Nancy Love
Born February 14, 1914
Houghton, Michigan
Died October 22, 1976
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Aviator
Nancy Love was director of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, or WAFS. The WAFS was a division within the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army. WAFS were the first women to fly for the U.S. military, serving from 1942 until 1945. By flying home front missions, Love and the WAFS were in a unique position to advance the American cause in World War II (1939–45). Her highly experienced pilots made it possible to free active-duty male pilots for combat. The WAFS were charged with transporting military aircraft between factories, modification centers, depots, and operational units.
Nancy Love was one of the most accomplished women flyers of her time. She was the first woman in U.S. military history to fly the B-25 Mitchell, the P-51 Mustang, and the Douglas C-54 Skymaster. Love was the first woman to deliver a C-47 Skytrain and one of the first two women to check out in the B-17 Flying Fortress. She was also proficient in A-36es and fourteen other types of military aircraft. Love accomplished all of this as a civil servant in the Air Transport Command because women pilots were never officially members of the U.S.
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