was designed by Walt Disney studios as the logo for the Women's Airforce
Service Pilots (WASP), the American women military aviators of World War
II. At the beginning, the
WASP encountered considerable opposition within both the military and the
civilian government. The belief prevailed that women were fragile,
physically and emotionally, and incapable of flying competently, much less
piloting the high-performance military aircraft that they were intended to
ferry. Flying was for men; women belonged at home in the kitchen.
Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) was organized during World War II, to
fill the labor shortage by ferrying aircraft for the Army Air Forces. They
also trained gunners, and tested new planes, to mention a few tasks.
Training was at Houston Field and eventually moved to Avenger Field outside of
The front gate at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, in May 1944. The sign
shows that the field was run by Aviation Enterprises Limited, a civilian
The Flying Tigers
Sheet-metal as found on the crash site,
before being painted...