Jacqueline Cochran, director of the WASP, was the first woman to break the sound barrier! Cochran did not start out wanting to fly for the military, first working as a hairdresser who then became a successful cosmetics business owner. Her success provided time and money to afford flying lessons, allowing her to fly around the country to promote her cosmetics business. In 1938 she won the Bendix Transcontinental Race and began flying with the British Air Transport Auxiliary.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor as many American men were drafted, Cochran wrote to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt seeking support to start a program for women to fly non-combat missions for the U.S. military. Roosevelt introduced Cochran to General Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Force, and General Robert Olds, head of air transport command, to present Cochran’s idea to American military leaders.
Learning of Congress’s acceptance of Nancy Love’s similar program, Cochran flew to Washington D.C. to ask why hers was not approved. She stood unanswered until the next day when her program, the Women Ferrying Training Detachment (WFTD) was accepted. Ultimately these two programs united to become the WASP.
