WASP to Commemorate 80th Anniversary

Meg Godlewski

Friday, August 04, 2023 at 12:35 PM ET

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Three WASP at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. [Courtesy: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]

Key Takeaways:

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were formed on August 5, 1943, during WWII to address a pilot shortage, enabling women to perform non-combat flying duties like aircraft ferrying and target towing.
Over 1,000 WASPs completed the program, flying hundreds of thousands of hours, yet they were initially considered civilians and denied military benefits, including proper burial assistance for the 38 who died in service.
The WASP program was disbanded in 1944, and its members were not granted veteran status until 1977, eventually receiving the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009 for their pioneering and crucial contributions to the war effort.

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August 5 represents an important milestone for women pilots, as it was on this day in 1943 that the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were created, marking its 80th anniversary.

On Saturday, the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston will be commemorating the event with a hangar talk on the history of the WASP at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CDT and display of WASP artifacts and uniforms from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.