93 year young Female Fighter Pilot, Returns to the Sky

[skyrider 0]

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She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess.

Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right?

...and some of the blokes that we're not quite sure of

not that there is anything wrong with that!

[shropshire 0]

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She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess.

Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right?

...and some of the blokes that we're not quite sure of

not that there is anything wrong with that!

Absolutely ... perish the thought

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Scratch 0]

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She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess.

Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right?

Yup. Do a search on the "Night witches of Staligrad" for starters

[jakee 1,257]

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She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess.

Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right?

Technically yes, although I'm fairly sure that there were one or two unofficial 'kills' from women pilots in the UK's ATA who happened to find themselves in an armed fighter next to an unsuspecting German.


The women of the ATA were pretty hardcore too. Having to fly any aircraft, anywhere with basically zero on-type training. From a four engined heavy like a Lancaster or Halifax, straight into a highly manouverable Spitfire or Typhoon, then a Twin-engined rocket-ship of a Mossie next day...

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[MikeJD 0]

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She'd need to have been born a lot later to fly in combat, I guess.

Only the Soviets had female combat pilots in WW2, right?

Yup. Do a search on the "Night witches of Staligrad" for starters

Yeah, I already came across them.
Apparently there were also women in other countries lobbying for female squadrons - Jacqueline Cochran in the States, Hanna Reitsch in Germany - but all were refused.

[skyrider 0]

Well, it was just the old mind set!

I Still hate seeing women fighting in wars! But I would never denie them the right!

[MikeJD 0]

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Well, it was just the old mind set!

I Still hate seeing women fighting in wars! But I would never denie them the right!

Yeah, it's hard to relate to how different attitudes were in the 40s.

Reitsch is a fascinating figure - a brilliant, fearless, pioneering pilot but also a fanatical Nazi (or just a fervent patriot - hard to say which). Towards the end of the war she tried to persuade Hitler to let her lead a suicide glider squadron.

If she'd had different loyalties, she might have been remembered as the ultimate aviatrix.

[skyrider 0]

I'll have to look up her story!