The Boeing factory had large windows to allow light in. Good lighting was necessary for such close work. [Courtesy: The Boeing Company]
Key Takeaways:
Women played a crucial role in aircraft manufacturing, utilizing their sewing skills for major companies like Boeing and Douglas, well before the "Rosie the Riveter" era of WWII.
In the 1920s, these women meticulously hand-stitched fabric coverings for airplane wings, a precise and demanding task vital for the aircraft's safety and efficiency.
Their contributions were instrumental in significant aviation achievements, notably covering the Douglas World Cruisers which completed the first global circumnavigation in 1924.
Most aviation aficionados have seen the black-and-white newsreel footage of women working in aircraft factories during World War II. They became known as “Rosie the Riveter,” or in California, the “Janes Who Made the Planes.” They were the women who took these factory jobs to free up men for fighting.
But this wasn’t the first time women were part of mass aircraft construction.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
