Originally posted by mee From the number on the tail, I think this is EAA's Aluminum Overcast.
Aluminum Overcast - Wikipedia
If so, no it did not fly missions. But is painted as an aircraft that flew heavily during the war.
Btw interestingly enough I discovered today, through a convo with a coworker, that there were female pilots in ww2 who worked as ferry pilots from the manufacturing plants to the air bases. Over a 1000 were qualified/licensed to fly and were tasked with flying anything from P-51s to B-29s! Interesting generation for sure... the country really seemed to come together in a way I'm not sure it could again. At least not right now..
I have heard the same, a limited number of women flew those ferrying missions
here is a part of the true story:
WASP
" the Women Airforce Service Pilots — WASP for short. In 1944, during the graduation ceremony for the last WASP training class, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces, Henry "Hap" Arnold, said that when the program started, he wasn't sure "whether a slip of a girl could fight the controls of a B-17 in heavy weather."
"Now in 1944, it is on the record that women can fly as well as men," Arnold said.
A few more than 1,100 young women, all civilian volunteers, flew almost every type of military aircraft — including the B-26 and B-29 bombers — as part of the WASP program. They ferried new planes long distances from factories to military bases and departure points across the country. They tested newly overhauled planes. And they towed targets to give ground and air gunners training shooting — with live ammunition. The WASP expected to become part of the military during their service. Instead, the program was canceled after just two years.
They weren't granted military status until the 1970s. And now, 65 years after their service, they will receive the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. Congress. Last July, President Obama signed a bill awarding the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday on Capitol Hill."
Female WWII Pilots: The Original Fly Girls : NPR