Presentation Date: August 26, 1999
Sylvia Barter, Betty Budde and Nancy Foran
Women Air Force Service Pilots Women Air Force Service Pilots
WASPs Reduce the "Sting" of WWII!
Three (3) special women pilots from WWII - all members of the famous WASPs, Women Air Force Service Pilots - treated the Golden Gate Wing, August 26th to rare insights from their military flying experiences.
The WASPs were the first women military pilots to serve the US Army Air Force (USAAF) during WWII, and were able to free male pilots for overseas responsibilities when the US had critical shortages of combat pilots.
Sylvia Barter, Betty Budde and Nancy Foran each spoke, in sequence, and represent the "cream of the crop". Out of 25,000 women applicants to the program - led by incomparable pilot Jacqueline Cochran - only 1,830 candidates were accepted and only 1,074 succeeded in earning their wings as military pilots!
Sylvia Barter
Sylvia began the evening with a brief summary and some highlights of her experience. She learned to fly in September, 1940 (55 years ago now!) via the Civilian Pilot Training Program, in Salinas, California. Out of 30 students, only 2 were women, and Sylvia was the only woman to graduate.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, plunging the United States into WWII, Sylvia's husband, Gene, eventually became a B-24 Liberator bomber commander in the 15th Air Force in Italy. Sylvia began her training in the WASPs, receiving the same training as the regular Air Force cadets, including aerobatics. Everything was done the full military way.
Out of 85 women in her class 43-7, 68 were winged in Sweetwater, Texas in November 1943. Sylvia also explained how there were 6 women in her "billet", of whom 4 earned wings. One of the two falling just short of graduating was the "light of their lives", Virginia Woodruff, a "blonde bombshell from Florida who was something to write home about!"
Sylvia flew the PT-19 Fairchild "Ranger" during Primary; the BT-13 "Vultee Vibrator" during Basic; and the AT-6 "Texan" during Advance. After graduating at Sweetwater, Texas she reported to Douglas Air Force Base near the Mexican border, where she was the only female pilot on the base! There, she received advance training, too, in the twin-engine UT-78 "Bamboo Bomber".
She became a jack-of-all-trades, so to speak, including maintenance, engineering, test flying and considerable night flying, much of it solo. Also, she made many flights to San Bernadino, Ca., some of which were very memorable, like the one carrying a senior officer to a critical meeting despite dangerous weather and "following the car lights through the mountain passes."
Overall, Sylvia expressed great pride in her pilot service and the part she and her WASP sisters contributed to the war effort. Her favorite airplanes were the UT-78 and the AT- 6.
Betty Budde
Betty spoke next, and told about entering the CPTP (Civilian Pilot Training Program) too, in 1941, at Concord, Ca. Later, after the formation of the WASPs, Betty began in Quincy, Ca., then to Houston, Tx. and finally to Sweetwater, Tx. where she earned her military pilot wings as part of class 43-3.
Her expectation was to be a ferry pilot primarily, but only one day after getting her wings she and fourteen other WASP pilots were selected by Jackie Cochran to report immediately to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. There they met with the Commander of the Army Air Forces, General Henry "Hap" Arnold, along with WASP leader Jackie Cochran, and were told of a then-secret new mission as a tow-pilot squadron.
Following this surprise and exciting assignment, Betty and her new squadron mates reported to Camp David, N.C.
Over the course of her WASP adventure, Betty - by then a six-foot stunning brunette and married to her lifelong sweetheart with whom she raised four sons - flew considerable "big iron" aircraft. Among her favorites were the A-25 "Helldiver" and the A-24 SBD Douglas "Dauntless" dive bomber. The Dauntless is the same aircraft flown by our recent guest speaker CDR. Dick Best and his fellow Navy pilots in the Battle of Midway. (You'll recall that CDR. Best personally sank the famous Japanese carrier "AKAGI"!)
Nancy Foran
Nancy followed Betty to our speaker's lectern and outlined some highlights of her exciting WASP experience. She entered WASP training in January, 1944 just after leaving Boeing where she was working on the B-29 Superfortress. In the two weeks that she took time off just before joining the WASPs, she earned her private pilot license!
As a successful graduate with class 44-6, Nancy "loved the AT-6!" She also spent time at Lackland AFB, Waco Tx., and flew many test flights in the A-10 twin.
In a nearly gleeful tone, Nancy told us how relatively easy it was for the WASP pilots to get aircraft for weekend flights, compared to the male instructor pilots. So, she and many of her sister WASP pilots often invited a male pilot along for many adventuresome weekend flights. She recalled, with visible pleasure, her flights to such destinations as New Orleans, Denver, Del Rio (Texas), …!
Although Nancy clearly could have spoken much longer about special experiences and memories from her WASP days - as indeed all tree of them could - she concluded by expressing her deep sadness when, on 20 December 1944, the WASPs were abruptly disbanded! Compounding her bitter disappointment was the reality that in less than thirty (30) more days, in January 1945, she was slated to start flying the legendary B-25 "Mitchell" twin-engined medium bomber.
Summary
The WASP organization provided a vital resource to our nation during a critical period of WWII. The special women who conquered the required aviator skills, in the words of General 'Hap' Arnold," proved that they could fly wing tip-to-wing tip with their brothers in a time of critical need in this country."
We thank Sylvia, Betty and Nancy - as excellent representatives of the famous WASPs - for their dedicated service during wartime and for their generosity in sharing with us some of their memorable experiences!
Please come back as our guests often and anytime!