In the lead-up to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Paul Tibbets found himself tasked with instructing a group of pilots in operating the newly-manufactured Boeing B-29 Superfortress. However, a significant hurdle emerged: the pilots staunchly resisted boarding the bomber. Their reluctance was rooted in the B-29’s considerable size and relatively limited testing compared to other aircraft deployed during World War II.
Faced with aviators who were uneasy about the perceived risks of flying this unfamiliar aircraft, Tibbets recognized their refusal wasn’t a viable option. In a strategic move, he devised an ingenious plan, which involved training two female pilots to conduct flight demonstrations for their male counterparts. This innovative approach proved highly successful in overcoming the pilots’ reservations.
Problems with the B-29’s engines
After Paul Tibbets had served in both the European and Pacific Theaters, he received orders to return to the US in 1943 to help with the development of the B-29 Superfortress. Following the completion of the bomber’s testing phase, he assumed the role of director of operations for the 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy). His primary responsibility was to train pilots in the operation of the new aircraft.
However, the task of instructing these aviators proved to be a formidable one. They had genuine reasons for their reluctance, given the B-29’s history of unreliable engines and frequent fires, as well as its relative lack of comprehensive testing compared to other aircraft. Furthermore, the bomber’s notably larger size posed a considerable departure from those previously flown by the US Army Air Forces.
The women who flew the B-29 Superfortress
To alleviate the apprehension surrounding the B-29, Tibbets conceived the idea of training female pilots on the aircraft, hoping it would mitigate the fear among the male aviators. He enlisted two Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) for this task, without revealing any prior issues with the bomber to Dora Dougherty Strother or Dorothea Johnson “Didi” Moorman. Interestingly, both women encountered no problems during their piloting sessions.
Selected precisely because neither had flown a four-engine aircraft before, Strother and Moorman were intended to demonstrate that anyone could master flying a B-29. Tibbets gave the pair just three days of training before deeming them ready to perform demonstrations for the male pilots. They flew various flights out of the base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, with different aircrews onboard each time.
Reception as demonstration pilots
Strother and Moorman were successful in getting the male pilots to fly the B-29s. A maintenance bulletin written by Maj. Harry Shilling gave them praise for both their flying abilities and knowledge of the aircraft. He encouraged the men on the base to ask them questions about how to handle the bombers and emulate their impressive takeoffs.
Despite their success, Strother and Moorman didn’t have their jobs as demonstration pilots for long. When Tibbets’ superiors found out he was letting women fly the B-29s, they forced him to shut down the program. Air Staff Maj. Gen. Barney Giles told him that the women were “putting the big football players to shame.”
Remembering their role
Although their role as demonstration pilots may seem small, it wasn’t viewed as such by the men who watched them. On August 2, 1995, Harry McKeown, a retired lieutenant colonel with the US Air Force, wrote a letter to Strother about her role flying the B-29s. He’d met her and Moorman in 1944 when they brought a B-29 to Clovis Army Airfield, where he served as the Director of Maintenance & Supply and a test pilot.
He said that after their demonstration “we never had a pilot who didn’t want to fly the B-29,” and ended his letter on a more personal note. “I still want to thank you for your helping me that day at Clovis,” he wrote. “I will admit that I was scared… You made the difference in my flying from then on. I wasn’t the only pilot that felt this way, and I am sure that they would thank you too if they knew where you were.”
Life after the war
Both women carried on with the WASPs until the organization disbanded in 1944. Strother went on to earn her PhD from New York University and worked for Bell Helicopters from 1962-86. She kept in touch with McKeown and married him in 2002. Moorman raised five children in North Carolina after the war, and kept in close contact with Tibbets until her death in 2005.
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The WASPs, including Strother and Moorman, were denied military veteran status until 1977, when the US House and Senate voted to grant them what they had earned. This decision made them eligible for veterans benefits and also allowed the woman to commemorate their fallen sisters as veterans – something they hadn’t previously been able to do.
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