Lady Flyer, page 1
Also by
Heather B. Moore
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown
The Slow March of Light
In the Shadow of a Queen
Under the Java Moon
With
ALLISON HONG MERRILL
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown Young Reader’s Edition
Cover image: © Stephen Mulcahey / Trevillion Images
Book design: © Shadow Mountain
Design: Garth Bruner
Author photograph: Brekke Felt Photography
Image credits: p. 372, Nancy Harkness Love with a Fairchild PT-19A Trainer: photo courtesy of WASP Archive/TWU Denton, TX; p. 373, Robert Love and Nancy Love: photo courtesy of Davis-Monthan Aviation Field Register; p. 374, Nancy Love and Betty Gillies: photo courtesy of WASP Archive/TWU Denton, TX; p. 375 Nancy Love in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress: photo courtesy of the National Archives
© 2024 Heather B. Moore
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing®, at permissions@shadowmountain.com. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Shadow Mountain Publishing.
Visit us at shadowmountain.com
This is a work of fiction. Characters and events in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are represented fictitiously.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Moore, Heather B., author.
Title: Lady flyer / Heather B. Moore.
Description: [Salt Lake City] : Shadow Mountain Publishing, [2024] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “Amidst WWII, aviator Nancy Harkness Love’s passion for flying intertwines with a tender romance with aviator Bob Love. However, her dream of a female pilot squadron faces resistance from military leaders and Jackie Cochran. Inspired by Nancy’s true story, Heather B. Moore’s novel about this aviation hero weaves a tale of love, ambition, and pioneering courage amid wartime challenges”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2024008426 (print) | LCCN 2024008427 (ebook) | ISBN 9781639932955 (hardback) | ISBN 9781649332950 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Love, Nancy Harkness, 1914–1976—Fiction. | Love, Robert M., 1909–1983—Fiction. | Cochran, Jacqueline—Fiction. | United States. Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron—Fiction. | Women Airforce Service Pilots (U.S.)—Fiction. | World War, 1939–1945—Fiction. | Women air pilots—Michigan—Fiction. | Man-woman relationships—Fiction. | Houghton (Mich.), setting. | BISAC: FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II | FICTION / War & Military | LCGFT: Romance fiction. | Historical fiction. | Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3613.05589 L33 2024 (print) | LCC PS3613.05589 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20240315
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024008426
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024008427
Printed in the United States of America
Publishers Printing
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to my daughter, Kara, a pilot in her own right
Contents
Characters
Glossary of Acronyms
Introduction
Part One: 1927–1937
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Part Two: 1939–1944
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Aftermath
Chapter Notes
In Tribute to the 38 WASP Who Died in the Service of Their Country
Selected Bibliography
Discussion Questions
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Characters
Historical Characters
Nancy Harkness Love
Robert (Bob) MacLure Love
Adela (Del) Scharr
Alice Chadbourne Harkness
Alice Hirschman
Aline (Pat) Rhonie
Alison Hardy Dempsey
Avanell Pinckley
Barbara Poole
Barbara Towne
Barbara (Donnie) Donahue
Barbara Jane (B.J.) Erickson
Bernice Batten
Betty Gillies
Bud Gillies
Byrd Granger
Catherine Slocum
Cecil (Teddy) Kenyon
Cornelia Fort
C.R. Smith
Crocker Snow
Delphine Bohn
Dorothy Fulton
Dorothy (Scottie) Scott
Edith Nourse Rogers
Esther Manning
Esther Nelson
Ethel Sheehy
Eugene Vidal
Evelyn Sharp
Florene Miller
Georgina Denton
Gertrude Meserve
Hannah Lincoln Chadbourne Denton
Harold L. George
Helen MacCloskey
Helen Richards
Helen (Little Mac) McGilvery
Helen Mary Clark
Henry Wilder
Henry (Hap) Arnold
Jack Ray
Jacqueline (Jackie) Cochran
Jimmy Hansen
Joe Tracy
Johnny Hammond
Johnny Miller
Joseph Choate
Joseph Marr Gwinn Jr.
Katherine (Kay) Rawls Thompson
Kathryn (Sis) Bernheim
Mr. & Mrs. Johnson (names changed)
Lenore McElroy
Mrs. Louise Fort
Louise Thaden
Margaret (Tommy) Thomas
Nancy Batson
Opal (Betsy) Ferguson
Oveta Culp Hobby
Phyllis Burchfield
R.O. (Pappy) Fraser
Robert Codman
Robert Olds
Dr. Robert B. Harkness
Robert (Bobbin) B. Harkness Jr.
Robert H. Baker
Robert (Red) D. Forman
Samuel C. Dunlap
Suzanne (Susie) Humphreys
Teresa James
T/Sgt. Stover
T/Sgt. L.S. Hall
T/Sgt. Weintraub
Thomas L. Chadbourne
William A. Ong
William H. Tunner
Fictional Characters
Beth
Pauly
Rachel
Thad
Glossary of Acronyms
AAB: Army Air Base
AAC: Army Air Corps
AAF: Army Air Forces
ATA: Air Transport Auxiliary (British)
ATC: Air Transport Command
B-4 Bag: Army-issued canvas bag
BOQ: Bachelor Officer Quarters
CAA: Civil Aeronautics Authority (1938–1940); Administration (1940–1958)
CPT: Civilian Pilot Training Program
ICA: Inter City Aviation
NACA: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
P: Pursuit, or fighter aircraft
PT: Primary Trainer
RAF: Royal Air Force (British)
RON: Remain Over Night
SPAR: Semper Paratus Always Ready (Women’s Coast Guard Auxiliary)
WAAC: Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
WAC: Women’s Army Corps
WAFS: Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron
WASP: Women’s Airforce Service Pilots
WAVES: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service
WFTD: Women’s Flying Training Detachment
WPA: Works Progress Administration
WTS: War Training Service (followed CTP, 1941–1944)
Introduction
While researching and writing about the WASP aviators who served in World War II, it was interesting to discover that many of those I spoke to didn’t know that women pilots flew war planes during that era. A few had heard of the British women ferrying pilots, and even fewer knew of the women who flew for the Soviet Union combat missions.
On American soil, women pilots weren’t militarized, so their contributions came under the umbrella of civilian pilots. Even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, there was a pilot shortage as the US was frantically building and sending aircraft across the Atlantic to support the Allied forces. Two women, Nancy Harkness Love and Jacqueline Cochran, worked tirelessly to propose solutions to fill the pilot shortage. Their vision included establishing a women’s pilot organization that would ferry planes from the manufacturers to airfields, freeing up the men to train and prepare for combat missions.
Beginning in 1940, Nancy Love persisted in her agenda at home while Jacqueline Cochran headed to England to join the British ATA Civilian Ferry Pilot Program that allowed women to ferry planes as part of the war effort.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and after the US declared war on Japan and the Axis powers, over 100,000 men and women enlisted in the military. Eventually 50 million of 132 million Americans became employed in the war effort, working for the government, and women entered the workforce as never before.
Nancy Love had a remarkable vision—one she didn’t give up on. Her perseverance and leadership became the catalyst to demonstrating how women could be integrated into and valued in the Army Air Forces as pilots. Nancy wanted to see female pilots given opportunities to serve their country, and though her vision did not become widespread in the 1940s, with persistence, she became a trailblazer.
Starting in 1940, Nancy Love waded through nearly two years of setbacks before Colonel William H. Tunner approved her idea of hiring women pilots to ferry planes for the Ferrying Command, a division of the Army Air Corps—picking up the planes at the manufacturing plants, then delivering them to air bases around the country, plus other ferrying duties. This filled in the gaps that male pilots created when they left to fly combat missions.
When Nancy Love’s program was finally approved in 1942, the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) quickly filled with twenty-eight hand-selected women pilots, who were called the Originals. These women came from various backgrounds, but all were well-qualified to transition to the larger planes and bombers coming off the assembly lines.
Jacqueline Cochran, returned from Europe, headed up the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), which trained and qualified additional women pilots to join the Women’s Ferrying Program. By August 1943, the WAFS had increased to over 225 women strong. That same August, Love’s WAFS combined with Cochran’s WFTD to become the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) (see https://cafriseabove.org/nancy-harkness-love/).
During the nearly sixteen months of the WASP Program, more than 25,000 women applied for training. Of those, 1,879 candidates were accepted into the Training Program, which was moved from the Houston Municipal Airport to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Only 1,074 women successfully graduated (see https://www.army.mil/women/history/pilots.html).
The WASP pilots spent 1942–1944 flying every type of combat plane and delivering 12,650 aircraft to seventy-eight different bases throughout the nation while logging in more than 60 million flight miles (see https://twu.edu/library/womans-collection/collections/women-airforce-service-pilots-official-archive/history).
Women became the backbone of the progression of the war and the eventual Allied victory. They worked in factories, building aircraft, and as airplane mechanics at Army Air Corps bases. Thanks to the persistence of Nancy Love and Jacqueline Cochran, women ferried the war planes from the manufacturing floors to the air bases, where women also worked as instructors for male pilot trainees. In addition, women flew the towing targets for male combat pilot training, and they tested out planes with mechanical issues.
Nancy Love firmly believed that if women didn’t learn to fly multiengine war planes, it would create a bottleneck between the production line and ferrying the planes to the airfields. She took it upon herself to set the example that women could fly the larger, more complex aircraft. She qualified on virtually all the Army Air Force’s combat aircraft, including the P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning fighters, C-54 transport, B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and the B-29 Superfortress. Nancy became the trailblazer for many of the WASP pilots and future pilots who would follow in her footsteps (see https://cafriseabove.org/nancy-harkness-love/; see also https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/nancy-harkness-love/).
The road was rocky and full of unexpected setbacks, especially when the WASPs tried to secure militarization so the female pilots could receive the same benefits as the male pilots. Congressional bills gave the WAC, WAVES, and SPARs military status in the 1940s, but the WASP never secured militarization during the life of the program (Pearson, 140).
With the war coming to an end and male pilots returning home, authorities viewed the need for women pilots as obsolete, and the 1944 push for the WASP to militarize was shot down. The women were told to return home so the men could have their jobs back (Pearson, 140).
Nancy’s belief in herself and other women pilots never faltered. Through many setbacks of family tragedy, a world war, constant obstacles and roadblocks to earn trust for women pilots, and health challenges, Nancy continued to push forward, soaring higher in order to make the path smoother for female pilots in the future.
Chapter One
“I first saw the lights of Paris a little before ten P.M., or five P.M. New York time, and a few minutes later I was circling the Eiffel Tower at an altitude of about four thousand feet. The lights of Le Bourget were plainly visible, but appeared to be very close to Paris. . . . Presently I could make out long lines of hangars, and roads appeared to be jammed with cars. I flew low over the field once, then circled around into the wind and landed. After the plane stopped rolling, I turned it around and started to taxi back to the lights. The entire field ahead, however, was covered with thousands of people all running towards my ship.”
—Charles Lindbergh, May 20, 1927
May 1927—Paris, France
“Do you think he’ll make it?” Georgina asked, pressed close to Nancy as they watched the velvety night sky for any sign of a plane.
Nancy couldn’t see anything glimmering in the Paris sky beyond the litter of stars. “I don’t know, but if he doesn’t, all this fuss will be for nothing.”
A man in a wool coat and hat jostled Nancy’s shoulder as he pushed through the crowd, trying to get a better view.
Charles Lindbergh should be appearing in the sky at any moment, flying the Spirit of St. Louis, that was, if all went well. A crash had not been reported yet. He was supposed to land at Le Bourget Field—right where Nancy stood with her cousin and aunt, plus one hundred thousand Parisians.
More people closed in around them. Nancy’s small pocket of breathing space was officially shut off now, replaced instead with cigarette smoke and cloying French perfume. Aunt Hannah stood like a fierce sentinel next to Nancy and Georgina, acting the proper protector with her fur stole and cloche hat.
“Stay together, girls,” Aunt Hannah ordered for the dozenth time, her voice pitched above the general French chatter.
Nancy and Georgina linked arms as the crowd went through another surge, and Nancy earned an elbow in the back, accompanied by a brusque, “Excuse-moi.” She didn’t even bother turning around because it was simply the nature of the crowd.
Georgina pointed and giggled at a rather amorous couple locked in an embrace a few feet from them. Nancy wanted to laugh, too, but she didn’t want to draw attention from Georgina’s mother, Hannah, again. Nancy felt fortunate to have been invited along to Paris. Georgina had just turned seventeen, four years older than Nancy, and as the youngest of seven children in her family, Georgina had been allowed to invite Nancy.
Conversation rose and fell around them as flashlights strobed through the crowd—many of them pointed their lights to the sky so Charles Lindbergh could see the otherwise pitch-dark runway. There had already been plenty of false sightings. Children cheering, women swooning, excited viewers uncorking champagne bottles, men lighting cigars . . . only to be another false alarm.
“Can you stand the suspense?” Georgina asked in breathless excitement. “The entire world will remember May 21, 1927. And just think, we’re witnessing this history.”
“History that could end badly,” Nancy said dryly, remembering the multiple other failed transatlantic flight attempts all trying for the Orteig Prize of $25,000. In 1919, Raymond Orteig had promised the prize money to the first aviator of any country who crossed the Atlantic in one flight between Paris and New York, either direction. So far, all crossings had tragically failed. “Either Charles Lindbergh will be the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic, or everyone will be mourning another needless loss.”
