Jacqueline Cochran; Breaks the Sound Barrier

Morgan Blood Maya Amundson Junior Division Group Exhibit Student-composed Words: 491 Process Paper: 500 Words

Process Paper

Even after Jacqueline Cochran broke the sound barrier in 1953, it wasn’t enough to bring female pilots the recognition they deserve, but because of her continued efforts the Air

Force now has the highest percent of women in the military. Before NHD, I read a book about ​ female pilots in the Air Force and showed my friend. This book intrigued us, and we learned that females in the military are a rare thing. So when NHD was here, we remembered this book and decided to do research to see if there were any topics about females in the Air Force. While doing this research, we learned about Jacqueline Cochran and that she was the first female pilot to break the sound barrier.

After our topic was chosen, we went to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and online. We found many good primary and secondary sources, including an autobiography by

Jacqueline Cochran and an interview. One of our best sources was a website called the National ​ Aviation Hall of Fame. This source had many perspectives and gave an overview of Jacqueline’s ​ life. It also had a list of the records she had set and the things she accomplished. It helped us understand how hard it was for her to go from “rags to riches”.

While researching, we found many good pictures and when it came to choosing our category, we knew an exhibit would work the best. Most of the visuals we found were pictures and there were many good quotes that helped explain our topic. We chose navy blue, and gold, the main colors of the U.S. Air Force. We also used a piece of plexiglass to simulate the sight of looking out an airplane in the 1960’s. For our organization, we used circles outlined in yellow for quotes, pictures bordered with gray and a navy blue background. In 1932 Jacqueline attended a party where she met successful businessman, Floyd

Odlum. When they started talking, he suggested she learn how to fly to expand her cosmetics business. She then went back to New York and earned her pilot's license in three weeks. In 1943, she created a group of female military pilots, the WASPs. Doing this broke an extreme gender barrier for women in the military. Ten years later, Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to break the sound barrier, a huge accomplishment for women at the time. Even though she broke the sound barrier, it was not enough to bring female pilots the recognition they deserved. The

WASPs were not officially part of the military until 1977. After Jacqueline set many new records, it was enough to convince society that women pilots deserved just as much status as men. Now, the Air Force has the highest percent of women in the military thanks to Jacqueline.

When Jacqueline broke the sound barrier it helped eliminate the stereotypical idea that women could not do things; it also helped the Air Force have the highest percent of women in the military.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

"American Women Pilots." 3 Sept. 1942. Eisenhower Foundation, ​ ​ www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/file/cochran_BinderJJ.pdf. Accessed Jan.

2020. Letter.

This letter explains a bunch of information about the WASPs and how important

Jacqueline was to the program. It further explains where she planned to take the program

and her purpose and goals of the program. Lastly how important these women were to the

military and Army at the time. This helped us with the historical context, as it explained

her life before most of her accomplishments.

Cochran, Jacqueline. Interview. Conducted by Kenneth Lesin, May 1960.

This interview gave us a lot of information about flying dangers regarding the safety of

the airplanes at the time. Jacqueline explains what she saw and heard while breaking the

sound barrier. She also talks about her impact during World War 2 and how she helped

women become more part of the military. It helped us with the main event because of the

in-depth information provided about explaining the sound barrier.

Cochran, Jacqueline, and Floyd B. Odlum. The Stars at Noon. New York, Arno Press, 1980. ​ ​ This book was Jacqueline’s own autobiography about her whole life. It explained a lot

about her experiences and what first-hand knowledge she gained throughout her life. It

also offered much insight into what she was thinking during certain times in her life and

how/why she did things. We used this amazing source for the main event and also used

many helpful pictures throughout the project. Jacqueline Cochran. 15 July 2017. Jacqueline Cochran Tribute, ​ ​ ​ scalemodelkitreview.blogspot.com/2017/07/jackie-cochran-tribute.html. Accessed Jan.

2020.

This website has a lot of good pictures in which they helped to understand what aviation

was about at the time and how it differed from male to female. It also gave many

examples and explanations about her accomplishments before the sound barrier. We used

many pictures in order to help understand more about Jacqueline and many key points to

understanding her life and journey.

Jacqueline Cochran and Her Record-Setting Plane. 2015. This Day in Aviation, ​ ​ www.thisdayinaviation.com/11-may-1906-9-august-1980/. Accessed Jan. 2020.

These many images show Jacqueline when she was at the start of her aviation career and

her facial expressions clearly showed how exciting she was to continue her career. It gave

us much information in chronological order which made her life easier to understand. We

used this for pictures and also to understand the historical context because it shows that

even after a rough childhood you can still turn your life around.

"Jacqueline Cochran Named Director of Women's Flying Training in Army." 14 Sept. 1942.

Eisenhower Foundation, ​ www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/file/cochran_BinderCC.pdf. Accessed Jan.

2020. Letter.

These letters talk about a lot, anywhere from when Jacqueline was first appointed into

helping the Army and the rules of what she would have to follow, up to breaking the

sound barrier. It also provides many quotes about what those women did and what impact they have had on women in aviation history. We used this for parts of the historical

context because of the many great explanations of how she first started with the Army.

Letter. 29 Sept. 1952. (postcard), ​ ​ www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/file/cochran_BinderX.pdf.

This postcard was sent from Richard Nixon in 1952 and says how he "deeply

appreciated" her confidence on television. This shows how much she meant to other

people and how many people supported her. It also talked about how he promised to

never let her down. This helped us with other perspectives because it showed other people

liked her and wanted to help her throughout her life journey.

"Notice of Eiffel Efficiency Rating." 24 July 1944. Eisenhower Foundation, ​ ​ www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/file/cochran_BinderJ.pdf. Accessed Jan.

2020. Telegram.

This document gives information about Jacqueline Cochran's efficiency level around the

1940s, while she was part of the military. And it shows how good she was at flying,

excellent. She also talks about her salary at the time and how much better she was doing

than other people. This helped with the historical content and other perspectives because

it says how efficient she was flying at the time in other people's words.

Time. "Army & Navy - Unnecessary and Undesirable?" Time, 29 May 1944, ​ ​ content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,850924,00.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2020.

This article provided us with a lot of information about what other people thought about

her and women in aviation at the time. It included more information about the WASPs,

and it had information about politics and what society thought of them at the time. We used this for the other perspectives and short and long term because it helped to

understand more about what the military was like at the time.

Secondary Sources

Baumann, Charly Baumann, and Sabu Advani. "Jacqueline Cochran." Speedreaders.info, 2012, ​ ​ speedreaders.info/8940-jacqueline-cochran-biography-pioneer-aviator/. Accessed 13 Jan.

2020.

This website gave us examples of many books that were written about Jacqueline and

aviation. This site also had some information about the gender stereotypical ideas they

had at the time about women doing such big jobs in the military. We used this source for

other perspectives.

"Cochran, Jacqueline." National Aviation Hall of Fame, ​ ​ www.nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/cochran-jacqueline/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2020.

This web page was a short biography of Jacqueline Cochran's life from when she was a

child up until she died. This web page provided me with a lot of facts and quotes. We

used most of the information for the historical context, but also used a few parts for the

main event, short term impact, and the other perspectives. This source also helped us

understand her journey throughout her life and how difficult it was for her to go from rags

to riches.

"Cochran's Effect Today." Jacqueline Cochran, ​ ​ 39732523.weebly.com/cochrans-effect-today.html. Accessed Jan. 2020. This website talks about what a great deal Jacqueline did for women today in the military

and in general with many gender restrictions. It explains how without her the military

would not be the same and the military would be a mess without her efforts. This helped

to understand what she did for the women in the military and Air Force and I used all of it

in the long term.

"First Person to Break the Sound Barrier (female) - Jacqueline Cochran." Guinness World ​ Records, ​ www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-person-to-break-the-sound-barrier-(f

emale)?fb_comment_id=962450607117892_1941243795905230/. Accessed Jan. 2020.

This web page strictly focused on her breaking the sound barrier and a little bit about her

history. It also talks about how Chuck Yeager helped her to reach Mach 1. This helped us

to understand more about the Main Event how she broke the sound barrier and just how

fast she actually went.

"Jacqueline Cochran." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 18, Detroit, Gale, 1998. ​ ​ Gale In Context: High School, ​ link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631001453/SUIC?u=hol40923&sid=SUIC&xid=104686dd.

Accessed Jan. 2020.

This online book goes very in-depth on her journey through life and being a woman pilot.

It talks about her competition with Amelia Earhart and how they were after different

records. Explains that she was always a lady and how she was only there to impress

herself. This helped us to understand how much her cosmetics company really meant to

her and her relationship with Amelia Earhart. It also helped with a little bit of everything and how she played a good role in World War 2.

"Jacqueline Cochran." National Women's Hall of Fame, ​ ​ www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/jacqueline-cochran/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.

This source gave us an overview of Jacqueline's achievements and a quick biography of

the important things she did, or that happened in her life. We mostly used this web page

for pictures, but we used some of it for the short term impact.

"Jacqueline Cochran - American Pilot." Encyclopedia Britannica, edited by Encyclopaedia ​ ​ Britannica, 23 Oct. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Jacqueline-Cochran. Accessed

Jan. 2020.

This website gave us a few misunderstandings about her history. She also talked about

her biggest accomplishments and how she got where she did. It named a few leadership

positions she gained and other records she set after breaking the sound barrier. It helped

to understand what big accomplishments she was able to do after breaking the sound

barrier and helped with the short term impact.

"Jacqueline 'Jackie' Cochran." Explorers, Record Setters, and Daredevils, 1996, ​ ​ www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/cochran/E

X25.htm. Accessed Jan. 2020.

This website gave us Jacqueline's whole life story and why she was so important to the

military at the time and how she kept pushed through her life struggles. It also explains

why she was the best pilot of her time. This helped us to understand the importance of

Jacqueline and we used it in the short term and conclusion. Lockwood, Martha. "Women's legacy parallels Air Force history." U.S. Air Force, Air Force ​ ​ News Service, 18 Sept. 2014,

www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/497548/womens-legacy-parallels-air-force-hist

ory/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2020.

This source has a lot of good information about the Air Force's statistics, and the percent

of women in the military and Air Force. It also had good information about the WASPs

and the barriers they broke at the time. We used this source for the short term and long

term impact.

"May 18, 1953: Jackie Cochran, First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier." Wired, Tony Long, ​ ​ 18 May 2011,

www.wired.com/2011/05/0518jackie-cochran-breaks-sound-barrier-first-woman/.

Accessed Jan. 2020.

This website focuses on her breaking the sound barrier and her other accomplishments. It

also talks about how she was the first woman to compete in all-male flying races and win

them. It lists some of her other major records as well. This helped us to understand her

major accomplishments and helped with the main event and short term.

Mulford, Karen. Trailblazers: Twenty Amazing Western Women. Flagstaff, Northland, 2001. ​ ​ This book offered a small section to Jacqueline Cochran and her relationships with other

people. How she was best friends with Amelia Earhart and what Chuck Yeager did to

help her in life and with different records. It also gave us the specific numbers on her

major records as well as other important dates in her life. It taught us about how important she was to other people and what other people thought of her, also helped with

the short term impact and pictures.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. "WASPs Disbanded." The ​ National Museum of the United States Air Force, 4 May 2015, ​ www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196725

/wasp-disbanded/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2020.

This source gave us good information on the WASPs and how and when they were

disbanded. It also had a lot of information about the Congressional Gold Medal the

WASPs earned in 2011. We used this source for our short term impact, but we used some

of the pictures for long term impact.

"New World Encyclopedia ." Jacqueline Cochran, 13 Mar. 2017, ​ ​ www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jacqueline_Cochran. Accessed Jan. 2020.

This website talks about how she not only did a great deal for women in aviation but also

her political stance and activities. She was a very strong feminist but was easily bothered

by failure. This helped to give us a different incite on her life besides aviation and that

flying was not her only accomplishment. We used this in the main event, short term

impact, and long term impact.

"On the Wings to Beauty: Jacqueline Cochran Cosmetics." The Makeup Museum, 29 Mar. 2018, ​ ​ www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2018/03/jacqueline-cochran-cosmetics.html. Accessed

28 Jan. 2020.

This webpage had a lot of pictures of Jacqueline's cosmetic products, and some pictures

of her in her airplane and during the dinner party where she met Floyd Odlum. We used this source for the historical context, and for the short term impact. It also had a few

quotes from her that we used all over our project.

Parrish, Nancy. "Jacqueline Cochran: Founder and Director of the WASP." Jacqueline Cochran, ​ ​ 1998, www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/jacqueline_cochran.htm. Accessed 12 Jan.

2020.

This site had good information on Jacqueline's life and it had some of her speech that she

presented to the last graduating class of the WASPs. We used this source for a picture of

Jacqueline Cochran's stamp in the long term impact.

Rich, Doris L. "Barrier Buster." Air & Space Smithsonian, July 2007, pp. 76-77. Gale ​ ​ ​ Smithsonian, ​ go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=SMIT&u=hol40923&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CHRHTCC1892

00740. Accessed 6 Jan. 2020.

This magazine explained more information about Jacqueline's records and the WASPs

and why they were so important to the military at the time. We used this for a few

pictures and some information in the historical context.

Sigerman, Harriet. The Columbia Documentary History of American Women since 1941. New ​ ​ York, Columbia UP, 2003.

This book had a lot of information about military groups that included at the time and

what the requirements were. It also included an interview that Jacqueline Cochran was in.

We used this source for the short term impact.

Smith-Daugherty, Rhonda. Jacqueline Cochran: Biography of a Pioneer Aviator. Jefferson, ​ ​ McFarland, 2012. This book provided us with a lot of information about women in the military and about

what society thought of women doing men's jobs, such as flying an airplane. The source

also helped give us information about Jacqueline Cochran's early life and about the

WASPs. We used this source for other perspectives in the short term impact, and we used

it for quite a few pictures.

Stamberg, Susan. "Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls." National Public Radio, 9 Mar. ​ ​ 2010, www.npr.org/2010/03/09/123773525/female-wwii-pilots-the-original-fly-girls.

Accessed 14 Jan. 2020.

This webpage had a lot of good information about the WASPs, and the girls who flew in

the organization. It also had some stories about what the WASPs did. We used this source

for the short term impact, and id gave some insight about what others thought of them at

the time so we used it for other perspectives.

Swopes, Bryan R. "11 May 1964." This Day in Aviation, 2017, ​ ​ www.thisdayinaviation.com/11-1964/. Accessed 28 Jan. 2020.

We used this source for pictures in the long term impact and the main event. This source

had information about when Jacqueline broke Mach 2. It also had a few good quotes from

her autobiography, The Stars at Noon. ​ "Today in History: Jacqueline Cochran Breaks the Sound Barrier." Smithsonian Magazine, Erica ​ ​ Hendry, 18 May 2010,

www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/today-in-history-jackie-cochran-break

s-the-sound-barrier-130780022/. Accessed Jan. 2020. This web page talks about a little bit of everything, starting from her business to her

flying achievements. Also how she later reached Mach 2 after not settling for just Mach

1. This helped us with the main event and the short term impact because it reworded

information that made it easier to comprehend and some information about what

happened after first breaking the sound barrier.

"Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)." Women in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army, ​ ​ www.army.mil/women/history/pilots.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2020.

This webpage gave us a lot of information about the WASPs, the group of women pilots

that Jacqueline Cochran helped create. We used this source's information for the short

term impact, long term impact, and the other perspectives.

"Women in Aviation and Space History." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, ​ ​ airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/cochran.cfm. Accessed

Jan. 2020.

This website talked about her journey in life and a little bit more about what she did

before the WASP's. It helped to fill in the details about her breaking the sound barrier and

what she did for the U.S. military and army at the time. We used this in the main event to

help with the details.

"Women military Timeline." The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Colonial Williamsburg ​ ​ Foundation, 2008,

www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume7/images/nov/women_military_tim

eline.pdf. Accessed 23 Jan. 2020. This website included a timeline of women's jobs in the military from 1775 to 2008. It

had a lot of good information about how women have participated in the military and how

long it took before they were actually soldiers. We used this source for the short term

impact.

"Women with Wings: The 75-Year-Legacy of the WASP." Smithsonian National Air and Space ​ Museum, 5 Aug. 2018, ​ airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/women-wings-75-year-legacy-wasp. Accessed Jan.

2020.

This website talked about the WASP's and what they were and how they helped the

military and especially the Air Force today. It gave a brief overview of Jacqueline and

how she led the WASP's to greatness. This helped to understand more about the WASP's

and we used it in the short term to explain why they were abandoned.

Jacqueline Cochran Breaks the Sound Barrier

Morgan Blood Maya Amundson

Junior Division Group Exhibit

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