Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II

by Molly Merryman

Overview

During World War II, all branches of the military had women's auxiliaries. Only the Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) program, however, was comprised entirely of women who flew dangerous missions more commonly associated with and desired by men.
Within military hierarchies, the World War II pilot was projected as the most dashing and desirable of servicemen. "Flyboys" were the daring elite of the United States military. More than the WACs (Army), WAVES (Navy), SPARS (Coast Guard), or Women Marines, the WASPs directly challenged these assumptions of male supremacy in wartime culture. WASPs flew the fastest fighter planes and heaviest bombers; they test-piloted experimental models and worked in the development of weapons systems. Yet the WASPs were the only women's auxiliary within the armed services of World War II that was not militarized.
In Clipped Wings, Molly Merryman draws upon military documents (many of which were declassified only in the 1980s), congressional records, and interviews with the women who served as WASPs during World War II, to trace the history of the over 1,000 pilots who served their country as the first women to fly military planes. She examines the social pressures which culminated in their disbandment in 1944—even though a wartime need for their services still existed—and documents their struggles and eventual success, in 1977, to gain military status and receive veterans benefits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814755686
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2001
Series:	Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (Wasps) o
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Molly Merryman is the founding director of Kent State University’s Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and an associate professor of Sociology. She is also a documentary filmmaker and the Historic Research Producer for the WASP documentary Coming Home (2020). Merryman is the research director for Queer Britain, the UK's national LGBTQ+ Museum.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgments ix

List of Abbreviations xi

Preface to the NYU Classics Edition xiii

1 Introduction 1

2 The Development of the Women Airforce Service Pilots: From Guarded Experiment to Valuable Support Role 6

3 Becoming Soldiers: Tracing WASP Expansion and Plans for Militarization 30

4 From Praise to Rancor: Media Opinion Changes as Men Return from Battle 44

5 No Allies for the WASPs: Congress Responds to Male Public Interest Groups 75

6 They'll Be Home for Christmas: The WASP Program Disbands 102

7 On a Different Battlefield: The WASP Fight for Militarization after the War 131

8 Recognizing the Gendered Warrior: History and Theory Intersect with the Fate of the WASPs 157

9 Coda 182

Notes 185

Bibliography 209

Index 227

About the Author 239

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Well written and draws on a variety of primary source material. . . . The book adds to the continuing study of women pilots in World War II."

-Net Book Review,

"Clipped Wings lets us peer into the political cockpit of militarized gender construction. I've learned a lot from this fine book."

-Cynthia Enloe,author of Does Khaki Still Become You?

"An excellent study . . . its grounding in feminist history and methodology are timely and welcome."

-American Historical Review,

"Merryman's work has been hailed as a fresh, astute, analysis of the WASP program. The book is well written and draws on a variety of primary source material including, military documents, interviews with former WASPs, newspapers and articles and Jacqueline Cochran's private papers."

-Minerva,

"Merryman has assembled a formidable study of these women pilots using recently declassified government documents, as well as interviews with surviving WASP personnel."

-Feminist Collections

Editorial Reviews

"Clipped Wings lets us peer into the political cockpit of militarized gender construction. I've learned a lot from this fine book."

Cynthia Enloe

"An excellent study . . . its grounding in feminist history and methodology are timely and welcome."

American Historical Review

"Merryman has assembled a formidable study of these women pilots using recently declassified government documents, as well as interviews with surviving WASP personnel."

Feminist Collections

"Merryman's work has been hailed as a fresh, astute, analysis of the WASP program. The book is well written and draws on a variety of primary source material including, military documents, interviews with former WASPs, newspapers and articles and Jacqueline Cochran's private papers."

Minerva

"Clipped Wings lets us peer into the political cockpit of militarized gender construction. I've learned a lot from this fine book."

author of Does Khaki Still Become You? Cynthia Enloe