European Aviation History

  The ferocious media campaign launched against the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) in the United States in 1944 contributed to the untimely and unnecessary demise of the entire organisation. The women pilots in the ATA in contrast profited from professional media relations of exceptionally high quality. While the  creation of the ATA in the early months of the year passed almost unnoticed in the British press, the decision to employ a handful of female aviators produced a 'storm' of publicity. The press welcomed a story in the midst of the 'Sitzkrieg' before the German invasion of Denmark etc. Furthermore, reporters were delighted to have a story with pretty faces, titles and connections, fame and fortune -- since most of the original female pilots of the ATA were famous in one way or another.  The initial reports, however, triggered a flood of indignation. The objections voiced by the outraged opponents of women pilots were largely based on completely false assum...

  In additional to the usual hazards associated with flying from mechanical failures to bad weather, the ATA faced additional challenges because it operated in a 'war zone' throughout its existence. Yes, it flew mostly in the UK, but because the UK was itself the target of enemy action until the closing days of the war, the airspace over England was on the 'front line.' I described in an earlier entry the ATA's infrequent but dangers encounters with the enemy; today I focus on incidents involving 'friendly fire.' Particularly during the first years of the war, the RAF was understandably nervous about any unidentified aircraft flying in British air space. Since the ATA aircraft were not equipped with radios or the automatic device to identify friendly aircraft known as IFF (Identification Friend of Foe), there was a serious risk of them being mistaken for the enemy -- at least by radar before visual contact was made. To reduce the risk, the RAF required all a...

  It is easy to forget that all of Britain was effectively a "war zone" until the end of WWII. For the bulk of the war, the Luftwaffe had airfields in occupied France and Norway and could reach any part of the British Isles they wanted. In the last year of war, Britain was also threatened by rockets, the V-2s. This meant that although the ATA was a civilian organisation, it sometimes encountered the enemy in the skies of Great Britain.  The intensity and nature of enemy air activity over the British Isles varied over time, but for the ATA, flying in unarmed aircraft without radios, the risks were always high. Like the rest of the British population, they and their airfields were vulnerable to bombing and strafing while on the ground. In addition, they were subject to attack while flying in British airspace.  Germany's first and most intensive bombing offensive, starting in late 1940 and continuing to mid-1941, took over 50,000 lives and hundreds of thousands were made hom...

  Of all the difficulties the ATA faced in doing their job of delivering between 400 and 1,400 aircraft every day, navigating without radios or instruments -- particularly in bad weather -- was undoubtedly the greatest. Essentially, all standard methods of navigation available in this period were not available to the pilots of the ATA. It was back to flying as it had been in its infancy -- but with fast and heavy aircraft that could not be put down in a cow pasture. Not to mention that British weather was notoriously bad.... The difficulties encountered were neatly summarised by one of the ATA's women pilots Rosemary de Cros. She noted:  At the beginning of the War a lot of American men came over to join the ATA. They were very welcome and useful -- once they realised this is a small island and one had to be careful to stay on it, and not get over occupied Europe by mistake, and when they learnt that there was no question of 'flying North until you hit a railroad', because ...

In retrospect, the ATA as an organisation out-performed expectations, but that wasn't inevitable.    As with everything that works well, it is easy to forget that the ATA faced significant challenges. None of these was greater than flying a vast array of different aircraft without the opportunity to train on them in advance. From the open cockpit trainers  to the heavy bombers and flying boats,  the ATA flew them all.   Altogether, the ATA flew 147 different types of aircraft. To cope with challenge of flying such a vast array of aircraft, the ATA developed the system of classifying aircraft by characteristics into six broad categories:  Class 1 (Single-engine) , Class 2 (Advanced Single-engine) , Class 3 (Light Twin) , Class 4 (Advanced Twin) , Class 5 (Four-engine) and Class Six (Flying Boats) .   It then developed concise, comprehensive "Handling Notes" and "Pilot's Notes" for each individual aircraft.  The "Handling Notes" ran about thirty pag...

The ATA operated hand in glove with the RAF and FAA, flying to and from military airfields in military aircraft. ATA personnel enjoyed mess privileges (which they thoroughly enjoyed!) and were subject to the same targeted bombing and aerial attacks that the Luftwaffe directed at RAF fields, installations and operational aircraft. Yet the work pace and schedule looked dramatically different. Today I look at the day in the life of an ATA pilot. The ATA flew seven days a week, fifty-two weeks of the year, and individual pilots had a duty schedule of ten days on and two days off, with two weeks' holiday per year. They were never posted to ground duties for a rest. By the end of the war, the original ATA pilots had been flying six years straight. Furthermore, during the long hours of daylight in summer, a ferry pilot's working day might last twelve to thirteen hours. On the other hand, since ferry pilots were allowed to fly only in daylight, the short winter days made for a wo...

  The ATA's official theatre of operation was the UK and at no time did it have responsibility for ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic, yet its ethos of doing 'whatever' was necessary with regard to supporting the fighting forces took it to the Continent of Europe. (Below an image showing four ATA pilots including one of the women pilots with Soviet troops.)     The ATA took to Continental skies as early as May 1940, when the catastrophic situation in France created urgent demands to deliver replace aircraft to RAF squadrons deployed in France with the British Expeditionary Force. This operation can best be described as 'improvised' as the ATA flew the aircraft across the Channel without lifevests, radios or maps. The taxi aircraft sent to collect the pilots who had delivered the combat aircraft was often besieged and commandeered by passengers with 'higher priority,' with the result that several ATA pilots had to find their own way home to Britain. Three ...

  In the environment of the Second World War, the women of the ATA also played a role that is probably impossible in today's world. Working at the interface between the civilian and military spheres, engaged in activities that were almost exclusively male, yet still -- in accordance with the customs of their age -- very feminine in behaviour, the women pilots of the ATA had an impact on the morale of the fighting men in unique ways.  This role is best illustrated by a series of anecdotes reported directly.  In December 1944, a Mosquito Squadron suffered severe losses in a short space of time and needed a large number of replacement aircraft. These new Mosquitos were an newer Mark and had different flying characteristics. The CO contacted the ATA and suggested his men could do with some 'bucking-up' so a group of particularly attractive women pilots were assigned to deliver the replacement aircraft and received explicit instructions to 'stay for lunch at the Officers...