Teaching Notes

Take a look at this image of an "Aviatrix" (a female pilot) from 1941. What clothing is she wearing? What might she be carrying? How would the clothing and gear shown in this picture contribute to safety? Note that flying, especially in military aircraft, was fairly risky at this time. 38 WASPs died while serving in the program, and many others were involved in non-fatal accidents.

Teaching Notes

Read through this newspaper article from August 1941. This article was published before the start of the WASP program. What are the women doing? Who might be the intended audience for this article? What about the language might give you clues about the audience and what they thought about female pilots? Is there anything in this article that surprises you?

Teaching Notes

Explore this article from the Washington, D.C. Evening Star. What are some of the challenges that the author and Nancy Harkness Love describe? Why do you think women continued to apply to the program even though it was difficult?

Teaching Notes

This page contains a crossword with clues about Nancy Harkness Love. Love founded the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, or WAFS, which recruited highly experienced female pilots to join the AAF Air Transport Command as ferry pilots. Later, Love’s WAFS merged with Jacqueline Cochran’s Women’s Flying Training Detachment to create the WASP Program, where women would be trained to fly military aircraft then send to Air Transport Command bases to ferry planes. See if you can solve the clues! Horizontal: 1 & 60 and Vertical: 6, 10, 23, & 53.

Teaching Notes

Read this page from the pamphlet, "War Jobs for Women." Can you find the qualifications for joining the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, or WAFS? The WAFS was the precursor to the WASP Program founded by Nancy Harkness Love, who recruited experienced women pilots to ferry planes for the Army Air Forces without the need for extra training. How much time and effort would it take to meet these qualifications?

Who might be able to meet these qualifications? Consider: What resources would you need to attend flying lessons and obtain your pilot's license? Who might be excluded from flying lessons or from the WASP Program?

Teaching Notes

This article was written by Cornelia Fort, one of the first members of the precursor to the WASP program, the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), and the first woman to die in the line of duty as a military pilot. Notice her explanation of why she joined the organization, including the fact that she was flying in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. What specific reasons did she cite for joining the WAFS?

Teaching Notes

Watch this clip from Gayle Dora Bevis Reed's Veterans History Project oral history (16:27-17:53). How does she describe the feeling of flying?

Teaching Notes

Explore this photograph from WASP Catherine Vail Bridge’s VHP collection. Bridge is standing in front of a P-38 “Lightning” aircraft. What do you notice first when looking at this image? Why do you think it was created? What does the image tell us about life as a WASP?

Teaching Notes

Hello! I will continue to add to this album as I find new sources!

Take a look at this small article from the Laurel Outlook, published in Laurel, Montana in April of 1944. One of the things I love most about this article is its many pictures of WASPs preparing to ferry planes. A strategy that could be used with this source is a "Zoom In" activity, in which students are prompted to look at several smaller parts of a primary source before the whole. Read more about my suggestions for this source in my October Monthly Reflection Post!