professor on Gilligan's Island.
On Nov 27, 1949, the C-124 Globemaster II had its first flight. The aircraft was the USAF's airlift workhorse during the 1950s/60s until replaced by the C-141. This photo is from a 1956 Mobile Baker deployment from Foster AFB TX to Germany. What aircraft is the Globemaster III?
Women Military Aviators is collecting links to articles about the SecDef nominee's comments about women in combat roles. Please share link.
#OTD in 1961 this YF4H set an FAI absolute speed record of 2585 kph / 1606 mph over California. #aviation
I’m curious about how people think anti-trans laws/rules on restrooms can be enforced since transwomen look like ciswomen, who come in all shapes, sizes, hair lengths, etc.
One of the things that struck me when I was traveling in Russia in 2014 was how they revered engineers. Some are buried alongside presidents & famous writers in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery, including aircraft designers Artem Mikoyan & Andrei Tupolev.
Ah yes, let’s treat customers like mushrooms — keep them in the dark and feed them you know what …
That’s a great idea!