As the preparations for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in full swing, Paul Tibbets was assigned the responsibility of training pilots to operate the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. However, a major challenge arose: many of the pilots were hesitant to fly the bomber due to its considerable size and the relatively limited testing it had undergone compared to other aircraft from World War II.
Understanding the need to alleviating their concerns, Tibbets came up with a strategy. He organized for two female aviators to perform flight demonstrations in the bomber for their male colleagues. This approach not only alleviated the pilots’ anxieties but also boost their confidence in flying the aircraft.
Problems with the B-29 Superfortress’ engines
After his service in both the European and Pacific Theaters, Paul Tibbets returned to the United States in 1943 to contribute to the development of the B-29 Superfortress. Upon the completion of testing, he took on the role of director of operations for the 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy), where he was tasked with training pilots to operate the new bomber.
Training these aviators proved to be quite a challenge. They had valid concerns regarding the B-29’s history of engine issues and frequent fires, along with its relatively limited testing compared to other aircraft. Moreover, the bomber’s much larger size marked a substantial shift from the aircraft previously flown by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF).
The women who flew the B-29 Superfortress
To address the apprehension surrounding the B-29, Tibbets decided to train female pilots on the bomber to alleviate the concerns of their male counterparts. He enlisted the help of two Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), Dora Dougherty Strother and Dorothea Johnson “Didi” Moorman, deliberately withholding information about previous issues to prevent any worries about the aircraft.
Interestingly, both Strother and Moorman encountered no difficulties during their training.
Chosen specifically because they had no prior experience flying a four-engine aircraft, Strother and Moorman were intended to demonstrate that mastering the B-29 was easily achievable. After just three days of training, Tibbets deemed them ready to conduct demonstrations for the male aviators. They performed various flights from the base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, with different aircrews onboard for each demonstration.
Reception as demonstration pilots
Strother and Moorman successfully convinced the male aviators to fly the B-29. In a maintenance bulletin, Maj. Harry Shilling praised the pair’s expertise and deep understanding of the aircraft, encouraging other male personnel to seek their guidance on managing the bombers and to emulate their flawless takeoffs.
Despite their achievements, however, Strother and Moorman’s role as demonstration pilots was short-lived. When Tibbets’ superiors discovered that women were flying B-29s, they ordered the program to be shut down.
Maj. General Barney Giles of the Air Staff remarked that the women were “putting the big football players to shame.”
Remembering their role
While their role as demonstration pilots might appear insignificant, it carried significant weight for the men who observed them. On August 2, 1995, Harry McKeown, a retired lieutenant colonel with the US Air Force, wrote a letter to Strother concerning her piloting of the B-29s. Their paths had crossed in 1944 at Clovis Army Airfield, where McKeown served as Director of Maintenance & Supply and a test pilot.
He recounted that following 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 World War II
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.