Dora Dougherty Strother
Dora Dougherty Strother | |
---|---|
St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
Died | November 19, 2013 | (aged 91)
Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery[1] |
Nationality | American |
Education |
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Awards |
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Aviation career | |
Full name | Dora Jean Dougherty Strother McKeown |
Air force | U.S. Army Air Forces |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Dora Jean Dougherty Strother (also known as Dora Dougherty McKeown or Dora Strother McKeown; November 27, 1921 – November 19, 2013)
Strother held a PhD in Aviation Education (
Career as a WASP
In 1940, Strother earned her pilot certificate via the
Strother's piloting jobs in the WASP program included flight training, target towing for antiaircraft gunnery, ferrying, and radio control piloting. WASPs like Strother flew almost every type of plane used by Army Air Forces such as liaison, training, and cargo aircraft. They also flew and trained other pilots to fly fighters, dive bombers, attack bombers, and very heavy bombers like the B-29.
Strother was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Air Forces on December 20, 1944, having commanded 23 different aircraft.[7]
Teaching, engineering, and helicopters
After the WASP service was disbanded, Strother began work at the
Starting in 1958, Strother worked for Bell Aircraft as a human factors engineer, where she designed helicopter cockpits.[7] Though a highly skilled fixed-wing pilot, Strother developed expertise in helicopter flight and became a test pilot for Bell Helicopter company.[13] In thirty-four hours of helicopter flight time, she set two world records for altitude (19,406 feet) and distance (straight line 404.36 miles).[5] The record for altitude was set in a Bell 47G-3 helicopter.[14] Strother held these rotorcraft records from 1961 to 1966.[3]
Legacy
Following her retirement from Bell Helicopter as Chief of Human Factors Engineering and Cockpit Arrangement, she began serving as a member of the U.S. Army Science Board. Strother helped build the reputation of the human factor engineering design group at Bell Helicopter/
Strother's (43-W-3) testimony helped to legally validate WASP service as active duty military service, allowing women pilots from World War II to gain veteran's status and benefits. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed WASP militarization into law with PL 95-202, which was applied to all WASP participants.[15]
References
- ^ a b Altman, Howard (November 25, 2013). "Tragedy serves as reminder of enduring Afghan war". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- ^ Gray, Katherine S. "Flying in Formation: Creating a Place for Women in Avation [sic] through the Ninety-Nines, the WASP, and the Whirly-Girls". Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- ^ a b "Eagle Biography: Dora Jean Dougherty Strother". Air University; accessed August 23, 2013.
- ^ a b "Strother, Dora Jean Dougherty" Archived 2013-02-08 at the Wayback Machine. Texas Women’s Hall of Fame; accessed August 23, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8131-2625-8. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- ^ "History of the Whirly-Girls". Whirly-Girls, International Woman Helicopter Pilots. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Eagle Biography: Dora Jean Dougherty Strother". Air University; accessed August 23, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-4381-0905-3. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- ^ a b Johnsson, Lillian (2016). "The Women Who Flew In WWII:The Women's Airforce Service Pilots" (PDF). pp. 107–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-12.
- ^ a b "Women Fly the B-29". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021.
Tibbets' plan was a terrific success: After watching the women fly the four-engine bomber, the men stopped complaining about the plane.
- ^ "Fly Girl". www.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ^ Steve Schapiro. "The Girl with the B-29 Rating". Air & Space/Smithsonian, June 2012
- ^ Company, Bell Helicopter (1961). "Jean Dougherty Strother (b. 1921) (center). Also pictured: E.J. Ducayet (right) and R.C. Buyers (left)". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ^ Kapsalis, Effie (2013-08-21). "Women in Science Wednesday: Dora Jean Dougherty Strother". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5768-7. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
External links and primary sources
- Fly Girls. PBS Resource Center. Transcripts and Primary Source documents. [1] Archived 2016-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Ahmann, Neil. Dora Jean Dougherty Strother (1991). United States Air Force Oral History Program: Interview of Dr. Dora Dougherty Strother. Ed. Faye Davis. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air Force Historical Research Agency. [2]