Dont know if this woman has appeared here before but I thought it was an interesting story. First Officer Maureen Dunlop de Popp exits her Fairey Barracuda, Picture Post cover, 16 September 1942. At the outbreak of war, Dunlop decided actively to support the war effort. To join the ATA, women pilots needed a minimum of 500 hours solo flying, twice that of a man. After sufficiently increasing her hours, in early 1942 Dunlop and her sister travelled across the Atlantic Ocean on a neutral Argentine-registered ship. While her sister joined the BBC,in April 1942 Maureen joined the ATA, one of 164 female pilots eventually to do so in three years. Trained to fly 38 types of aircraft, her 800 hours subsequently logged included time in Spitfires, Mustangs, Typhoons, and bomber types including the Wellington. She later stated that her favorite type to fly was the de Havilland Mosquito.Initially attached to No.6 Ferry Pool at RAF Ratcliffe near Leicester, she then moved to the all-female Ferry Pool at Hamble, Southampton, which exclusively delivered Spitfires from Supermarines new factory at RAF Southampton.[1] She was forced into occasional emergency landings, once after the cockpit canopy of her Spitfire blew off after take -off and another occasion put down in a field after the engine of her Fairchild Argus failed in the air. Dunlop became a cover girl when pictured pushing her hair out of her face after she left the cockpit of a Fairey Barracuda aircraft. The shot .
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 23:52:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015