The Air Transport Auxiliary and the British Women who Flew in WWII

by Helena P. Schrader


The Second World War did not explode unexpectedly upon an unsuspecting world. Rather, it arrived with the slow, clanking certainty of an advancing panzer. Practically from the time Hitler came to power until the German invasion of Poland, the world moved inexorably toward conflict. Yet, while the world marched consciously toward conflagration, it did so — at least in the West — with reluctance and foreboding.

The First World War had been won by the Western Powers at such immeasurable cost in both blood and money that it created a profound and widespread abhorrence of war. Even as Germany started down the path of militant Revisionism, breaking one after another of the bonds imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, British public opinion remained firmly pacifist. The policy of Appeasement was arguably the only policy that a democratically elected government could pursue given the mood among voters.

All this explains why, despite the evidence of massive German aggression coupled with the expectation that aerial warfare would be decisive in any future conflict, Great Britain responded only slowly to the growing air threat posed by the Luftwaffe. In 1934, Germany was producing nearly 2,000 aircraft annually; Britain less than half that amount. By 1939 German aircraft production topped 8,000, while British aircraft production lagged behind at less than 5,000. The situation with regard to pilots was similar.

After the Sudeten Crisis of September 1938, the British Air Ministry finally realized that the situation was critical. Among other measures instituted was the creation of the “Civil Air Guard,” whose purpose was to increase the available pool of qualified pilots by subsidizing pilot training of volunteers in a civilian context. Applicants had to be between the ages of eighteen and fifty and were trained at some sixty private and commercial flying schools. The program, notably, made no distinction between men and women.

Gerard d'Erlanger
Founder and Commander of the ATA

Also in response to the Sudeten Crisis, a Director of British Airways, Gerard d’Erlanger, proposed to the Director General of Civil Aviation a scheme by which pilots ineligible for active service with the RAF could assist the nation in wartime. D’Erlanger foresaw that pilots, like himself, who were too old or otherwise unfit for active service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) or Air Fleet Arm (FAA) might nevertheless render valuable service in a support capacity. He envisaged such tasks as carrying mail, news and dispatches, the transport of medical and other vital but lightweight equipment as well as VIPs and ambulance services. The scheme won almost immediate approval and the name of Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was adopted.

At the outbreak of the war, thirty qualified pilots unfit for active service were recruited, but it was not until the Battle of France that the ATA really took off. The RAF was stretched beyond capacity. It was losing pilots faster than it could replace them, and every pilot was needed on the front line. It asked the ATA to assume complete responsibility for transporting aircraft from factories to airfields and back again for factory refits and the like. The ATA assumed that burden and soon found that it was too small to fulfill it. The ATA made appeals over the media for older, qualified pilots to volunteer, but there just weren’t enough out there. So the ATA instituted its own training scheme for persons not fit for active service. By the end of the war, the ATA had delivered 309,011 aircraft of 147 different types, and numbered almost 800 pilots and roughly 3000 ground personnel — including 162 women pilots.

The ATA’s greatest achievement was not merely one of helping the Allies win the war by ensuring that the vitally needed aircraft were delivered to the RAF and FAA, nor was it one of relieving healthy young men for combat duty. What makes the ATA fascinating was the unprecedented, unorthodox and creative way in which the ATA mastered the problems it faced with human resources deemed “sub-standard” by all conventional measures. 

The ATA required a previously unheard of versatility of its pilots. ATA pilots were required to fly aircraft they had never seen before simply on the basis of a few hours “conversion” training in similar classes of aircraft and with “Pilot’s Notes” printed on four by six-inch cards. ATA pilots flew without radios and so without the benefit of radio navigation aids, in-flight weather advisories or emergency communication. Furthermore, the ATA initially provided no, and later only very limited, training in the use of instruments for blind flying. Unlike the RAF flying from their own stations, pilots of the ATA were expected to fly in and out of aerodromes they had never seen before all across the country. It expected its pilots to fly in airspace regularly invaded by enemy aircraft without any means of self-defense. Most remarkable of all, the ATA expected all this of pilots who were deemed “unfit” for military service. Flying for the ATA were men with one arm or one eye, men who were short-sighted, men who were over-weight, over-aged, several of these all at once — and (as I said above) women.

ATA pilot "mounting" a Spitfire

The utilization and integration of women pilots in the ATA is one of its most striking successes. Less than three months after the start of the war, on November 14, 1939 the first eight women pilots signed contracts with the ATA effective January 1, 1940. From then on, the number of women pilots grew until by the end of the war a total of 162 women pilots and four women flight engineers had flown with the ATA. 

Even more remarkable, by the end of the war, the women pilots were receiving equal pay for equal work — highly unusual in 1945. Furthermore, women had served as instructors of both men and women, as Operations Officers and as Pool Commanders, all with the corresponding authority over men. Equally astonishing, women had been qualified on virtually every kind of aircraft the RAF and FAA flew except the large flying boats but including the first jet fighter aircraft. They literally faced the exact same hazards as their male colleagues and earned the equal opportunity and remuneration grated them. Furthermore, they enjoyed, without discrimination, the accolades, praise and thanks awarded to the ATA as whole. In short, the ATA is an exemplary case study in eliminating sex discrimination and integrating women into an already extraordinary organization for the benefit of all concerned.

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Helena P. Schrader published a comparative study of British and American women pilots in WWII, Sisters in Arms with Pen & Sword Aviation. The book is available in Hardback, Trade Paperback and Kindle editions. For more information about her non-fiction history books and historical novels visit her website at: http://helenapschrader.com.

The First Female Pioneers of Aviation

by Diana Jackson

Everyone has heard of Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart, pioneers in aviation in the 1930’s, but during my research I have discovered many women whose endeavours matched those male counterparts of their era as far back as 1910. Their daring to venture in what was seen as a man’s world accomplished much more than their achievements in flying alone, although these were certainly remarkable. They also designed clothes, opened factories, begun flying schools and fought prejudice at many levels. They were not, as I had imagined, all rich young ladies with plenty of time on their hands, but women who dared to be different.

Harriet Quimby 1875 – 1912 ‘The Green Eyed Beauty’

Background and inspiration to fly ~ Harriet Quimby came from a poor American family, but by working herself up from journalism and theatrical writing she became a competent and successful screenwriter for the silent movies of her time. It was after attending the Belmont Park Air Tournament on Long Island that she decided she must learn to fly.

Aviation achievements ~ In 1911 she gained her pilots licence and became the first female American to gain an Aero Club of America Certificate. As many pilots of her day, Harriet gained experience and a way to fund her ambitions by participating in several air shows, but her main achievement was in April 1912 to be the first woman pilot to fly across the English Channel.
Death ~ Unfortunately she met her early death as a passenger in a two-seater Bleriot, only three months later in July 1912.
Notable difference ~ Harriet was also noted for her beauty and her dignified manner, but her other notable legacy was that she designed a suitable style of dress for women pilots of her day. She was known for her purple satin one piece flight suit which converted into pants (trousers) when flying but to a skirt when out of the aeroplane so that she did not offend the dress expectations of her era.

Katherine Stinson 1891 – 1997 ‘The Flying Schoolgirl’

Background and inspiration to fly ~ Katherine Stinson originally took up flying to save up to travel to Europe to study music, but she was a naturally gifted flier and soon became quite famous for her daring feats. She gained her pilots licence in 1912 and a year later participated at exhibition flights.

Aviation achievements ~ It is claimed by some that Katherine was the first woman to perform a loop and to fly solo at night, but she was certainly the first woman to be authorised to carry mail and to do pre flight inspections on her aeroplane.
Noteable difference ~ Her other claim to fame was that she invented night skywriting, amazing her audiences worldwide. Not being allowed to participate as a pilot in WW1 Katherine, as many of her counterparts, raised money for the Red Cross through exhibiting her daring feats.

Death ~ Unlike many of her fellow female fliers Katherine defied an early death and lived to an amazing age of 106!

Ruth Bancroft Law 1887 – 1970 ‘Ruth Law’s Flying Circus’

Background and inspiration to fly ~ A student at a private academy in New Haven CT, Ruth Law saw her first plane in the sky and fell in love with the idea of flying.

Aviation achievements ~ She gained her pilots licence in 1912 and set the non-stop cross country record from Chicago to New York. It is also claimed that she was the first woman to do a loop the loop and to fly at night.

During WW1 she formed ‘Ruth Law’s Flying Circus’ to raise money for the Red Cross where cars raced aeroplanes and she flew through fireworks.

Noteable difference ~ Due to her determination to contribute in a more substantial way to the war effort she was dismayed at the army’s rejection of her application to fly for them, but finally they allowed her to wear an NCO uniform whilst raising money for their cause. The first lady ever to do so.

The New York Governor chose Law to illuminate the Statue of Liberty which she circled three times with flares on the tips of her wings and a banner with the word ‘liberty’ on the fuselage.

It is strangely her husband who decided enough was enough, and put a stop to Law’s flying antics, by writing her notice of retirement in the newspaper in 1922!

Death ~Ruth Law died at the good age of 83 years.

Hilda Beatrice Hewlett 1864 – 1943

Background and inspiration to fly ~ Born into a wealthy but large family, she was educated at Kensington Art School in wood carving, metalwork and sewing, all skills she used later in life. She married Maurice Hewlett, a successful novelist and poet, and through him Hilda became interested in motorcars, becoming a passenger and mechanic to a female racing driver, Miss Hind.

In 1909 she became a friend of an engineer Gustave Blondeau, through whom she gained an interested in aviation and began to save up to buy an aeroplane. She travelled to France where she worked alongside the men building her aeroplane, where she called herself Mrs Grace Bird.

Aviation achievements ~ They returned with the aeroplane, called The Blue Bird, and set up a flying school at Brooklands where Hilda learned to fly. At 47 years old Hilda is the first English woman to gain a pilot’s licence in 1911. Alongside their flying school, where incidentally Tommy Sopwith also learnt to fly, they began making aeroplanes.

Noteable difference ~ In 1912 she moved to Leagrave in Bedfordshire where she set up her own aeroplane factory where women were trained to build planes for The Great War. By 1918 they employed 300 men and 300 women. (Even her sewing skills came into use here in sewing the fabric on the wings of the planes.) Later, she was the first woman passenger to make the 11 day through flight from England and New Zealand and she was also involved in an airline.

Death ~ Hilda Hewlett died at 79yrs.

Bessie Coleman 1892 – 1926 ‘Queen Bess’

Background and inspiration to fly ~ One of a family of thirteen children of a sharecropper Bessie had to walk four miles to school each day, where she excelled in mathematics. In 1915 she worked at a barber’s shop as a manicurist which is where she heard stories of pilots arriving home from WW1.

Aviation achievements ~ She dreamed of learning to fly but even black US airmen wouldn’t train her so, undeterred, she learnt French and headed to Paris. In 1921 she became the first African American to obtain her international aviation licence. Still unable to make a living flying in the USA, or to find anyone willing to train her as a stunt pilot, she returned to France gaining instruction there and in Germany too, by a pilot at the Fokker Corporation.

On returning to the US she appeared in air displays and became known as “The world’s greatest woman flier.”

“I decided blacks should not have to experience the difficulties I had faced, so I decided to open a flying school and teach other black women to fly,” Bessie was noted saying.

Death ~ Unfortunately she did not live long enough to fulfil this dream because in 1926 a plane she flew in with William Will crashed and both died.

Noteable difference ~ It was after her death that she made the impact she’d hoped for in life, when Bessie Coleman Aero Clubs sprang up throughout America.

Diana Jackson writes historical fiction and has brought out two books in the Riduna series, ‘Riduna’ and ‘Ancasta Guide me Swiftly Home’ based mainly in the Channel Islands, including Alderney and Guernse,y and back on the mainland in Southampton, between 1865 and 1920. The second sees early flight, especially of flying boats, through the eyes of the characters living in Woolston, but no women pilots unfortunately. Diana hopes to redress this balance in the third book in the series.

This is the first in Diana Jackson’s Weekend Blog Tour
You can find details and more of her ‘Muse, Reviews and News’ on her blog.