In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Access to the Presidential Gallery will be limited from May 15 to June 5
 

Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

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  • WASP DUTY BASES

    After graduating from the training program at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX, the WASP were stationed at more than 100 bases across the United States.Click here to return to Women Airforce Service Pilots Overview.

  • BREAKING GROUND: WOMEN AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS

    From 1942 to 1944, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), an organization of civilian volunteers, became the first American women to fly military aircraft. Despite their dedicated service, it would be more than three decades until the United States recognized the WASP as members of the military

  • BREAKING GROUND: WOMEN AIR FORCE SERVICE PILOTS

    From 1942 to 1944, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), an organization of civilian volunteers, became the first American women to fly military aircraft. Despite their dedicated service, it would be more than three decades until the United States recognized the WASP as members of the military

  • DISBANDMENT & OVERDUE RECOGNITION

    DeactivationFrom the outset of the WASP program, the women believed they would become official members of the military. There were early attempts to militarize the WASP under the umbrella of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, but Jackie Cochran refused. She claimed pilots could be challenging to

  • WAR EFFORT

    Women at Work Initially, the WASP were only permitted to ferry light aircraft. To better support the war effort, Jackie Cochran advocated expanding the WASP mission to do any job necessary so men could be relieved for combat duty. Eventually, the women delivered fighters, bombers, and transport

  • FLYING THE ARMY WAY

    License to FlyFrom 1941 to 1944, men had to have a high school diploma and pass a physical exam and written test before they could train to become pilots in the US Army Air Forces (USAAF). However, women hoping to join the WASP were also required to have two hundred hours of flying experience (later

  • WOMEN IN THE PILOT’S SEAT

    During World War II, Nancy Harkness Love and Jacqueline Cochran independently proposed using female pilots in the US Army Air Forces (USAAF). Love sought out established female fliers, while Cochran looked to train emerging aviators. At the height of the war, female pilots across the United States

  • The Ninety-Nines Inc. Pin

     Note: This item is currently in storage.This pin belonged to Lt. Col. Jeanette C. Kapus, who was part of WASP Class 44-W-4, graduating in May 1944. She flew B-13s, PT-17s, PT-19s and B-17s during her career and retired from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1972. Kapus was a member of