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Volume 14 - N° 5 - May 2009 THE ATA GIRLS EDITORIAL “Always Terrified Airwomen”

ur mechanics have worked very hard AN HOMAGE TO THE WOMEN, UNSUNG HEROES, OF so that the annual checks on the Piper O (Pages 7 to 11). Cub and the NC 856 could be completed THE in time for the renewal of their respective airworthiness certificate. As you will see in the following pages, they took this opportu- nity to improve the look of these planes by the addition of the CAF logo, and by giving back the NC 856 the livery it had while it was stationed in Algeria. The plane will be dis- played in the static area of the La Ferté-Alais air show, where it will proudly represent our organization. We hope to see you all there on May 30 and 31 !

ith Spring, comes the need to renew Wyour membership with the French Wing. I ask all our members who haven’t yet paid their annual dues, to send 50€ to the French WIng (20€ for the Cadets), and, as far as our friends in the USA are concerned, to send a $ 50.00 check to Roy and Irene Grinnell. Please check the list of members who are up to date, and if you cannot see your name, please send NEW LOOK FOR THE NC 856 your dues at once. Thanks ! THE PLANE e only need 200 euros to reach the WAS ROLLED Wrequired amount of money so that the Spirit of Lewis can operate without any OUT OF THE problem !A big thank you to everyone who HANGAR reacted to my last month call ! Just a little WITH ITS effort from those members who did not renew their support to this plane, and we will enjoy BRAND NEW a 2009 season which will allow us to proudly LIVERY (Pages : B. Delfino represent the Commemorative Air Force 5 & 6). Photo before the French and European public. Thank you in advance !

inally, let us congratulate col Jacques FRENCH WING 2009/2010 ANNUAL DUES FLeroux, our Unit Historian, for the mas- PLEASE DO SEND YOUR FRENCH WING ANNUAL DUES terful and well documented article that he TODAY ! (Page 2). wrote for our bulletin : “The ATA Girls”. It talks about those women made of dedication and courage, who did not need fallacious pretexts to demonstrate their equal rights with men. SUPPORT OUR PIPER CUB ! They simply did it, and very bravely too ! ONLY 200 EUROS ARE MISSING FOR THE “SPIRIT OF LEWIS” Bernard TO OPERATE SMOOTHLY ! (Page 3). 1 NEWS

NEW ADRESSES FOR LISTS FOR LA FERTÉ & MIDLAND JIM & TERRY ADAMS • Here is the list of members who have asked for access to La Ferté on friday, May 29. 505 Lajitas, Midland This list has been sent to the organizers who will let them through, so that they can help Texas 79707 with the setting up of the French Wing booth : USA Christophe Bastide, Yohan Blancquaert, Jean-Yves Cercy, Jean-Christophe Debuisson, Phone : 00 1 432 694 6375 Gaël Darquet, Bernard Delfino, Fumiko Delfino, Claude Gascon, Roger Gouzon, Émilie Hochet, Patrick Pierre-Pierre, and Christian Tournemine. Email : [email protected] • Here is the list of members who will travel to Midland for AIRSHO 2009. A room has been booked in the Holiday Inn Express in Midland for each one of them, according to their requirements. All in and out dates are from October 7 till October 12, except Twan NO DIXIE WING NOR RED and Patricia who will depart on October 13 : NOSE AT AIRSHO 2009 1-Arnaud Chatton and Marie-Françoise’s nephew. Col Jake Tryon of the Dixie Wing has 2-Jacqueline Clerc. advised us that this Unit will not be 3-Gaël Darquet and Émilie. present at AIRSHO in Midland. 4-Jean-Christophe Debuisson and Anne. 5-Bernard and Fumiko Delfino. The reason for this absence is that 6-Claude De Marco. the Dixie Wing had already signed 7-Claude Gascon and Maurice Girard. contracts for their annual air show, 8-Roger Gouzon and Patrick Pierre-Pierre. the Great Georgia Air Show when the 9-Marie-Françoise Le Cornec. CAF Headquarters decided the date 10-Haruo Tanaka. of AIRSHO in Midland, identical to 11-Danielle Duflot. the Dixie Wing’s one. Therefore, the 12-Antoine & Patricia Roels. P-51 Red Nose will also be absent from Midland this year.

FRENCH WING ANNUAL DUES - YEAR 2009 / 2010

ROGER GOUZON MOVING As everyone knows, the date for the pay- Roy & Irene Grinnell ment of the annual dues to the French PO Box 719 We thank you all in advance for all the Wing is on May 1st each year. Little Elm help you will give to col Roger Gouzon 75068 Texas when he will move from Villepinte to Many members have already sent their Ermenonville. dues in, which, this year again, haven’t Members who had sent their dues at the been raised, thanks to the saving made time of printing this Newsletter : The greatest part of this operation thanks to the fact that we send a large will take place between May 15 and number of Newsletters via the Internet. Jim Adams, Gilles Avenel, Lilian Ayars, June 20,2009. It will require the help Bunty Bateman, Henri Bourrassier, from a maximum number of members Our members have, no doubt, noticed Merill Butikofer, Didier Cardinal, since Roger was kind enough to keep that this is the ninth year without any Jean-Yves Cercy, Cédric Chanu, Daniel a great part of the French Wing PX dues increase, despite the galloping cost Costelle, Gaël Darquet, Jean-Christophe in his home, as well as all the Rearwin of living which hits the French Wing Debuisson, Bernard Delfino, Fumiko Sportster parts, and our Ford Transit budget as bad as any other budget in Delfino, Stéphane Duchemin, Danielle van, for several years, which reduced our general life. Duflot, Ken Fields, Marcel Francisci, costs drastically. Maurice Girard, Roger Gouzon, Irene Should you not see your name in the list Grinnell, Roy Grinnell, Barbara Hair, It is, therefore, normal that all members printed hereafter, it is time to send us your Aubrey Hair, Jean-Luc Jentel, Marie- make a little effort to help with this 50€ (Colonels, Supporting Members, Françoise Le Cornec, David Ledrich, moving. and Friends), or 20€ (Cadets). Jacques Leroux, Isabelle Lesser, Léon Manoukians, Guy Perrin, Patrick It will be the perfect occasion to dem- If you reside in the USA, please draw Pierre-Pierre, Hervé Quefféléant, onstrate that the word Association a check in the name of Roy & Irene Sandy Sansing, Haruo Tanaka, Gilles has a real meaning within the French Grinnell and send it to their home Troussard, Regis Urschler, Ronald Wing. address : Wright. 2 NEWS

CALLING ALL B-29 “Fifi” SPONSORS The restoration work and the replace- YEAR 2009 ment of the B-29 engines continue to move forward steadily. The number of Sponsors of the Spirit of Lewis has gone up slightly this month, and we are now just 200 euros away from the amount we must reach if we want our Piper The first of the four engines has been Cub to come out of the clouds. tested successfully with very promising results which let us hope for the best We sincerely thank all members and friends whose list is printed here below ! Thanks with confidence. to them, we are nearly there. Here are a few pictures which illus- A dozen members who were Sponsor last year haven’t reacted to our call as yet. If they trate the difficult tasks performed can, financially speaking, we will be happy to see them reiterate, and we also thank all by the members of the B-24/B-29 those members who have never been Sponsors to become one. Squadron, Anderson Aeromotive Inc.in Grangeville, Idaho, for the engines, and Flying Restoration Supporting Ezell Aviation in Breckenridge, Texas, Sponsors Sponsors Sponsors for the modifications to the cowlings.

Hugh Alexander III Didier Cardinal Lilian Ayars Gilles Avenel Cédric Chanu Henri Bourrassier Jean-Yves Cercy Bunty Bateman J-C. Debuisson George Chandler Michel Fleury Fumiko Delfino Gaël Darquet Maurice Girard Claude De Marco Bernard Delfino John Roeder Jean-Claude Miniggio Marcel Francisci Louis-Jean Gioux Claude Gascon Barbara Hair Roger Gouzon Aubrey Hair Irene Grinnell Marcel Ledoux Roy Grinnell Haruo Tanaka Georges Marcelin Christian Tournemine Patrick Pierre-Pierre Regis Urschler Sandy Sansing Ron Wright Sky Runner

To be a Sponsor of the Spirit of Lewis not only means that you can fly for a lot less than usual, but it’s also a means to show your enthusiasm for our Wing and the CAF, to help the common cause, and to reach the CAF goals which are also ours.

JUST ONE MORE SMALL EFFORT !

REMINDER ABOUT THE SPONSORING SYSTEM

Flying Sponsor 250€ ($ 325.00)/Year + 25€/Hour

Restoration Sponsor 125€ ($ 163.00)/Year + 40€/Hour

Supporting Sponsor 50€ ($ 65.00)/Year + 55€/Hour

Non Sponsor : B-29/B-24 Squadron 0€ ($ 0.00)/Year + 80€/Hour Photo

3 NEWS

LA FERTÉ-ALAIS 2009 - LATEST INFORMATION

As everyone knows, the air show in La Ferté-Alais, version 2009, is organized by the Amicale Jean- Baptiste Salis, and not by Editions Lariviere as it has been the case for these past few years.

• First noticeable change : The ticket price has been reduced to about half of what it was last year. No rebate ticket will be available for our members, therefore, each one of them is responsible for buying his own ticket. It will cost you 22 euros per day if you purchase these tickets pre-sale in one of the following shops : CARREFOUR - FNAC - GÉANT - MAGASINS U - BON MARCHÉ. This price is for a full day.

• Only two professional free badges will be given to the French Wing PX, but in order to keep a reasonable equity within our Association, those who will use these badges are asked to pay the equivalent of one ticket, i.e. 22€, to the French Wing.

• As we do every year, the French Wing will organize a dinner under the tent on saturday evening. Therefore, we ask all members who wish to participate, to send us a cheque of 15€ per guest, to the French Wing, before May 10, 2009. Any member who will not have paid on that date, but who would still like to participate, will pay, on the spot, the amount of 20 €, as long as there is enough food for everyone. The organization of a dinner like this one requires a lot of time and work. Thank you for your understanding.

• Access to the site is closed to the public on Friday 29. Only those members who advised us of their intention to come are on the list that has been sent to the AJBS so that the members of this Association will let them through, and allow them to come and help us with the setting up of the French Wing booth.

• Col Christophe Bastide has offered to do a movie about this event, using his own video camera. Any member who would like to help with this project is very welcome. Please contact Christophe to finalize this project that will last the whole week-end.

AIR SHOWS - 2009 SEASON

Participating to air shows appear to be more difficult this year. Probably the effects of the current economical crisis… SO, here is an update on the events that have been canceled or confirmed for the French Wing :

• La Ferté-Alais (30 & 31 May) is confirmed with the PX and the NC 856 in the static area.

• Tours (13 & 14 June) is canceled because, after we were positively offered to take part in this air show as a compensation to their refusal of the one in Reims, the organizers of these two events finally also refused so that they could give priority to the local Associations (!).

• Quiberon (18 to 21 June) is canceled due no participant.

• Meaux-Esbly (Fly-in on 6 & 7 June) is confirmed with the J-3, NC 856,, and MS 733, and the PX if members volunteer to help in the setting-up and the transport.

• Compiègne (27 June) is confirmed with the J-3, NC 856,, and MS 733, and the PX if members volunteer to help in the setting-up and the transport.

• Niergnies (18 July) is not certain yet and we are still talking with the organizers.

• Lens (13 September) is not certain yet and we are still talking with the organizers.

• The week-ends at the Musée de l’Air are confirmed for early September due to numerous problems to be solved with the DGAC.

Note 1 : Should you be interested to get to any of these air shows aboard the Piper Cub, please do tell us at once !

Note 2 : It is possible that some other air shows call for our participation in the weeks to come. Should that be the case, we would advise you at once. We would like to organize a flying day at Le Plessis-Belleville, at a date that would be convenient for a maximum number of members, either in June or July. 4 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

Article & photos : Bernard Delfino

After more than three months of continu- ous work, the annual checks of the Piper Cub and the NC 856 are now completed, and the planes are ready to go through their examination by the GSAC to get their airworthiness certificate renewed.

The following members have taken a great part in this maintenance : Jean- Yves Cercy, Gaël Darquet, Bernard Delfino, and Roger Gouzon. Patrick Pierre-Pierre used three days of his leave to polish the windows, and Fumiko and Émilie were not afraid to get their hands dirty either !

A big thank you to all these members for this work performed in the best CAF and French Wing spirit !

nonetheless important jobs, were done to improve the health of this aircraft which has gone younger and younger over the pas three years, since we are looking after it !

A very big Thank You ! must be given to col Michel Perrin who repaired the vacuum pump of this airplane, which was described in a recent article in these pages. The help we received from Michel Piper Cub “Spirit of Lewis” NC 856 Norvigie was invaluable since we have been unable to locate a replacement pump so far. The Piper Cub did not give us a major This plane was, once again, the “difficult problem, and the biggest difficulty was bit” of this maintenance period. The list We took the opportunity of this main- to perform so many tasks in deep cold of tasks to be completed was long, and tenance to give the plane the same look weather in temperatures often below 40F we had some bad surprises during this it had when it was active in the ALAT, inside the hangar. After a particularly cold work. especially in North Africa, and more pre- day, we even had to break the ice to wash cisely in Algeria. our hands ! Our actions solved each of these prob- lems, but it was not easy, especially be- The only deviation that we accepted was We waited for these temperatures to rise cause of their numbers. the presence of the French insignias on sufficiently to do some paint touch-ups the fuselage, which do not exist on the and to apply the CAF logo stickers on The biggest jobs were the replacement photos we found. The work to erase them each side of the fuselage, which is com- of the two aileron control cables within would have been far too important and pleted as we type this article. The Spirit of the cabin area because three wires were risky on fabric. The purists will forgive Lewis has now a different, more elegant, broken on one of them, and the repair of us I hope… And they will also forgive look, as you can see on the photos printed the auxiliary fuel tank which had a few the fact that we applied the CAF logo on above. small weeps. Numerous less serious, but each door. 5 The photos printed on this page will give the reader a more precise idea of the amplitude of the work that has been done during the past three months.

The new livery is, of course, the most ob- vious change, but it was not the most dif- ficult to accomplish.

However, it’s the one that everyone will see first, starting with the public in La Ferté-Alais where the plane will be dis- played in the static area on May 30 and 31.. : frenchwings.net Photo : frenchwings.net Photo

The two photos above kindly provided by col Claude Requi, show the very same aircraft during its stay in Algeria. They can be compared with those taken in Le Plessis-Belleville, as we rolled the plane out after its annual check. Cols Jean-Yves Cercy and Patrick Pierre-Pierre had the pleasure to test the plane during its test flight. Then the plane did several flights during two days for the pleasure of all its occupants and mechanics who saw their efforts rewarded by a faultless operation.

6 THE “A.T.A. GIRLS”

Article : Jacques Leroux

An article recently dropped onto the rying emergency equipment, and even and requested that the ATA should French Wing Forum described the par- VIP’s, with, as a direct consequence, also take on the task of ferrying fight- ticipation of English women during the to relieve confirmed RAF pilots from ers and bombers from the production war, and the service provided by some these secondary jobs, and make them plants or repair centers to their units. of them in military units. available for flights more appropriate Various classes specified the types of to their competence. airplanes that the holder was allowed Were listed for WWII the Auxiliary- to ferry : Territorial Service ( ATSW), the Wom- So, in a letter dated May 24, 1938, he en Auxiliary Air force (WAAF), the suggested the creation of a pool which • Class 1 : Light single engine. Women’s Royal Navy Service, (WRNS), would regroup volunteer pilots who as well as the military nurses. would fit well defined criteria, but less • Class 2 : Operational single engine : strict that the Royal Air Force ones. Al- Hurricane, Spitfire, Corsair, Mustang, A huge lapse was, however, so obvious, though this possibility was mentioned, and Lysander. that I feel it is necessary to correct it. the ferrying of military planes would I mean the women-pilots of the Air not be part of their tasks. • Class 2 Plus : P-40, Tempest, Ty- Transport Auxiliary (A.T.A.). phoon, and P-39 Airacobra. The British government gave its agree- A little bit of history to refresh ev- ment in August 1939 and puts Ger- • Class 3 : Light twin engine like the eryone’s memory ! In 1938, Gerald ald d’Erlanger in charge of the orga- Avro Anson. d’Erlanger, Director of BOAC (British nization of the project. He contacted Overseas Airways Corporation), con- private pilots who had flown a mini- • Class 4 : Heavy twin engine, mainly scious that a conflict with Germany was mum of 250 hours and got them to go medium bombers like the Wellington inevitable, deducted that since many through a test and offer them, if the or the Hampden. lines would stop operating, and many latter is positive, to join what he would aero-club and private planes would be call the Air Transport Auxiliary. • Class 4 Plus : Hudson, Mosquito, requisitioned, this would make numer- A-20 Havoc, B-20 Boston, P-38 ous pilots available. About a hundred pilots coming from Lightning, B-26 Marauder, and B-25 all social levels replied to his call. When Mitchell. Many who had the required qualifica- the war was declared on September 3, tions would be recruited without any 1939, the first volunteers arrived at the • Class 5 : Four engine like the Halifax, problem by the Royal Air Force, but test center where only thirty will be se- Lancaster, Stirling, B-17, or B-24. others, either too old or with not enough lected. experience, would not be selected. • Class 6 : Seaplane, Catalina or Sun- A hierarchy was created including two derland. grades, Second Officer for those who have an experience of light single-engine air- The A.T.A. recruited with more flexi- planes, and First Officer for pilots who ble rules and it set up centers dedicated have more than 500 hours or hold a to training, improvement, type conver- twin engine license. Gerald d’Erlanger sion, and twin engine or four engine was promoted “Commodore”. qualifications. Two new grades were created : Third Officer and Flying Cadet Thus, the A.T.A became operational within the Air Training Cadet. under the commandment of the Air Ministry, in fact the Royal Air Force, The lack of pilots becoming serious, the while the administrative part being was Air Ministry Under Secretary suggest- managed by BOAC. ed that the ATA could recruit women, which immediately raised a polemic : If the official motto was “Aetheris Avi- Although the ATA was not controlled di” which can be translated as “Eager by the RAF, it worked in close collabo- to fly”, the unofficial one was : “Any ration with it, and the Air Ministry was aircraft anywhere”. Let’s point out that definitely opposed to the possibility for only male pilots had been recruited. women to fly RAF airplanes. “Why such So since most of them were not young an encroachment on men’s work” asked any more, they changed the meaning aviation magazine Aeroplane ?… Many of ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary), into reacted immediately, especially a wom- Gerald d’Erlanger believed that these “Ancient and Tattered Airmen” ! an pilot, , 29 years old, pilots could, nevertheless, be used in a flight instructor and test pilot in sev- secondary tasks like transporting the Soon, during the Battle of Britain, eral aero-clubs, with more than 2000 mail, evacuating wounded people, fer- the Royal Air Force got short of pilots hours. 7 Thanks to her ceaseless efforts, in No- as an instructor on any military air- one Dutch. Among the American girls vember 1939 the ATA was allowed to craft type, from single engine trainers was Mary Nicholson who was killed on recruit its first eight women-pilots. to four engine bombers. Progressively, May 22, 1943, when the propeller of since they were needed, the ATA wom- her Miles Master broke in flight. en-pilots were first allowed to ferry the Hurricane and the Spitfire, then bigger ones and twin engines, and, for some of them, the four engines.

We were then far from what Pauline Gower had said about the ATA initials, to make fun of those who criticized the presence of women in military air- planes, that the initials actually meant Always Terrified Airwomen…

A few months later, (Be- low), universally known for her 1930 raid from England to Australia, flying her Gipsy Moth “Jason”, joined the ATA. She was killed on January 5, 1941, when Named Second Officer, Pauline Gower she was flying an Airspeed Oxford. (Above), was quickly promoted with a salary of 400 Pounds per year, 20% less than male pilots, and she became responsible for a women pool in Hat- field, North of . Jacqueline Cochran (Above) did not stay long with the ATA because she heard These women-pilots were only autho- that the US government had finally de- rised to ferry Tiger Moth airplanes cided to agree to an offer from another between the De Havilland production woman-pilot, Nancy Love, for the cre- plant and the various centers located ation of an organization, the WAFS, in the North of England and Scotland. Women Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, There are two reasons why this job was within the FERD, Ferrying Division of given to them : First, no one wanted to the USAAF. Back to the USA, Jacque- do it, and second, since the price of a line Cochran was named Director of the Tiger Moth was minimal, it wouldn’t W.F.T, Women Flying Training, whose cost the nation too much money when purpose was to study the possibility to one of these women-pilots would break train women according to the USAAF one… rules. The WAFS and the WFT merged in 1943 and became the WASP, Women This modest start nevertheless asked Airforce Service Pilots, led by Jackie for a lot of courage and commitment. In January 1941, Jacqueline Cochran, Cochran from August 1943. Living in wooden barracks with no a young American girl aged 31, with a comfort, they had to fly in winter prestigious experience in aviation, faced A Chilean girl of French origin, who slow-flying airplanes with open cock- a categorical refusal to fly for the army had joined the Free French Forces, pits, without any radio or navigation from General Arnold, Commander in Margot Duhalde aka Chile (Below), aids. Chief of the USAAF, who didn’t see the necessity for women-pilots. So Jacque- Let us name a few of these pioneers re- line decided to hit hard : To prove that cruited as Second Officers with a salary a woman could do what was usually re- of 26 Pounds per year… served for men, she ferried, on June 17, 1941, a Lockheed Hudson to England, , Winifried Crossley, flying across the Atlantic Ocean. Margaret Cunnison, the Honorable first woman to She took this opportunity to meet Pau- fly a Spitfire, who was killed while fly- line Gower, responsible for the ATA ing a Proctor, Mona Friedlander, Ga- women pool and obtain information brielle Patterson, , and about the way this organization was Marion Wilberforce. They all had 600 ran. Back to the USA, as she could not hours, and 7 of them had an instructor convince the government of the need to qualification. form an identical structure, she decided, in March 1942, to join the ATA, to- Joan Hughes aged 22 was the youngest gether with 25 women-pilots, including one. She was the only woman qualified 23 American girls, one Canadian, and 8 joined the ATA on September 1st, 1941, although she spoke very little English. She was demobilized on November 30, 1945, with the grade of 1st Officer, Class 4 ATA aircraft (qualified on twin engines).

The Air Transport Auxiliary managed up to 22 pools, many of which were located close to the production plants or the re- pair centers. Three of them were entirely feminine : Hatfield led byPauline Gow- er, Handle led by Margot Gore (Below at the controls of a Hudson), and Cosford

• Klemens Dlugaszewski, a LOT pi- lot, the Polish national airline, evaded from occupied Poland flying a Lockeed 14 and reached England via Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Her name was so hard to pronounce that she was nick- named Double whisky ! In three years she flew some 260 Spit- • Although Diana Barnato (Below fire and “overcame” dozens of other at the controls of an Anson, left at the aircraft types, including the difficult led by Marion Wilberforce. The others age of 83, and on the front page of this Walrus that even some men had a hard were mixed, with men and women work- issue) had an extremely rich family time to master. ing together without any problem. (Her father had inherited a diamond mine !), she had no taste for this kind In 1944, she married Wing Com- 166 women served with the ATA as of life. mander Derek Walker. Her aviation pilots, four of whom lost their life career carried on during a mission. A rare fact for that after the war, to time was that four women were quali- such a point that fied as Mechanic/Navigator. They flew she became the four engine aircraft which required the first woman to presence of a mechanic aboard. One of go through the them was killed during the ferrying of sound barrier, a Halifax. and the fastest woman on earth • Pauline Gower, Joan Hughes, Mar- for a short time, got Gore and Rosemary Rees, were until Jacque- named Members of the British Empire line Cochran (M.B.E.), a very sought after distinc- broke this record tion. again.

• Lettice Curtis (Below) became the The amazing Di- first qualified woman on the Lancast- ana Barnato Walk- er. She ferried a total of 1467 aircraft, er sadly passed of which 162 were Spitfire, and 374 She learned to fly and got her qualifica- away in May 2008 at the age of 90. bombers, including 222 Halifax. tion after just 6 hours of Tiger Moth ! Joan Dutton WWII gave her the chance to prove her very own personality by joining the Today, I am able to add one more name ATA girls. Her small size (She was 5,2 to those of the ATA women-pilots al- foot), forced her to use a seat cushion so ready quoted. Some years ago, a friend that she could reach the pedals, which sent me some extracts of a British lady was no obstacle to her willpower. pilot’s logbook, who had flown several types of aircraft during WWII. Since they didn’t fit in the research work I was busy with at the time, I carefully put these documents away and did not look further into them.

When I saw the article on the French Wing Forum which described the ac- tions of British ladies during WWII, I 9 of London, with ac- creditation W33.

Her first flight took place as a trainee on March 1st on Tiger Moth R5130, and she soloed on March 5. She then moved on to the Miles Magister as shown by her RAF Pi- lot’s Flying Log Book. In June 1941, she started ferrying Ti- ger Moth and Miles Magister aircraft. thought that, may be, I had something Her conver- related to that subject. I got these doc- sion onto more uments out and noticed, penciled by powerful single the person who had sent them : Lent engine and twin for copy by mister Jenkinson, son of engine airplanes Joan Jenkinson, the name of this log- came soon after, book owner. and she ended the was as First Hoping that this mister Jenkinson could Officer autho- live in the Gers district, or a bordering rized 4 plus. one, I looked at the white pages and was amazed to find a Robin Jenkinson resid- The list of the ing not far from me. A phone call con- aircraft she flew firmed that his mother did fly with the speaks for itself. ATA. He trustfully lent me all the docu- One must note ments related to his mother during the that she is prob- war (Below left, standing next to me). ably one of the first women to be qualified Au- togyro.

Until the end of 1945 she fer- ried hundreds of types, except the four engines. On some days she could jump from a Lysander to a Spit- to a De fire( Top right), from a Tempest or a Ty- Havilland phoon an Hudson, from a Tiger Moth Mosquito.

Joan Jen- kinson re- married in 1943 with Sir Charles Dutton, 7th Lord of Sherborne, Joan Molesworth Dunn was the daugh- and became ter of a Canadian magnate, Sir James Lady Dut- Hamet Dunn. Born in 1908 in Eng- ton, but land, she got married in 1930. She got she carried on flying for the A.T.A. her pilot license on January 4, 1933. Her husband, although he had lost Sadly, her husband, John Anthony Jen- his right arm, was also an ATA pilot kinson, died in 1935. (Left).

She joined the ATA on March 1st, 1941, After the war Joan Dutton ran, for and was posted to pool 5 at Hatfield, North some time, a charter company which 10 allowed her to fly to France several times, namely to Bordeaux and Biarritz, as can be seen on the extract of her Flying Log Book (Above). Sadly, she passed away in 1982.

11 FRENCH WING P.X.

The following articles are available with a payment WING PROJECT by cheque to the CAF French Wing. (+ P & P). • Wing patch: € 9,00. • Norvigie patch: € 6,00. PATRON COMPANIES SUPPORTING THE FRENCH WING • French Wing pin: € 10,00. SKY RUNNER - TOPGUNART.COM - EPSON • Various pins “cloisonné”: € 5.00. AVIATION CLUB DE FRANCE - DIFFUSION SERVICE • 100 A4 sheets with the Wing logo and your EDITIONS LARIVIERE - UNIVERS PUB - SWISS INTERNATIONAL personal address: € 10,00. • Warbirds photographs 30x45cm: € 10,00. • T shirt Piper CUB, 170 grammes, Hanes, L or SPIRIT OF LEWIS DONATEURS XL : € 15,00. SPONSORS 2009 Stéphane DUCHEMIN • T shirt cartoon P40, 170 grammes, Hanes, L or Christian WANNYN XL: € 15,00. Gaël DARQUET • T shirts other sizes on order. Camille MONTAIGU • T shirt illustrated with the picture of your choice Didier CARDINAL (Maximum size A5 - Warning ! Only send pictures FLYING SPONSORS ANONYME that are free from any copyrights !) : € 15,00. Michel FLEURY • Aircraft profiles 15 cm x 20 cm ready for framing: John FRANCIS Hugh Alexander III Alain JIMENEZ Various types: € 4,00 each. Gilles Avenel Jim LUX • Vidéo filmed in Midland (55mn) VHS PAL: € Jean-Yves Cercy Lilian AYARS 16,00 ©. George Chandler Guy ROBERT • Eric Besançon large size paintings: F4U Corsair Lewis BATEMAN Gaël Darquet and Messerschmitt 262 night fighter: € 30,00 P & William DAVIES P included ©. Marcel Francisci Jean-Yves CERCY Arnaud CHATTON • Poster N°1 Avions de la seconde guerre mondi- Bernard Delfino Claude DE MARCO Claude Gascon ale peint by Jean Bellis, 61x81cm: € 9,00 (FW Roger GOUZON Members), € 10,00 (Non Members) © + P & P. Roger Gouzon Michel PERRIN • Greeting cards with Jean Bellis’ profiles: € 4,00 Irene Grinnell Jean-Pierre JOB each (P & P according to quantity) ©. Roy Grinnell Jean-Christophe DEBUISSON Henri BOURRASSIER • Roy Grinnell prints - Normandie Niemen, F4U7, Georges Marcelin and B26 Marauder - Unsigned : € 30,00 + P & P Hugh ALEXANDER III Patrick Pierre-Pierre Sandy SANSING € 10,00. Signed by veterans : € 50,00 + P & P € Sandy Sansing Regis URSCHLER 10,00 ©. SKY RUNNER George CHANDLER • Roy Grinnell print of the Piper Cub: € 10 + P & P Matt SIMEK (FW Members), € 15 + P & P (Non members). Guy BORTOLUS • Post Cards based on the same paintings (B26 Patrick PIERRE-PIERRE Marauder and Neuneu) : € 0,50 each (P & P RESTORATION SPONSORS Eric BESANÇON Jean BARBAUD according to quantity) ©. Shirley BATEMAN • CD Rom of all FW Newsletters since January Bunty Bateman David & Eileen BOTTLEY 2000, French and English, and 200 photos of Didier Cardinal Marie-Françoise LE CORNEC warbirds taken during Airsho in Midland, by B. Michel Fleury Philippe DUFLOT Delfino : € 10,00 P & P included ©. Christian FALENTIN Maurice Girard Barbara & Aubrey HAIR John Roeder Claude REQUI The CAF French Wing is a non-profit Association ruled by Kim TOLFREE the 1901 law, and registered under number 2473 of the Journal SUPPORTING SPONSORS Eric JANSSONNE Officiel dated 10 July 1996. Christophe BASTIDE Unit Leader : Col. Bernard DELFINO David PRICE Tél & Fax : 01 48 69 04 57 - Mobile : 0680361717 Lilian Ayars Fumiko DELFINO email : [email protected] Bernard DELFINO Executive Officer : Col. Roger GOUZON Henri Bourrassier Haruo TANAKA Tél : 01 48 61 40 90 - Mobile : 0682904071 Fumiko Delfino email : en attente Eric REARWIN Finance Officer : Col. Claude GASCON Jean-Christophe Debuisson Yves DONJON Tél : 03 29 86 71 00 - Mobile : 0675742596 email : [email protected] Claude De Marco Roy & Irene GRINNELL Adjutant : Col. Fumiko DELFINO Louis-Jean Gioux Bunty BATEMAN Tél & Fax : 01 48 69 04 57 - Mobile : 0670362245 Marcel FRANCISCI email : [email protected] Barbara Hair Dominique DEUDON AIRSHOW is a publication of the French Wing of the Aubrey Hair John & Anne ROEDER Commemorative Air Force, Inc. - Any partial or complete re- Haruo Tanaka Ronald WRIGHT production of the articles and the illustrations published in this Léon MANOUKIANS monthly Newsletter is forbidden without the agreement of the Regis Urschler FW. Please write to the Association at the following address : 19 Aviation Club de France rue de Cannes 93600 - Aulnay sous Bois - FRANCE. Ron Wright Georges MARCELIN 12