Ann Baumgartner was a WASP during World War II. She was the only WASP to fly as an experimental test pilot and, on October 14, 1944, the first woman to pilot a jet aircraft, the X-59A.

Today's shero is Capt Mary Klinker, a USAF nurse who was killed on April 4, 1975 in the crash of a C-5 after takeoff from Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. Capt Klinker and the C-5 were taking part in Operation Babylift, the evacuation of orphans during the fall of Saigon.

Continuing the theme of the DoD-less Women's History Month, today's shero is my great-aunt PFC Florence Eighmy who proudly served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. She operated a flight simulator to train Army Air Corps pilots.

Since DoD is no longer celebrating Women’s History Month, us retired folks will do it for them. Jeanne Holm was the USAF’s first female Brig Gen. She advocated strongly for opening more roles to women, including pilots & combat. She lived long enough to see women fly in combat.

On Feb. 18, 1943, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps' first class of flight nurses graduated at Bowman Field, Kentucky. About 500 flight nurses served during World War II, providing medical evacuation to 1,000,000+ patients. Seventeen flight nurses lost their lives during the war.

On Feb 19, 1988, the FAA permanently retired the registration number for the Lockheed Electra aircraft Amelia Earhart was flying when she disappeared in July 1937 during her around the world flight attempt. Her sister, Muriel Earhart Morrissey, requested the number be retired.

On Feb 4, 1969, the surviving XB-70 was retired and flown to Wright-Patterson AFB, where it is now on display at the NMUSAF. More than 50 years later, the iconic Mach 3 bomber still looks futuristic and continues to inspire aircraft designers and enthusiasts around the world.

On Feb 2, 1970, during a training mission, an F-106 went into a flat spin. After the pilot ejected, the aircraft recovered on its own. It then made a belly landing in a field in Montana. The aircraft, dubbed the ‘Cornfield Bomber,' flew again and is now on display at the NMUSAF.

This is insane. For those who think they’re safe because they are white and born in the US: I’ve had people question my citizenship because of my Swedish last name. I also was born near the southern border because my father was in the Air Force. I’m safe for now, but when do they come for me?

#OTD in 1961: Goldsboro B-52 crash (N. Carolina, US). USAF B-52 [58-0187] crashes in Goldsboro. 3 of 8 crew die. Jet had 2 nuclear bombs aboard: 1 was heavily damaged but did not cause contamination. Cause: fuel leak due to metal fatigue on wings, which were later redesigned.

The early 60s were a hotbed of record-setting by the US military. For example, on Jan 14, 1961, a B-58 crew from Carswell AFB, TX set a record of 1,284.73 mph over a 1,000-kilometer course. Why? It was during the Cold War, and the records sent a message to the Soviet Union.

What's your favorite US Air Force aircraft? It probably was tested at Edwards AFB. ow.ly/WpF950UM7O8

What do these three aircraft have in common? They all had their first flights a few days before Christmas! Nice holiday presents for the Navy and the Air Force. Maybe some holiday cheer or workers motivated by their upcoming break got them in the air? Wrong answers only!

The P-63 was mostly used in the Soviet Union under lend-lease. The aircraft were ferried to Nome, Alaska where Soviet pilots, many of them women, picked up the 2500+ airplanes and delivered them across the Bering Sea. Members of the WASP were also involved in ferrying in the US.

WWII search & rescue aircraft were amphibians. This OA-10 was designed to hunt submarines but its endurance was valuable as a rescue aircraft in both the European & Pacific theaters. One of the people rescued by an OA-10 was Russell Johnson, who later played the Professor on Gilligan's Island.

On Nov 27, 1949, the C-124 Globemaster II had its first flight. The aircraft was the USAF's airlift workhorse during the 1950s/60s until replaced by the C-141. This photo is from a 1956 Mobile Baker deployment from Foster AFB TX to Germany. What aircraft is the Globemaster III?

Women Military Aviators is collecting links to articles about the SecDef nominee's comments about women in combat roles. Please share link.

#OTD in 1961 this YF4H set an FAI absolute speed record of 2585 kph / 1606 mph over California. #aviation

One of the things that struck me when I was traveling in Russia in 2014 was how they revered engineers. Some are buried alongside presidents & famous writers in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery, including aircraft designers Artem Mikoyan & Andrei Tupolev.

There's a magical board at the Air Force Flight Test Museum that captures every first flight either made at Edwards AFB or took off from somewhere else & landed there after its first flight. In this video, I talk about the magic of Edwards Air Force Base. ow.ly/pLsE50U876z

95 YEARS!!! Founded Nov 2, 1929, at Curtiss Field, Long Island, NY. There was 117 licensed women pilots in the US, all were invited to a meeting, to create an organization for mutual support, advancing aviation and to create a central office to keep files on women in aviation. 99 joined.

Further to introducing the site, i want introduce our team of editors. First up is @brianlaslie.bsky.social who is a US Air Force Historian and Command Historian at the United States Air Force Academy and author of numerous works.

In 1989, we were entering the digital age in flight testing, but we weren't quite there yet. Here, I'm in a control room monitoring a live test using analog paper strip charts & a microphone held together with duct tape. I'd love to hear your memories of computers in the 1980s.

Id love to see an F-8 fly again! How about you? vintageaviationnews.com/warbirds-new...

Hi all this is my first post. Introducing myself and look forward to kinder conversations. I am a journalist, author, filmmaker and want to be here not there. I have not posted my cover yet anywhere. Here's my new narrative nonfiction book about Amelia Earhart coming out July 15 via Viking Books.

This Fri/Sat the online Aviation Cultures event: Aviation Archaeology, kicks off! My Aus colleagues Natasha Heap & Daniel J. Leahy have organised, with Megan Lickliter-Mundon, & Hunter Whitehead M.A., RPA a genuinely global look at aviation archaeology. Hope to see you there! aviationcultures.org

Stories of #coldwar #berlin told by those that were there open.spotify.com/playlist/5Rk...

Vintage aviation #advertisingart is the best.

Happy Veterans Day to all veterans! No matter where or when you served, or for how long, or at what ranks, or which service, active duty, guard, or reserve: Well done!

On Saturday November 9 at 2pm eastern time, I'll be joined by Jayson Geroux to discuss the urban combat of the Battle of Hue, fought during the #Vietnam War. #history Until then check out his first appearance on #OTD to discuss the urban Battle of #Ortona. youtube.com/live/06qfyRy...

I need some help identifying this model of a drone that was on display at ILA Berlin in 2004. Can't just remember what it was. 🤔 #avgeek #aircraftindetail

Coolest airplane to fly over my home? A NASA Martin WB-57 Canberra flew over Gig Harbor enroute to JBLM from Alaska in September 2022

I'm so happy to own part of this B-17. I was lucky enough to do a B-17 second-in-command checkout in this airplane in 2014. The airplane was grounded in 2021 & is now displayed at the EAA museum in Oshkosh. I bought two panels from the aircraft at a silent auction last summer.

#OTD in 1941 Jacqueline Cochran left Canada to ferry a Lockheed Hudson bomber to the RAF. She did the flight to raise awareness of the need for ferry pilots (male, of course) but the flight also helped lay the groundwork for what later became the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Today is Women Veterans Day, when we celebrate the signing of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act in 1948, which provided a permanent presence for women in the US military. A big salute to the 3,000,000+ women who have served and to all serving today!

The rivalries begin! Edited prediction from June 1929 Aeronautics mag: "Airpower is the point of the spear. An army has become merely a means of occupying [land] conquered by air power. A navy is an auxiliary, as [subs] will be directed by aircraft where to go and will be used as a means of supply."

#OTD in 1966 one of the worst flight test mishaps occurred: An F-104 chase plane collided with an XB-70 during a photo shoot, destroying both aircraft & killing pilots Joe Walker & Maj Carl Cross. The surviving XB-70 is displayed at the National Museum of the USAF. (USAF Photos)

#OTD in 1978, Maj Rusty Gideon was seriously injured after a low altitude ejection from an A-10A during developmental testing at Edwards AFB. Both engines flamed out after ingesting gun gasses. The mishap led to a major overhaul in USAF flight test safety planning processes.

The other Amelia: Amelia Reid, who learned to fly in the 1940s & founded a flight school, Amelia Reid Aviation, in 1960 when NACA (now NASA) denied her a flexible work schedule after her son was born. She flew 55,000 hours & trained 4000+ pilots, including famous airshow pilot Sean Tucker.

With ads like this one in June 1929, it's amazing that any women managed to break into aviation in those days. A big salute to the women who persevered and eventually beat all the men to win the Bendix transcontinental race!

#OTD 60 years ago, Jacqueline Cochran set a world speed record over a 500 km closed circuit at Edwards AFB, averaging 1,127 mph in an F-104G. The record didn't last long: a YF-12A crew smashed it on May 1, 1965, flying 1,643 mph at Edwards; they also set 4 other records the same day.

I haven't been on here much lately because I've been busy building the empennage for my RV-8. Taking a pause now for a couple of months to wait for the wing and fuselage kits to arrive. So look for some new aviation history posts soon!

Just heard that legendary pilot Dick Rutan passed away last night. I especially remember all the excitement surrounding his non-stop flight around the world in Voyager in 1986 w/ Jeana Yeager. He held many other records as well, many in aircraft designed by his brother Burt. RIP

A salute to all the women who helped open doors, including my Aunt Florence! coloradonewsline.com/2024/04/15/w...

What do sewing machines & bicycles have to do with Lycoming aircraft engines? A lot! The Lycoming factory was built in 1845 & originally made sewing machines & then high-end bicycles that sold for the equivalent of thousands of $$ today. A great story of adapting to evolving times!

Jacqueline Cochran did a lot of things, but she was not the first woman in the US to fly a jet aircraft. That honor went to Ann Baumgartner, the only WASP who served as an experimental test pilot. On Oct 14, 1944, she flew one flight at Wright Field, OH in a YP-59A. Photo below is not w/ the YP-59A!

In 1965, ROTC wasn't yet open to women. Marcelite J. Harris, a Spelman graduate, joined the USAF as an admin officer & commissioned through Officer Training School. She had two Black female firsts in the AF: On Mar 8, 1970, as a maintenance officer & on May 1, 1991 as a brigadier general.

Check out the new official podcast of the Air Force Historical Foundation! First up is a great interview with former astronaut Dr. Jan Davis as she talks about her career and her father's World War II experiences. www.afhistory.org/podcast/

You know you’re really in Washington State when you see this sign! Just outside the Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show in Puyallup.

Please come on out for the Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show in Puyallup WA Feb 24-25! It's a great event w/ $10 adult admission & kids are free. I'll be selling/signing my books & giving presentations on The Fly Girls Revolt. Full program here: issuu.com/northwesteve...