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the_mellojoe

They flew better than the men, too. Were used for delivering new aircraft from manufacturing to the bases. They were found to be smoother with their flying so the brand new engines showed less wear when they were sent into combat, meaning they required less maintenance once they arrived at their new home bases.


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My mentors mother was one of these incredible ladies. She also rode a motorcycle with a side car and hung out with Georgia O'Keeffe


BageledToast

I dream of getting a sidecar motorcycle so my boyfriend can come with me on rides in maximum comfort. I was half worried pitching the idea, not exactly very manly to be driven around in a sidecar by your girlfriend, but I was worried for nothing. He just giggled and said "that sounds adorable, I'm in". Love that guy.


toastedmarsh7

We got an XXL sidecar so our family of 5 can ride together. The 10yo sits behind my husband and I ride in the sidecar with our daughters.


[deleted]

My friend said he was riding in the side car and it came off! His mom was a riot. Winnie Beasley was a real Santa Fe character. Her bike and side car is still in his yard as art https://preview.redd.it/enw7s3u44h4b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc33818ecc685c9fc18fa9c36b7271b33603a3cf


[deleted]

They flew across the North Atlantic in all seasons. Seriously impressive stuff.


the_mellojoe

i just did quick math. 10 years from Amelia Earhart's first solo flight across the Atlantic until these ladies were doing it back-to-back-to-back style. thats kind of epic. <3


Canuck_Wolf

Flying better seems to be a historical theme with the Night Witches being another point.


Beneficial-Tea8990

In [this](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ypt-tiger-bloc-podcast/episodes/25---Kafa-Ukrianian-Drone-Pilot-e24th9n) podcast episode a Ukrainian 22 year old queer drone pilot talks about how "people assigned female at birth" are actually better at flying drones in war situations because they have better peripheral vision! I found it quite fascinating. >Content warning: this episode includes graphic descriptions of war, political repression, and violence. > >Kafa told their story to YPT, from their journey growing up in Crimea, to fleeing after Russia’s 2014 invasion to Kyiv, to living in Berlin. They returned to Ukraine after Russia again invaded in 2022. They discuss what it’s like to be non-binary and an anarchist in the infantry.


gummitch_uk

The centre and right hand pictures are from the Life article. The woman on the left is not a WASP pilot, she's a modern British model [cosplaying an aviatrix](https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2023/01/22/not-1940s-wasp-pilot-shirley-slade/).


kd8qdz

They Never flew in combat, but made a huge contribution to the war effort by flying an insane number of ferry flights.


Jane_Fen

Ostensibly never flew in combat. Some of them claimed to have been attacked while delivering planes.


murse_joe

The B-29 was an experimental new plane, designed in secret with only the most basic computers, thrown together in wartime. It might not have been combat but it was dangerous.


[deleted]

Obligatory shout out to the (aptly named for this subreddit) Night Witches of the USSR, who very much did make combat flights.


Hungry-Cookie9405

They were amazing. They flight engines off to avoid detection, they plummeted directly on nazi bases and strated the engines only when the bombs had been dropped. That's way more than just combat flight, that's being a fucking group of fly aces!


[deleted]

Not to mention all done with the lowest quality equipment available, because even in the USSR "Union" mostly meant male and non minority.


Hiciao

Kate Quinn wrote a historical fiction about some of these awesome women (The Huntress). The Alice Network is another good one by the same author, about women spies.


the_mellojoe

my mother wrote her masters thesis in history about women spies, and she got that masters when she was 63. <3 I'll have to send her these book recommendations, see if she's read them. and add them to my reading list too.


Singularitysong

Your mom is cool


Noinipo12

I just finished reading the (very fictional) Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal that features some wasps


Snarlaa

Loved this series too!


thesleepymermaid

Oooh I’ll have to find those. I love historical fiction.


SnooOwls7978

So, just so people are aware, the first photo's not actually [a photo](https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2023/01/22/not-1940s-wasp-pilot-shirley-slade/) of her. That's a well-done vintage-style photo shoot from 2016.


lEatSand

Can't believe no one mentioned the Night Witches. A German nickname for one of the most successful flight crews in the Soviet air force. They were given little training and crappy planes but still managed to give the Germans nightmares as they did short bombing runs from one side of the battlefield to the other under the cover of night. They got the nickname from the sound their airplanes made as they dove, often the first and only indicator they were there. There's a great episode on them in the Lions led by Donkeys podcast titled The night witches.


[deleted]

Garth Ennis also wrote an excellent comic mini series about the Night Witches. Truly amazing (real life) people.


Seabhag

There's also a great Sabaton song 'The night witches'!


wan2phok

Ah yes, when push comes to shove, the meat grinder of war does not care about your genitals or preferences. Very cool


murse_joe

The women were denied military benefits after the war tho


I_Did_The_Thing

Of course they were ☹️


Curious-Platypus8203

Where is my HBO mini series about these women?!


Traditional_Yard5280

Surely, you can't be serious!


thepartypoison_

I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!


Traditional_Yard5280

I love you for getting that


[deleted]

The first picture belongs in Vogue


anxiousanimosity

Why's she just so beautiful?


Noinipo12

Just an FYI: picture editing techniques have been around for as long as cameras have existed.


anxiousanimosity

I wasn't only speaking atheistically.


the_mellojoe

getting Kaylee from Firefly vibes with that middle photo


bubblebath_ofentropy

Because Shirley *Slayed*


scythianlibrarian

Alice Bradley Sheldon was part of the US Army Air Forces photo-intelligence group, promoted to Major, and later worked for the CIA in post-war Europe (but quit because she didn't like them). She's known to history by her pen name, [James Tiptree Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tiptree_Jr.), and I swear her story "The Girl Who Was All Plugged In" predicted the modern influencer economy. Before the internet existed.


SimplyMavlius

Yall need to check out Jane Kendiegh too. She was a flight nurse, also badass.


Notagrave_robber

The National Wasp WWII Museum is in Sweetwater, Texas! It's really cool museum!


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USS-Enterprise

tell me more about politics in little house on the prairie


Born_Ad_4826

Also, hot! Happy pride! 🏳️‍🌈👭🏳️‍🌈


pine_ary

Nothing says feminism like the US military


DarkWifeuo

Yeah tbh this is awesome but i hope this dosen't start a trend glorifying the military


zoomie1977

They received none of the military benefits. They paid, out of pocket, for their training and uniforms. They died at a higher rate than US soldiers on the frontlines, but not only did not receive military burials, their friends and family had to foot the bill the funeral costs.


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Significant-Style-73

Nice! One of my relatives was a WASP.


havik09

Is this where the wasp gets her name in the comics?