They were pioneering organizations of civilian women pilots, who were attached to the United States Army Air Forces to fly military aircraft during World War II.

[11] Arnold asked her to ferry a bomber to Great Britain in order to generate publicity for the idea of women piloting military aircraft.

[9] Cochran did go to England, where she volunteered for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and recruited American women pilots to help fly planes in Europe.

[14] In the summer of 1941, Cochran and test-pilot Nancy Harkness Love independently submitted proposals to the U.S. Army Air Forces to allow women pilots in non-combat missions after the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

The U.S. was building its air power and military presence in anticipation of direct involvement in the conflict, and had belatedly begun to drastically expand its men in uniform.

This period led to the dramatic increase in activity for the U.S. Army Air Forces, because of obvious gaps in "manpower" that could be filled by women.

To compensate for the manpower demands of the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the government encouraged women to enter the workforce to fill both industrial and service jobs supporting the war effort.

[18] Tunner and Nancy Love met and began to plan an aviation ferrying program involving women pilots.

[19] Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about women working as pilots during the war in her September 1 "My Day" newspaper column, supporting the idea.

[25] Uniforms for the WAFS were designed by Love and consisted of a gray gabardine jacket with brass buttons and square shoulders.

[45] Cochran made Dedie Deaton her staff executive and in charge of finding housing for class 43-1- also known as the "Guinea Pigs".

[48] WFTD pilots were issued large khaki coveralls (which the trainees called "zoot suits"), were ordered to wear any shoes they had, and a hairnet on the flight line.

[51] Another crash took place on March 21, 1943, when Cornelia Fort, a former flight instructor who had been the first to encounter Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor, was ferrying a BT-13 with a group of male pilots.

[69] While the total number of black women applicants for WASP training is unknown, several African American pilots made it to the final interview stage, where they were all rejected.

[71] Another African American applicant, Janet Harmon Bragg, was told by Cochran in her interview that "it was difficult enough fighting prejudice aimed at females without additionally battling race discrimination.

[90] One of the planes used during target towing, an A-24 that, like many had not been adequately maintained by the Army Air Corps (AAC), killed WASP Mabel Virginia Rawlinson.

[93] General Arnold's plan worked, "From that day on, there was no more grumbling from male pilots assigned to train on and fly the B-29 Super Fortress.

[98] The War Department, however, consistently opposed the move, because there was no separate corps for male pilots as distinguished from unrated AAF officers.

[99] He testified in front of the House military committee that the WASP were all "good fliers and that he plans to send all the male pilots to fight.

[94] TIME, The New York Daily News and the Washington Post all urged women to step down and give the jobs back to men.

[94] A journalist, Drew Pearson, questioned the legality of funding the WASP program, and even accused General Arnold of being manipulated by Jackie Cochran's "feminine wiles" in a Washington Times Herald column.

[12] Arnold is quoted from a speech he delivered at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas on December 7, 1944:[103] The WASP has completed its mission.

"[106] Following the group's disbandment some WASP members were allowed to fly on board government aircraft from their former bases to the vicinity of their homes as long as room was available and no additional expenses were incurred.

[30] In order to keep flying, some women wrote Madame Chiang Kai-shek and volunteered for the Chinese Air Force, who were still fighting against Japan.

[111] The records of the WASP program, like nearly all wartime files, were classified and sealed for 35 years making their contributions to the war effort little known and inaccessible to historians.

[110] In 1977, WASP records were unsealed after an Air Force press release erroneously stated the Air Force was training the first women to fly military aircraft for the U.S.[97][116][60][115] Documents were compiled that showed during their service WASP members were subject to military discipline, assigned top secret missions and many members were awarded service ribbons after their units were disbanded.

[115] It was also shown that WASP member Helen Porter had been issued an Honorable Discharge certificate by her commanding officer following her service.

[118] The VA, led by Dorothy L. Starbuck, argued that WASP should not be given military recognition because the women were never subject to court martial.

Bill Improvement Act of 1977, providing that service as a WASP would be considered "active duty" for the purposes of programs administered by the Veterans Administration.

4336 by Rep. Martha McSally (R-Arizona), a retired Air Force fighter pilot), provides only for interment of cremated remains and not ground burial.