http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airf ... ice_Pilots
Lots of the work entailed delivery to Great Falls, MT, of planes that were destined for Russia under the terms of the Lend-Lease agreement. These were Mustangs, Thunderbolts, B-17s... the best stuff of its day. Two WASPs I know closely were signed off to fly anything up to 6,000 HP!
Even so, women, including these two, were denied the chance to ferry planes through to Alaska because "there were no suitable facilities along the AlCan route for females". So, they flew up on their own after the war, in two surplus Stinsons, in December. This involved flying in numbing cold, typically one-handed, while the other hand was used to operate a wobble pump in the back seat to transfer fuel from Blazo cans. It took a month, and when they arrived in Fairbanks on New Years day, the temps went to -50F, grounding even the commercial airliners of the day.
One interesting remark I've heard from several WASPs was that the military preferred to have WASPs for ferry pilots, because they didn't tend to push the aircraft as hard as the men evidently did, pushing it to the stops just to see how it could perform. The millitary was more interested in delivering the planes in good shape. One common feature in WWII era fighter aircraft was water injection- useful to outclimb an enemy, but ultimately hard on the engines. It seems the guys couldn't resist trying it out!
From the WASPs I've known, they had, and still have truly inspiring, can-do attitudes- all the more remarkable for the times they were living in. There's lots more that could be said, but I'll end here, with deep admiration for those women.
***Zane- I uploaded to pictures to the Golden Age gallery- if you approve them, could you do me the favor of adding them here?***
-Denalipilot
