Jacqueline Cochran & the WASP

“They Flew So Others Could Fight”

Before she founded the Women Airforce Service Pilots…

Before she persuaded military leaders to trust women in uniform, Jacqueline Cochran had already conquered the skies.

Born in 1906 and raised in modest circumstances, Cochran developed a passion for aviation in the 1930s. She learned to fly in just three weeks.

Within a few years, she was competing in major air races — and winning.

In 1935 Cochran became the first woman to enter the Bendix Transcontinental Air Race. She came in third in 1937 and in 1938 she won the Bendix Trophy, flying a Seversky pursuit plane.

In June 1941, she piloted a bomber to England. As a flight captain in the British Air Transport Auxiliary, she trained a group of female pilots for war transport service. Upon her return to the United States, she supported a similar program for the Army Air Forces and in July 1943 was named director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), which supplied more than a thousand auxiliary pilots for the armed forces.

She set speed and altitude records. She became one of the most accomplished female aviators in the world. She was not simply participating. She was outperforming.

As war clouds gathered over Europe, Cochran traveled to Britain and observed the use of women pilots in the Air Transport Auxiliary — ferrying aircraft for the Royal Air Force. She recognized something critical. If America entered the war, it would need every qualified pilot available.

When the United States joined World War II, thousands of male pilots were deployed overseas. But aircraft still had to be ferried from factories to bases. They had to be tested. They had to be delivered. And someone had to fly them. Jacqueline Cochran approached military leaders with a proposal: allow qualified women pilots to serve in non-combat roles, freeing male pilots for combat duty.

In 1943, her vision became reality with the creation of the Women Airforce Service Pilots — the WASP.

More than 1,000 women completed rigorous military-style training.  They flew fighters. They flew bombers. They flew transport aircraft. In total, WASP pilots logged more than 60 million miles. They towed targets for live anti-aircraft practice. They flight-tested repaired aircraft. They ferried planes coast to coast.  Thirty-eight women lost their lives in service.

Yet they were classified as civilians. They received no military benefits. No official recognition.

When the program ended in 1944, they returned home quietly. It would take more than three decades before Congress granted the WASP veteran status in 1977.

Jacqueline Cochran’s leadership was grounded in credibility. She had already proven that women could compete — and excel — in the cockpit. The WASP proved that they could serve.

At the Armed Forces Heritage Museum, we remind audiences that readiness wins wars. The WASP ensured combat squadrons had aircraft when and where they were needed. They strengthened the Army Air Forces from within.

Today, women fly fighters, tankers, transports, and combat missions around the world. That legacy traces back not only to 1943, but to a determined pilot in the 1930s who refused to accept limitations.

She flew first. Then she led. They flew so others could fight. And in doing so, they changed aviation history.

Service takes many forms. Silver Wings know no gender.