BOMBER GIRLS — THE WOMEN FLIERS OF WORLD WAR TWO

Last weekend, a 92-year-old Colorado woman did something she hadn’t done in 75 years – she got behind the controls of a vintage war bird and took it for a spin. According to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle,Lucile Wise of Arvada, CO went up in the World War Two-era open cockpit Boeing Stearman bi-plane (along with a certified pilot) as part of a publicity event to promote an upcoming museum exhibit. The exposition, which opens in December at Denver’s Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, will celebrate America’s female fliers of World War Two. Wise was just one of the more than 1000 women pilots who shuttled military warplanes of every description around the continental United States during the conflict, freeing up male pilots for front line service. The exhibition will commemorate the achievements of these often-forgotten pioneers of the skies. And when considering these female wartime fliers, there is certainly much to commemorate.

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Way to go ladies, you are not forgotten , far from it!

 

I just noticed the name on the plane. Very fitting.

 

"Pistol Packin Mama" was a song made famous by Bing Crosby. There were numerous B-17s and B-24s that carried the name. Wally Forman's "B-24 Nose Art Name Directory" lists 30 B-24s with some version that name. I don't have his equivalent B-17 book, but would bet that the number is similar.