A great story about a great woman from WWII: The Martin B-26 Marauder was infamously known as the Widowmaker due to the early models high rate of accidents during takeoff and landings. The Marauder had to be flown at exact airspeeds, particularly on final runway approach and when one engine was out. The 150 mph (241 km/h) speed on short final runway approach was intimidating to pilots who were used to much slower speeds, and whenever they slowed down below what the manual stated, the aircraft would stall and crash. After witnessing a perfectly executed landing by a Widowmaker, a group of crewmen gathered to congratulate the pilot on his spectacular landing. Upon exiting the aircraft, the helmet was removed to reveal a beautiful red-head; none other than Josephine Jo Keating. Jo was a WASP during WWII and was one of the elite 1,074 women accepted out of the 25,000 who applied to the Womens Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program. Jo was born in Great Falls, Montana on Sept. 24, 1919. After graduating high school in 1936, she went on to earn a bachelors degree in medical technology. During that time, in her own words, Great Falls was a hotbed of stunt fliers, crop dusters, barnstormers and flight schools. It must have been the $2 plane ride with my brother that gave me a start as a pilot … that or the chance to wear scarves and goggles. So, at 22, she learned to fly and obtained her private pilots license.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 14:00:56 +0000
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