Nancy Harkness Love
Encyclopedia
Nancy Harkness Love born Hannah Lincoln Harkness, was an American
pilot
and commander during World War II
.
, Harkness developed an intense interest in aviation at an early age. At 16 she took her first flight and earned her pilot's license within a month. Although she went to all the right schools, including Milton Academy
in Massachusetts
and Vassar
in New York
, she was restless and adventurous. At Vassar she earned extra money taking students for rides in an airplane she rented from a nearby airport.
Reserve Major. They built their own successful Boston-based aviation company, Inter City Aviation, for which Nancy was a pilot. She also flew for the Bureau of Air Commerce. In 1937 and 1938 she flew as a test pilot, performing safety tests on various aircraft modifications and innovations. In one project she served as a test pilot on the new three-wheeled landing gear, which subsequently became standard on most planes. In another, she helped mark water towers with town names as a navigational aid for pilots.
In May 1940, soon after the Second World War
broke out in Europe, Nancy Love wrote to Lt. Col. Robert Olds
, then in the Plans Division of Air Corps Headquarters but who a year later would be in charge of establishing the Air Corps Ferrying Command, that she had found 49 excellent women pilots, who each had more than a thousand flying hours and could help transport planes from factories to bases. Olds submitted a plan for integrating civilian female pilots in the Ferrying Command to Gen. Henry H. Arnold
, commanding general of the United States Army Air Forces
, who turned it down after Jacqueline Cochran
extracted a promise from him not to act on any proposal regarding women pilots that did not make them commissioned officers commanded by women.
, Maryland
with the Operations Office of the Ferrying Command's Northeast Sector (soon redesignated 2nd Ferrying Group), Domestic Division. The Domestic Division, commanded by Col. William H. Tunner
, was designated Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command
(ATC) a few months later.
She piloted her own airplane on her daily commute from the couple's home in Washington, D. C. The offices of Major Love and Col. Tunner were near each other, and during a conversation between them, her piloting skills caught the attention of Tunner, who was scouring the country for skilled pilots to deliver aircraft from factories to fields. Major Love suggested Tunner speak to his wife directly.
Nancy Love convinced Tunner that the idea of using experienced women pilots to supplement the existing pilot force was a good one. He then asked her to write up a proposal for a women's ferrying division. When his recommendation that she (and the other female pilots) be commissioned into the WAAC
s was denied, he appointed her to his staff as Executive of Women's Pilots. Within a few months, she had recruited 29 experienced female pilots to join the newly created Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Nancy Love became their Commander. In September, 1942, the women pilots began flying at New Castle Army Air Field, Wilmington
, Delaware
, under the 2nd Ferrying Group.
By June, 1943, Nancy Love was commanding four different squadrons of WAFS at Love Field in Texas
, New Castle
in Delaware
, Romulus
in Michigan
and Long Beach
in California
. The WAFS' number had greatly increased because of the addition of graduates of the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas
, an organization championed and headed by Jacqueline Cochran
.
On August 5, 1943, the WAFS merged with the WFTD and became a single entity: the Women Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP). Nancy Love was named as the Executive for all WASP ferrying operations. Under her command, female pilots flew almost every type military aircraft then in the Army Air Force's arsenal, and their record of achievement proved remarkable.
She was the first woman to be certified to fly the North American P-51 Mustang, C-54, B-25 Mitchell
, and along with Betty Gillies
, the B-17 Flying Fortress. She was certified in 16 military aircraft, including the Douglas C-47 and the A-36
.
In 1944, after the WASPs were disbanded, Love continued to work on the Air Transport Command's Report. She set a record of being the first woman in aviation to make a flight around the world. She flew the plane at least one-half of the time, including crossing over the Himalayas.
, and she was awarded the Air Medal
for her "Operational leadership in the successful training and assignment of over 300 qualified women fliers in the flying of advanced military aircraft".
After the war, Nancy Love became the mother of three daughters, but she continued as an aviation industry leader, as well as a champion for recognition as military veterans for the women who had served as WASPs. In 1948, after the creation of the United States Air Force
she was designated the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
in the U.S. Air Force Reserves
. Love died of cancer at the age of 62 in 1976, so she didn't live to see the WASPs being accorded military recognition three years later. The WASPs were recognized in 1977, shortly after her death. But right up to her death, the women she had commanded remained some of the most important people in her life.
Among the things she left behind was a box she had kept for more than 30 years. Inside was a handwritten list of women pilots she had compiled in 1940 and clippings and photographs of each of the women who had died under her command http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls/peopleevents/pandeAMEX03.html.
She was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
in 1997, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame
in Dayton, Ohio
in 2005.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and commander during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
The daughter of a wealthy physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Harkness developed an intense interest in aviation at an early age. At 16 she took her first flight and earned her pilot's license within a month. Although she went to all the right schools, including Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Vassar
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, she was restless and adventurous. At Vassar she earned extra money taking students for rides in an airplane she rented from a nearby airport.
Pre-War
In 1936 she married Robert M. Love, an Air CorpsUnited States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
Reserve Major. They built their own successful Boston-based aviation company, Inter City Aviation, for which Nancy was a pilot. She also flew for the Bureau of Air Commerce. In 1937 and 1938 she flew as a test pilot, performing safety tests on various aircraft modifications and innovations. In one project she served as a test pilot on the new three-wheeled landing gear, which subsequently became standard on most planes. In another, she helped mark water towers with town names as a navigational aid for pilots.
In May 1940, soon after the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out in Europe, Nancy Love wrote to Lt. Col. Robert Olds
Robert Olds
Robert Olds was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as the father of Brig. Gen...
, then in the Plans Division of Air Corps Headquarters but who a year later would be in charge of establishing the Air Corps Ferrying Command, that she had found 49 excellent women pilots, who each had more than a thousand flying hours and could help transport planes from factories to bases. Olds submitted a plan for integrating civilian female pilots in the Ferrying Command to Gen. Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, commanding general of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, who turned it down after Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...
extracted a promise from him not to act on any proposal regarding women pilots that did not make them commissioned officers commanded by women.
World War II
In early 1942, her husband Robert Love was called to active duty in the Munitions Building, Washington, D. C. as the deputy chief of staff of the Ferrying Command. Nancy Love accompanied him to Washington and on March 11 took a civil service position in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
with the Operations Office of the Ferrying Command's Northeast Sector (soon redesignated 2nd Ferrying Group), Domestic Division. The Domestic Division, commanded by Col. William H. Tunner
William H. Tunner
William Henry Tunner was a general officer in the United States Air Force and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces...
, was designated Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
(ATC) a few months later.
She piloted her own airplane on her daily commute from the couple's home in Washington, D. C. The offices of Major Love and Col. Tunner were near each other, and during a conversation between them, her piloting skills caught the attention of Tunner, who was scouring the country for skilled pilots to deliver aircraft from factories to fields. Major Love suggested Tunner speak to his wife directly.
Nancy Love convinced Tunner that the idea of using experienced women pilots to supplement the existing pilot force was a good one. He then asked her to write up a proposal for a women's ferrying division. When his recommendation that she (and the other female pilots) be commissioned into the WAAC
Women's Army Corps
The Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
s was denied, he appointed her to his staff as Executive of Women's Pilots. Within a few months, she had recruited 29 experienced female pilots to join the newly created Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Nancy Love became their Commander. In September, 1942, the women pilots began flying at New Castle Army Air Field, Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, under the 2nd Ferrying Group.
By June, 1943, Nancy Love was commanding four different squadrons of WAFS at Love Field in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, New Castle
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, Romulus
Romulus, Michigan
Romulus is a suburban city of Metro Detroit, located in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 census, an increase from 22,979 in 2000. Romulus is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and a General Motors plant that opened in 1976...
in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The WAFS' number had greatly increased because of the addition of graduates of the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning...
, an organization championed and headed by Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...
.
On August 5, 1943, the WAFS merged with the WFTD and became a single entity: the Women Airforce Service Pilots
Women Airforce Service Pilots
The Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...
(WASP). Nancy Love was named as the Executive for all WASP ferrying operations. Under her command, female pilots flew almost every type military aircraft then in the Army Air Force's arsenal, and their record of achievement proved remarkable.
She was the first woman to be certified to fly the North American P-51 Mustang, C-54, B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
, and along with Betty Gillies
Betty Gillies
Betty Gillies was a pioneer American aviatrix.-World War II:The first pilot to qualify for the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron was Betty Huyler Gillies of Syosset, Long Island, New York. She entered the WAFS on September 12, 1942...
, the B-17 Flying Fortress. She was certified in 16 military aircraft, including the Douglas C-47 and the A-36
North American A-36
The North American A-36 Apache was the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectangular, slatted dive brakes above and below the wings...
.
In 1944, after the WASPs were disbanded, Love continued to work on the Air Transport Command's Report. She set a record of being the first woman in aviation to make a flight around the world. She flew the plane at least one-half of the time, including crossing over the Himalayas.
After World War II
At the end of the war, Nancy Love and her husband had the unique distinction of being decorated simultaneously. He received the Distinguished Service MedalDistinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, and she was awarded the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
for her "Operational leadership in the successful training and assignment of over 300 qualified women fliers in the flying of advanced military aircraft".
After the war, Nancy Love became the mother of three daughters, but she continued as an aviation industry leader, as well as a champion for recognition as military veterans for the women who had served as WASPs. In 1948, after the creation of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
she was designated the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in the U.S. Air Force Reserves
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....
. Love died of cancer at the age of 62 in 1976, so she didn't live to see the WASPs being accorded military recognition three years later. The WASPs were recognized in 1977, shortly after her death. But right up to her death, the women she had commanded remained some of the most important people in her life.
Legacy
She was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. It is housed in the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame building, located at 213 W. Malcolm X St. in downtown Lansing, Michigan...
in 1997, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame
National Aviation Hall of Fame
The American National Aviation Hall of Fame is located at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, east Dayton, Ohio...
in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
in 2005.
See also
- Women Airforce Service PilotsWomen Airforce Service PilotsThe Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...
(WASP) - Women Airforce Service Pilots BadgeWomen Airforce Service Pilots BadgeThe Women Airforce Service Pilots Badge is a decoration of the United States Army that was issued during the Second World War. The badge created for the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP , was awarded to more than a thousand women who had qualified for employment as civilian, non-combat...
- Women's Auxiliary Air ForceWomen's Auxiliary Air ForceThe Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
(WAAF - British) - Air Transport AuxiliaryAir Transport AuxiliaryThe Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
(British military aircraft ferry service, had many female pilots) - Women's Army CorpsWomen's Army CorpsThe Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
(WAC) - WAVESWAVESThe WAVES were a World War II-era division of the U.S. Navy that consisted entirely of women. The name of this group is an acronym for "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service" ; the word "emergency" implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of the war and...
- SPARSSPARSSPARS was the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, created 23 November 1942 with the signing of Public Law 773 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The name is a contraction of the Coast Guard motto: Semper Paratus and its English translation Always Ready...
- United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
- National Aviation Hall of FameNational Aviation Hall of FameThe American National Aviation Hall of Fame is located at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, east Dayton, Ohio...