A WASP Among Eagles: A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II [Paperback]

Ann B. Carl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 22, 2010

Before World War II most Americans did not believe that the average woman could fly professionally, but during the war more than a thousand women pilots proved them wrong. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), who served as military flyers on the home front. In March 1944 one of them, Ann Baumgartner, was assigned to the Fighter Flight Test Branch at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. There she would make history as the only woman to test-fly experimental planes during the war and the first woman to fly a jet.

A WASP among Eagles is the first-person story of how Baumgartner learned to fly, trained as a WASP, and became one of the earliest jet-age pioneers. Flying such planes as the Curtiss A-25 Helldiver, the Lockheed P-38, and the B-29 Superfortress, she was the first woman to participate in a host of experiments, including in-air refueling and flying the first fighter equipped with a pressurized cockpit. But in evaluating the long-awaited turbojet-powered Bell YP-59A, she set a “first” record that would remain unchallenged for ten years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A jet-age pioneer, Carl was the only American woman to test-fly experimental planes during WWII and the first woman to fly a jet. She was one of about a thousand WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots), women military flyers on the home front, whoAwith zero publicity and very low statusAferried planes to bases, served as flight instructors and test-piloted repaired aircraft. This extraordinary memoir is a spirited, timely story about staying aloft in a male-dominated profession. The WASPs learned that they had to look out for themselves, checking the planes for defects, befriending mechanics and passing the hat to pay for the funerals of the 38 women aviators who lost their lives. (Congress would not pass legislation making female military pilots full-fledged members of the Air Force until 1977.) The author, who married astronautical engineer Major William Carl just after V-E Day, test-piloted planes like the B-29 Superfortress bomber. In 1944, she made history evaluating the Bell YP-59A jet fighter at the Wright-Patterson test center in Dayton, Ohio, where soft-spoken Orville Wright was a frequent guest, ushering in the age of jet propulsion. The writing is a bit pedestrian, and this autobiography may lack the romantic flair of other aviatrix' memoirs, but when Carl gets down to reliving hazardous assignments or describing the sheer magic of flying, her narrative is bracing and enthralling. Her resilience and energy are evident in her postwar activities as a journalist, environmental activist, homemaker and sailor whose two-year journey from Bermuda to Turkey and back was described in her 1985 book, The Small World of Long-Distance Sailors. Photos.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“A jet-age pioneer, Carl was the only American woman to test-fly experimental planes during WWII and the first woman to fly a jet. She was one of about a thousand WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots), women military flyers on the home front, who—with zero publicity and very low status—ferried planes to bases, served as flight instructors, and test-piloted repaired aircraft. This extraordinary memoir is a spirited, timely story about staying aloft in a male-dominated profession.”—Publishers Weekly

“[Carl] is as skilled a scribe as a pilot [and her] words flow precisely and compellingly.”—Stars and Stripes

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press (June 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560988703
• ISBN-13: 978-1560988700
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #852,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars INTRIGUING TRUE STORY OF WOMEN PILOTS in WW II!, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Wasp Among Eagles: A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II (Hardcover)

I am one of the many, many people who did not know that womenwere trained to fly military planes in WWII. I love readingautobiographies about ambitious, adventurous, independent-minded women so this first-person account of pilot Ann Carl's experiences as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) drew me in immediately. It's a good story, well-told, about a fascinating group of women and era. The book celebrates Carl's own story as a WASP as well as the general story of the 1000+ women who were trained as military pilots. They came from all walks of life--rich, poor, married, single--and from all over the U.S. One was an heiress, another an actress, another a golf champion and another taught flying to naval pilots. (My mother was a housewife during WWII and I had no idea women stepped outside what "was expected" and excelled in an area reserved for men.) Carl goes into the training the WASPs received and the battle fought to gain mititary status (not granted until 1970!) It's a very insightful peek into a overlooked chapter in the history of World War II.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-hand, insider's account, February 17, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A WASP Among Eagles: A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II (Paperback)

Ann Carl was a female military test pilot in World War II. A Wasp Among Eagles is her story of her experiences and adventures. She first learned to fly in 1940 and in 1943 found herself assigned to Wright Field. She underscores how women, because of the wartime shortages and pressures, were vital in performing jobs that were once the exclusive domain of men. A Wasp Among Eagles is an impressive, informative, first-hand, insider's account and an invaluable contribution to military studies, and highly recommended reading for women's twentieth-century history studies as well.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive contribution to WWI military history studies., January 4, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A WASP Among Eagles: A Woman Military Test Pilot in World War II (Paperback)

Ann Carl was a female military test pilot in World War II. A Wasp Among Eagles is her story of her experiences and adventures. She first learned to fly in 1940 and in 1943 found herself assigned to Wright Field. She underscores how women, because of the wartime shortages and pressures, were vital in performing jobs that were once the exclusive domain of men. A Wasp Among Eagles is an impressive, informative, first-hand, insider's account and an invaluable contribution to military studies, and highly recommended reading for women's twentieth-century history studies as well.