Women in World War II

WASPs at Minter Field, Kern County, California

VOCABULARY

• WASP: Women Air Force Service Pilots• Bonds: Debt securities issued by a government for the

purpose of financing military operations during times of war. It is an emotional appeal to patriotic citizens to lend the government their money because these bonds offer a rate of return below the market rate.

• Corps: A separate branch or department of the armed forces having a specialized function

Women before the war.

What was life like for married women before the war?

How did things change?

Over 16 million Americans served in World War II

Women saying good-bye to the soldiers.

Examine the next few posters, and write what you think women did

during the war.

WASP’S IN KERN COUNTY

Minter Field (near Shafter)

History of the WASPs

• Jacqueline Cochrane and Nancy Love merged their existing groups of women pilots to form the WASPs.

Requirements

• 200 hours of flight instruction• 400 hours of ground school• 25,000 women applied– 1,830 were accepted– 1,074 graduated

Duties at Minter Field

• While WASPs in other parts of the country were used to transport airplanes to various bases or tow targets, the main duty for WASPs at Minter Field was to test fly the planes.

• The following pictures were taken at Minter Field.

• WASPs served just a few years, but were vital to the war effort.

• How do you think they were treated by other pilots?

http://wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/video/index.htm

BIBLIOGRAPHY• Cayton, Andrew, et al, America: Pathways to the Present (Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Education, 2005), 827, 860-61.• Minter Field Air Museum. http://www.minterfieldairmuseum.com/ Web.• “Powers of Persuasion.” National Archives.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_intro.html Web.

• WASP on the WEB. http://wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/index.htm Web.