Spitfire Women

[Molesworth 1]

Anybody else enjoy this on BBC (repeated last night)?

This was about women pilots who delivered new a/c in WWII.

Some highlights
- woman pilot who climbed out of a bomber and was asked where the pilot was. They didn't believe her and searched the plane to find the "real" pilot
- two planes landing on the same runway at the same time in opposite directions
- many were stunningly beautiful
- a dog fight between two woman pilots jostling for position on final.
- the book which they carried with operating instructions for many different types of aircraft. This they carried for easy reference in the air.

[hum]

Fantastic programme.... :)

[Lister Noble]

Yes,I've seen it twice.
As you say,absolutley amazing stuff for anyone of either sex.
I think the way they chopped from different aircraft often on the same day is hard to believe.
And then went out on the town in the evenings.
Stunning stories,stunning women:)
Lister

[Intercepted]

Amazing program, it also reminded me how sad current society is with elf-and-safety fascists in every corner, including flying clubs with ridiculous rules around currency, forcing members to wear high-vis and other silly rules that try to make our fascinating hobby into something dull and boring.

[Lister Noble]

Not where I fly,just have to be careful not to trip over the occasional molehills.;)

[stiknruda]

Best telly I've seen in years!

Stik

[The Flying Pram]

Many years ago the Breckland Strut (or maybe it was the Tibenham Glider Club?) had one of these ladies give a talk at a club meeting. I can't remember her name, but I think she lived locally. As has been said above they were all amazing people, and when she finished recounting her experiences and got her logbook out for all to peruse, many people went very quiet.....It was basically a list of pretty well anything the RAF posessed, from single engined aircraft to Lancasters.

Very Humbling.

[Johnm]

I had the great privilege of flying Joy Lofthouse to Project Propellor at East Kirby and she very kindly lent me her signed copy of Lettice Curtis' book.

Despite failing eyesight she happily threw my PA28 at final approach to Kemble, though I felt it necessary to handle the touch down:p

Remarkable story of remarkable women and it didn't come out that Joy's sister (now resident in the USA) was also an ATA pilot at Cosford, the only sisters involved.

[Mike Cross]

I and my daughter have had the pleasure of meeting Mary Ellis, who featured in the programme. We met her at Sandown where she used to run the Pleasure Flights, I understand she also used to run the field.

Someone suggested we should ask her what was her favourite aeroplane. The reply? "Well the Spitfire is very nice, but I think I preferred flying the Wellington."

She's an elegant and delightful lady.

[Echo Romeo]

Amazing program, it also reminded me how sad current society is with elf-and-safety fascists in every corner, including flying clubs with ridiculous rules around currency, forcing members to wear high-vis and other silly rules that try to make our fascinating hobby into something dull and boring.

Well said :ok:

[glorygal]

Fantastic programme, well worth a watch. :)

[mikehallam]

Apropos the mentioned handling notes, I was lent a copy to photocopy 15 years ago and it covers essential feeds & speeds of all possible a/c types.

I too was privileged to fly with one of these ladies, Mrs. Mary Villiers when she was 75 in September 1994. She had been a 2nd Officer in the ATA 1941-45 and had ~2,000 hours on all types. For her first piloting time in 40 years she easily took control of a (light) a/c for 20 minutes.

mike.

[folkyphil]

A splendid programme.

My grandfather, a Sergeant Fitter at Odiham in the latter part of WW2, used to tell the tale of an ATA lady who delivered a new aircraft( possibly an Oxford?) to them from a factory "up north".
Upon landing, she stated that it had been "running rough" for the entire flight. On inspection, it transpired that the nuts securing the propellors were loose, and could be turned by hand!
Unperturbed by this event, the lady was soon on her way back to base, ready for her next assignment....

[JEM60]

A measure of just how good this programme was that my wife came in after 5 minutes, and sat mesmerized until the end of the programme, and she is not an 'aeroplane person'. Fabulous television.

[suninmyeyes]

Flying a spitfire from Prestwick to White Waltham in bad weather with just a map and no radio. What marvellous freedom.

[Exnomad]

An excellent programme, I think a more demanding task than delivering single engined fighters, where a force landing in a field could probably have been successfully accomplished, was delivering heavy bombers that would have been far worse, and this was carried out by some very small women, when I at 5ft -6 and 8 stone had trouble flying Oxfords.

[barit1]

On this side of the pond, the women of the WASP program (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots)served similarly. My father was an instructor at Sweetwater, Texas 1943-44.

[posso]

Mary Ellis still lives close by to Sandown airport, a superb display overhead the field by Dan Griffiths in visiting Spit TA805, last week brought her around.

Sat her in the cockpit, a golden moment. Hard to express the admiration felt, sort of brings a tear to your eye...what a gal!

[Avitor]

Those girls had the ability to bring back the spirit of the 1940's. It flowed out of them.

[black sapper]

What an amzing piece of television - true historical docu-drama and hypnotic viewing. Well worth a look:ok:

[POBJOY]

By far the best of all the (70th anniversary) productions this year and all the better for having the real people and no imported celebs.
Laid back, bridge playing,fingernail painting,partying,modest,competent and all absolute stars :- Wonderful.
Better to have seen them in a two seat Spitfire than what we got elsewhere.

[Lancelot37]

My wife and I flew with Diana Barnato Walker and my wife also flew with Freydis Sharland (nee Leaf)

[Senior Pilot]

Certainly a fascinating programme: you could see the young women still in all those ladies as they were interviewed :ok:

Without wishing to sound churlish, though, I do wish the producers hadn't reversed so much footage for the sake of 'continuity'. Squadron letters back-to-front was only a small giveaway, but entering Spitfires from the starboard side is a bit of a no-no I would have thought :=

[Vitesse]

Thoroughly enjoyed the programme.

The surname 'Barnato' rang a bell and after some googling, turns out a chap named Barney Barnato was a diamond-mining competitor of Cecil Rhodes in Kimberly SA

Diana Barnato Walker came from exceedingly wealthy stock.

[JEM60]

Barney Barnato had a son, who became famous as one of 'The Bentley Boys'. competing at Le Mans etc. He was, of course, Wolf Barnato, the father of Diana.

[MReyn24050]

Mary Ellis still lives close by to Sandown airport, a superb display overhead the field by Dan Griffiths in visiting Spit TA805, last week brought her around.

Sat her in the cockpit, a golden moment. Hard to express the admiration felt, sort of brings a tear to your eye...what a gal!

From yesterday's Daily Mail:-

Mary Ellis’s grey Toyota Yaris is a familiar sight in the picturesque Isle of Wight seaside resort of Sandown. Each day it is seen weaving through the bustling streets of Victorian townhouses, stopping at the newsagent or chemist, supermarket or bakery.
Yet there is nothing in the way the car is confidently driven or in the appearance of the petite, glamorous woman behind the wheel that reveals the extraordinary truth about the car’s chauffeur.
For Mary, who is always dressed impeccably with a silk scarf tied round her neck, perfect make-up and coiffured hair, is a former World War II Spitfire pilot and rally car driver. In addition to these fearsome accolades, she is also just a year shy of 100, which will soon make her part of a very exclusive club.


Read more: Should everyone over 70 be banned from driving? | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3681762/Should-70-banned-driving-Eileen-s-104-road-never-crash-families-asking-elderly-motorists-ticking-time-bomb.html#ixzz4E80mXNM9)

[Wander00]

Daily Wail jumping on yet another bandwagon. What a rag

[washoutt]

How strange, that the medical assessment should be self-declared. Why not confirmed by a medical doctor, say every three or five years?

[briani]

I also did my FI course with Joan Hughes at Wycombe. Wonderful experience - had also been checked out in Airways Club Terrier some years before at White Waltham. I learned so much from Joan, who had been instructing on Tiger Moths at Hatfield before joining the ATA.

[RJM]

Until she died recently in her 90s, I had the good fortune to have a few chats with Ruth Adam, a former ATA pilot living in South Australia. I tried without luck to get her to give a radio interview or just a talk, but she wouldn't be in it. A charming, modest woman with a meticulously kept scrapbook of her flying days.

[megan]

Book "Those Wonderful Women in Their Flying Machines" is a nice little read of the USA equivalent. What those girls got up to in the bombardiers compartment while droning over the Texas real estate in B-17's..........

[joy ride]

Perhaps my favourite photo of the era, Joan Hughes and a Short Stirling bomber:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=photo+of+Joan+Hughes+standing+beside+Short+Stirling +bomber+plane&espv=2&biw=1107&bih=621&site=webhp&tbm=isch&imgil=cO5X8KGVFraRPM%253A%253Bw0OK3zwDMy1HsM%253Bhttps%25253 A%25252F%25252Fwww.pinterest.com%25252Fpin%25252F54697631721 3422336%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=cO5X8KGVFraRPM%253A%252Cw0OK3zwDMy1HsM%252C_&usg=__-BRu0rBd8tJ5qPbTQHguSKqRQ4Y%3D&ved=0ahUKEwj2nZXdsPfNAhUGtRQKHXfrDuAQyjcINQ&ei=cdeJV7ahFYbqUvfWu4AO#imgrc=cO5X8KGVFraRPM%3A

[Kitbag]

Superb proframme that has whetted my appetite for more, so if I were to go to Big River books what would you recommend?

[Background Noise]

Highly recommended autobiography about being a female pilot and life in the ATA, and beyond - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-Girl-My-Life-Sky-ebook/dp/B00KFDQVU0

My original recommendation, some comments about the book and other recommendations here:

http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/578143-recommend-me-some-reading-2.html#post9357752

[dusk2dawn]

"Spitfire Girl" was a good read.

And to those latecomers wondering what its all about: https://store.bbc.com/spitfire-women#