Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II

In 1942, twenty-five American women pilots traveled to Great Britain to fly military aircraft during World War II. Though barred from flying for the U.S. military, they found opportunity with the British, who urgently needed transport pilots. These women came from diverse backgrounds—crop dusters, debutantes, college students, and circus performers—all trained aviators. As ferry pilots, they transported new and barely tested fighters and bombers to air bases and returned damaged aircraft for repair, facing one of the war's deadliest jobs. Off duty, they lived unconventionally, challenging their hosts' expectations of women's behavior. Becky Aikman profiles nine of these pilots, drawing on unpublished diaries, letters, records, and interviews. The book traces their wartime experiences and their place as professional forebears to women who would later break barriers in the U.S. military, examining their lives shaped by ambition, war, and unconventional dreams.