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

In 1939, the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was formed to recruit civilian pilots to ferry planes to Royal Air Force bases in order to save military pilots for battle in World War II. Its motto was “aetheris avidi”: “eager for the air.” In 1940, a women’s section was allowed and in 1942, 25 American pilots were recruited to join the second unit of women in the ATA. They became known as the Spitfire Girls, after the British single-seat military plane that became one of the women’s favorites. Journalist Aikman (Off the Cliff: How the Making of Thelma & Louise Drove Hollywood to the Edge) recounts the lives of the ATA women’s section members on the ground, in the air (only one died in flight, although there were many near-misses), and in the postwar world as they struggled to find their footing, went on to marriage or a career (often distinctive ones), and for several, found a way to fly for a living.