Episode Transcript
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SERIES PUBLICATIONS OF THE. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
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SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE NUMBER 2
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United States Women in Aviation through World War One
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by Claudia M Oakes
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Aerial Photography from Photations Visit Photations.com and www.PhotationsStore.com for more fine art photography
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Help support this series by visiting PhotationsDonations.com
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Passengers and Promoters
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Not all women who were active in aviation in those early days were pilots
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It was considered radical for a woman to involve herself in any way with aviation, whether flying as a passenger in an airplane, ascending in a balloon, offering support to aviator sons, husbands or brothers, or even raising funds for aeronautics A woman’s statement of intention to do any of these things was often met with exclamations of 'You can’t be serious
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' from her friends, both male and female
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Occasionally, if a woman was socially prominent, she might even make an attempt to conceal her identity before making a flight Such was the case at Philadelphia in October 1909 when a leading socialite, Miss. Violet Ridgeway, satisfied her long cherished ambition to take a balloon flight
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She arrived at the launch site very early in the morning, heavily veiled When someone asked her name, she replied, 'Miss. Anna Brown
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' Apparently she feared that her parents or some well meaning friends, anxious about her safety or her reputation, might try to interfere at the last minute Not all of her family disapproved, however, for Violet’s sister had sought permission to go along, but there was no more room in the basket
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By contrast, a year earlier in Canton, Ohio, several women had not only made ascensions with the famous balloonist A
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Leo Stevens, but had even written articles for contemporary magazines about their experiences In Aeronautics for July 1908 Mr. sCora Thompson described her flight in glowing terms: '…fear is wholly excluded
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There can be nothing but pleasure connected with it… I enjoyed every moment of the trip and when the time finally came for us to land I felt greatly disappointed—the two hours spent in the balloon had sped like minutes and I am anxiously awaiting another opportunity when I can ascend in a larger balloon and with a brisker wind
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' Mr. sThompson also stated that she planned to try to convert her friends in the Wilkinsburg Automobile Club to ballooning (Thompson, 1908)
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Mr. sEdmund Rosenberg of Indianapolis added to her fame of being the first woman in that city to drive an automobile by becoming Indianapolis’ first woman to make a balloon ascension
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She and her husband flew with an exhibition balloonist, G L
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Bumbaugh, in December 1908 Mr. sRosenberg was so eager to make the ascension that she told Mr. Bumbaugh she would be willing even to hang onto the car as ballast
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Her reaction was extremely enthusiastic: 'It’s not near so dangerous as driving an automobile There are no policemen up there, no street cars, no horses, no little children, or deaf or blind to make you nervous…I want a balloon' (author unknown, 1908:11)
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Since the phenomenon of women flying in aircraft even as passengers was such a rarity, 'firsts' were noted for women passengers as well as for women pilots
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Mr. sHart O Berg, wife of the Wright brothers’ European representative, was the first American woman to fly as a passenger in an airplane
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She made a two minute, three second flight with Wilbur Wright at Auvers, France, in 1908 Mr. sBerg is also credited with having inspired the famous lady’s fashion of the day, the 'hobble skirt
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' Apparently, a French couturiere was quite taken with the manner in which Mr. sBerg walked away from the aircraft with her long skirt still tied around her ankles She had fastened it in this manner to keep it from blowing in the wind during her flight
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The first woman to fly as an airplane passenger in America was Mr. sRalph Van Deman of Washington, D
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C , a good friend of the Wright brothers’ sister Katherine
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Mr. sVan Deman developed an interest in aviation, and when Wilbur and Orville were giving flight instruction to U S
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Army officers at Col. lege Park, Maryland, in the fall of 1909, Mr. sVan Deman often went with her husband, a U S
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Army captain, to watch the flights One day in October they arrived some time before the flights were to begin, and Wilbur Wright took Mr. sVan Deman for a short ride
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At the end of the flight, Capt. Van Deman expressed his gratitude: 'I want to thank you, Mr. Wright Now it will be possible for me to keep peace in our family
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'4 The Detroit Free Press in June 1911 carried lengthy accounts of an air meet which was being held at the Detroit Country Club
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Frank Coffyn, a Wright aviator, was performing in his Wright biplane, making exhibition flights and carrying passengers A great deal of coverage was devoted to the many women who flew as passengers
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Mr. sRussell A Alger, wife of the President of the Michigan Aero Club, was the first woman to make an airplane flight in Michigan
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Her fourteen year old daughter Josephine, who went up shortly after her mother, was the youngest person in the United States to fly in an airplane up to that time
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Since women were involved, the newspaper was unable to resist a short fashion commentary: 'Miss. [Elizabeth] Loomis was the fourth passenger There was not a trace of fear in her walk to the machine, only an eagerness to take her turn at flying
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She was dressed in white, with a small red hat pinned firmly on her head, and the right ear, which during the flight is within a few inches of the roaring motor, stuffed with cotton ' Miss. Loomis was extremely enthusiastic about her flight: 'It’s the greatest fun I ever had
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I’m simply mad about it It’s just glorious up there in the air…I wish I could go right up again' (author unknown, 1911:1)
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The Detroit women who flew during those few days, however, did not think of airplanes merely as vehicles for entertainment They could visualize a future where flying in an airplane would be commonplace
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Mr. sWilliam H Burtenshaw, one of Coffyn’s passengers, was quoted as saying, 'I want to go now, while it’s still wonderful and exciting
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It’s only a question of a few years isn’t it, when we’ll be talking in the morning about flying over to Paris for the evening’s opera and then even this will have ceased being thrilling and awe inspiring' (author unknown, 1911)
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Coffyn apparently realized after several days of taking women up as passengers that he need not fly sedately around the golf course to keep from frightening them When Mary Manning Wadsworth, an actress of the day, flew with Coffyn, he engaged in a race with a passing motorist, much to Mr. sWadsworth’s delight
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By the time the meet ended, the newspaper was calling the women who flew 'superwomen' for their courage in making airplane flights
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A reporter also predicted, correctly, that 'Ought women to aviate ' would become a social issue of the day
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The woman having the distinction of being the first female passenger on a regularly scheduled airline was Mr. sL
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A Whitney, wife of the Secretary of Commerce of St
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Petersburg, Florida The St
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Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line, the world’s first scheduled airline, went into operation on 1 January 1914, with a Benoist flying boat piloted by Tony Jannus Mr. sWhitney flew from St
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Petersburg to Tampa on 8 January Her flight was not without incident—Jannus was forced to land the aircraft on Tampa Bay some distance from land because of engine trouble, but he soon repaired it and successfully completed the flight
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Women of those early days also backed the future of aviation with financial support and genuine enthusiastic encouragement Katherine Wright, sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright, took an active part in helping her brothers
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When money for their experiments was running low, Wilbur and Orville could count on Katherine to contribute a large part of her schoolteacher’s salary to their needs She also worked many nights sewing silk, cotton, and canvas wing coverings for the model gliders they were testing
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Katherine went to Europe with her brothers and often flew as a passenger when they were demonstrating their aircraft in England, France, and Italy
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A women’s auxiliary of the Aeronautical Society was organized in 1911 Several very enthusiastic women attended the first meeting on 11 November, and letters of support were read from Harriet Quimby and Matilde Moisant, two of the most prominent women flyers of the day
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The group was founded to bring more attention to the achievements of women in aviation
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The 'Women of 1915' held a ball at New York’s Biltmore Hotel in January 1915 The object was to raise money to buy an airplane for the coastal defense of New York
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Emphasis was placed on the importance of airplanes in warfare Among the ball’s patrons were the governor of New York, the mayor of New York City, Gen. Leonard Wood, Rear Adm
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Robert E Peary, and Florence Guggenheim
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Women had become so prominent in aviation that during World War One Mr. sCharles A
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Van Renssaelear was named chairman of the Committee on Training Camps for Kite Balloon Operators This would have been quite an achievement at any time, but since the United States was involved in a war, the position was even more important
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Mr. sVan Renssaelear wrote a forceful letter to President Wilson urging him to adopt universal training in balloon operation for military personnel as a method of getting the number of balloon operators necessary for national defense She was supported in her views by Sen
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George E Chamberlain, chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs
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By 1916 flying had become almost commonplace for some women, especially for Mr. sHarry Christofferson whose husband was an aircraft designer and manufacturer
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On one occasion Mr. sChristofferson was some distance from home when she remembered she had invited several women for dinner, and it was almost time for them to arrive Her husband was making demonstration flights nearby, so she prevailed on him to fly her, their sixteen month old baby, and one of her guests to her home
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She succeeded in arriving well before the rest of her guests In New York City an enterprising aviator, Al Welsh, began an operation of flying women to afternoon teas in his airplane
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Although these women never piloted an aircraft themselves, they still played a vital role in the advancement of aviation
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They showed that women did not have to learn to fly to enjoy the adventure of ascending into the air But more importantly, their flights made a contribution toward proving the pragmatic aspect of flight—the effectiveness of using an aircraft to get from point A to point B
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Notwithstanding all the stunts, demonstration flights, and other thrilling aspects of aviation, it was the practicality of flight that caused aviation to grow into the enormous industry it has become
