WASPs descend on Saratoga

A World War II training aircraft, the AT-6 Nella, was at Shively Airfield on August 13.

According to The Bullock Texas State History Museum, the AT-6 airplane was first known as The Texan, becoming the most important training aircraft ever. The Texan would change its name to the AT-6 Nella in 1944, named after Fifinella, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) Squadron mascot. The AT-6 Nella was used in training classes from mid-1943 until the WASP Squadron was disbanded in December 1944.

“The WASP Squadron is one of 82 units of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) headquartered in Dallas, Texas,” said Ellie Dana-Raymer, squadron leader for CAF. Out of 175 World War II airplanes at CAF, at least 125 to 150 are flightworthy. The rest of the plans are either in maintenance or restoration.”

According to the San Diego Air & Space Museum, CAF is the world’s largest flying museum to acquire, restore, and conserve combat aircraft in honor of American military aviation. CAF has 13,000 members in all 50 states and 28 foreign countries.

Dana-Raymer said the United States Airforce questioned if the women were able to fly aircraft. She said the women were tested and they succeeded.

“During World War II there was an experiment in testing to see if women can fly military airplanes,” Dana-Raymer said. “The belief system was that the controls were heavy and very difficult to do and when the call went out, 25,000 women applied to join the WASP Squadron. Out of the 25,000 women, approximately 1,800 women were accepted and it was required to have a pilot's license to be considered for this assignment.”

According to the Air Force Historical Division, the WASP pilot training program graduated 1,074 graduates. Dana-Raymer said, after graduation, the women were ready for their duties.

“When they graduated, they went on to perform the domestic duties that men did,” Dana-Raymer said. “The men were released to go to combat during the war.”

According to Dana-Raymer, the women in the WASP squadron flew every World War II aircraft model for a combined total of 60 million miles.

“The mileage was so high because one of the things they did was when the airplanes were coming off the manufacturing line, they were picked up by WASP Squadron and flown to a duty station,” said Dana-Raymer. “For example, if you were at a manufacturing plant, the AT-6 would be sent to a training base where men were taught to fly. The AT-6 would be picked up by a transfer plane and brought back to the manufacturing plant over and over again.”

According to Dana-Raymer, the WASP Squadron's other duties were training the men and its allied forces to fly the airplanes.

“The women did other things such as training the men to fly and they also trained the Mexican Airforce, Chinese pilots, and French pilots,” said Dana-Raymer.

Dana-Raymer said the WASP Squadron was also in charge of training the infantry gunners and bomber pilots.

“The WASP Squadron trained the infantry gunners to shoot down aircraft,” Dana-Raymer said. “The way they learned is the women airforce pilots [would] tow a target behind their airplane so the men could shoot at their target. Occasionally, they would miss the target and hit the plane but no bad damage occurred.”

Wilk Tanner, a 15-year-old Rawlins High School student, took a ride on the AT-6 Nella. He said it was an incredible experience flying in the sky.

“It is so amazing,” Tanner said. “Flying in the airplane was nice and smooth for the most part and the cool part is you get to feel how the plane moves,”

Tanner said he always had a passion for American History and loved to learn anything related to World War II.

“I am a big history buff,” Tanner said “I love World War II history, so I thought it would be interesting to come down to Saratoga and experience riding in a World War II training aircraft.”

Tanner said if anyone can ride on a piece of history like the AT-6, people should do it.

“It is amazing flying in the sky especially seeing the view up above and it's something you can never forget,” said Tanner “The feel of gravity was so cool, especially taking off with the sharp turns and the nose dives.

Jackson Owen, a 12-year-old Saratoga Middle High School student, said flying on the AT-6 was a different experience than flying on a commercial airline.

“It was nothing like I ever felt before,” Owen said. “You can see all around compared to commercial airlines with four-inch windows.”

Owen said at first he had no plans to ride the AT-6 because he and his family only came to look at a piece of history. When Owen found out it was free for kids who meet the age requirement, he said he was ready to fly in the sky.

“I originally wanted to fly on a B-29 in Cheyenne,” Owen said. “I took the opportunity to fly on the AT-6, get the hometown experience, and see all of Saratoga from the sky.”