 |
| 1943 |
February 6 -- The WFTD increases its goal for the number of women pilots
to graduate that year from 396 to 750. |
 February 21 -- Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, welcomes its first
class of women pilots. |
| February -- The WFTD school in Houston, Texas closes. |
| March 21 -- Cornelia Fort becomes the first woman to die on active duty
for the United States when another pilot accidentally clips the wing of the
plane she is flying. |
| August 5 -- The Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) merge with
Jackie Cochran's training program to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP). |
| September 30 -- Representative John Costello of California introduces the
WASP militarization bill. |
| December 17 -- The WASP wings are made available in time for the
graduation of Class 43-W-8. |
| 1944 |
 February -- The WASPs are finally issued with Santiago Blue uniforms. |
| March 24 -- Senators Joseph Hill (Alabama) and Harold Burton (Ohio)
submit a resolution calling for the appointment of female pilots and aviation
cadets into the Army Air Forces. |
| May 29 -- "Time" article titled "Unnecessary and Undesirable" calls the
WASP experiment expensive and claims men could have been trained more quickly. |
| June -- The congressional bid for WASP militarization fails. It was the
first time during World War II that legislation supported by the Army Air
Forces was voted down. |
| July -- Rumors begin circulating in the press that the WASP program is
about to be disbanded. |
 October 1 -- General Hap Arnold issues a memorandum to WASP Director
Jackie Cochran stating that because of the changing war situation the WASPs
would "soon become pilot material in excess of needs." |
| October -- The WASPs receive notification from WASP Director Jackie
Cochran and General Hap Arnold that their unit would be disbanded in December. |
| November 1 -- Brigadier General Bob Nowland writes a memo describing the
hardships that will be caused by deactivating the WASP program. |
| December 7 -- General Hap Arnold addresses the final graduating class of
WASPs. |
 December 20 -- The WASP program is deactivated. |
| 1977 |
October 19 -- The Senate votes unanimously to grant WASP veterans'
recognition. |
| November 3 -- The House votes to give the WASPs veteran status. |
| November 23 -- President Carter signs a bill into law "Officially
declaring the Women's Airforce Service Pilots as having served on active duty
in the Armed Forces of the United States for purposes of laws administered by
the Veterans Administration." |
| 1979 |
 March 8 -- The Department of the Air Force authorizes official discharges
for WASPs. |
| May -- The Air Force issues the first honorable discharges for women
serving in the WASP during the Second World War. |
1937 - 1942 | 1943 - 1979
|
PBS Terms of Use Privacy Policy
Pledge Your Support
Stories to Go