In the early 1940s, the US Airforce faced a dilemma. Thousands of new airplanes were coming off assembly lines and needed to be delivered to military bases nationwide, yet most of America's pilots were overseas fighting the war. To deal with the backlog, the government launched an experimental program to train women pilots to fly military aircraft. They were known as the WASPs, the Women Airforce Service Pilots.Originally premiered on NPR's All Things Considered, December 18, 2002.
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WASP experiences, February 17, 2006
Reviewer: girijad83
from India
The podcast basically contains narrations of the experiences by the WASP pilots who are now in their 70’s. The podcast contains the recordings of the training sessions running in the background.
One of the pilots tells how she received a telegram in the December of 1942 telling her that she had been drafted for the program and was required to report for interview. Another woman tells how there were only 1800 pilots in the army after ‘Pearl Harbor’ and that there were 3000 women with private flying licenses. Another lady quit school to complete her flying hours in order to qualify for the program. Interesting incidents that these pilots tell include how they wore oversized suits as the pilot suits were available only in men’s sizes of 42-44.
The audio is in a very retro recording quality, though the narration as well as the background radio recording is highly clear.
- Published:
2002
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
T003568
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Biography
Military Figures
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