From cosmetics to test jets

  • Published
  • By Lillian Nolan
  • Air Armament Center History Office
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  In the tumultuous times of 1930s America, Pensacola, Fla., native Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran was a successful entrepreneur in the world of women’s cosmetics. But not many who saw her marketing powders and colored creams in those days would imagine that she would soon set records in the upstart days of early aviation.

But she did.

After hitting the big time in cosmetics, Ms. Cochran began using air travel to market her products throughout the United States. Reportedly, her wealthy new husband encouraged her to learn to fly herself, to allow her even more freedom to conquer the cosmetics industry.

For Ms. Cochran, learning to fly was not a drawn-out process -- she flew alone in just two days. Soon after getting her license, she purchased her first plane. In that plane, she began her unlikely career as an early test pilot. In 1934, she set her first official aviation record for testing the first turbo-supercharger ever installed on an aircraft engine.

After contributing to the design of the first oxygen mask, she became the first person to use one at an altitude of 20,000 feet. By 1940, she had set three speed records, was a three-time recipient of the Harmon trophy for aviation innovation and set a then-world record for flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet.

While these days were probably glorious ones for Ms. Cochran, they were serious times for the United States and the rest of the world as World War II came into full fight. It was during this time that she was approached by Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces, to discuss putting more women into the air to overcome the shortage of male pilots, who were largely called up to military service.

She suggested that all licensed female pilots be offered civilian service as pilots working for the Army Air Force. While the plan did not initially take off, Ms. Cochran took off for Great Britain where she became the first female trans-Atlantic bomber pilot ferrying aircraft across the great oceanic divide.

Soon after, the first women’s squadron, the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, was activated as part of Air Transport Command. The WAFS was headed up by another famous female flier, Nancy Harkness Love, who was also working with General Arnold on war-support efforts.

At the request of General Arnold, Ms. Cochran returned to the United States and began recruiting and training women for the program. The first training conducted for female pilots took place at Houston Municipal Airport in November 1942. That next year, General Arnold appointed Ms. Cochran as the first director of the newly formed Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. This new organization brought together the Women’s Flying Training Detachment and the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron.

While setting records and regularly risking their lives, the women of WASP never were made an official part of the military structure at the time. Still, even without the military service designation, they soared to new aviation heights and made significant contributions to the war effort.

Much later, the slight would be rectified by President Carter when in 1977 he signed legislation that provided veteran status to the women. In 1984, women were also posthumously awarded the Victory Medal and the American Theater Medal.

With the onset of the jet age in the 1950s, Ms. Cochran was still not through with setting milestones. During this period, access to jet aircraft was mainly restricted to military people, but Ms. Cochran, with the assistance of her friend, Gen. Chuck Yeager, managed to get back into the cockpit.

In 1953, she became the first woman to break the sound barrier in an F-86 Sabre at 625.5 mph. In 1964, she set a world-speed record of 1,429 mph in an F-104G Starfighter.

Ms. Cochran died in 1980 holding more speed and altitude records than anyone else in the world. She earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1969, was named an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1971 and was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

While the stories of Ms. Cochran, and those like her, are stories of personal courage and perseverance, they are also of historical significance and examples of women’s contributions to some of the world’s greatest achievements. (Sheila J. Vaughen, of the Air Armament Center public affairs office, contributed to this story.)