Teresa D. "Jamesy" James and (January 27, 1914 – July 26, 2008) was an American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

. James was one of the first

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

(WASP) pilots, starting out as part of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) in 1942. James was also known as a stunt pilot and later became a Major in the Air Force Reserves. James flew most of her life and fought for military recognition for the WASP.

Biography

James was born on January 27, 1914, in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Initially afraid of flying, she went on to earn her pilot's license in order to attract the attention of a pilot named Bill, on whom she had a crush. and James had seen a plane wreck the year before she started flying and shortly after, her brother had also nearly died in a plane crash. Bill invited her to fly and she went with him and later learned to fly to impress him. Her first flight took place from the Wilkinsburg Airport on September 30, 1933. and James learned to fly with a friend, Harry Fogle, in an OX-5 powered Travel Air 2000 and began working as a

stunt pilot Stunt flying refers to any stunts performed in an aircraft. It encompasses aerobatics, wing walking, and transferring from one airplane to another or to a moving vehicle on the ground, such as an automobile or train, and vice versa. History From t ...

with Fogle and his friends. In her stunt debut, she made $50 and performed an aerial spin of 12 1/2 rotations as she dove. She and Fogle were billed as the "Girl Stunt Pilot" and "The Flying Iceman." Her signature stunt move was a 26-turn spin. James also started ice skating after pilots she worked with "practically dared" her to skate. James became a speed skater. In 1939, she competed in the Pennsylvania Skating Association's championship meet. James went on to earn a commercial license in 1941 and became a flight instructor. James was the first woman flight instructor to graduate from the Buffalo Aeronautical Institute. She married one of her students, George "Dink" Martin in 1942. Three months after she was married, she was invited to join the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). James received a telegram on September 9, 1942, requesting that she report to the New Castle Army Air Base. James' husband was also called to the war effort and was sent overseas to work as a

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

pilot. He would eventually be listed as

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

and declared dead by the Army. James wouldn't learn the full story of Martin's death until 1984, when she met the twin sons of the man who pulled his body out of the plane wreckage. and Martin was killed on June 22, 1944, during a mission flying near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. James passed her flying and physical tests for the WAFS and was sworn in on October 6, 1942. James was one of the first women in the WAFS and was assigned the first long-distance solo mission. The mission was to ferry a

PT-19 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contemp ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. James stayed with the WAFS as they were merged to form the

(WASP) and until the organization was disbanded on December 20, 1944. After WASP was discontinued, James returned to Pittsburgh and found that there were not very many opportunities for women pilots any longer. James wrote to Congress, requesting veterans' status for the WASP. She even wrote to the

Chinese Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

, requesting to fly for them, but was rejected. James would continue to fight for the WASP to be recognized with veterans status. In 1950, she became a commissioned major in the

United States Air Force Reserves The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

. Like other WASPs, she didn't get credit for her service as a pilot between 1942 and 1944. Between 1961 and 1965, she was stationed at

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command ( ...

as part of the 5040th Air Base Group. In 1976, she retired from the Air Force. She moved to Lake Worth Beach in 1979 to be closer to her parents. James stayed active with flying groups during her retirement. She was a member of the Ninety Nines, and the P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Association. When the

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 19 ...

corporation heard her say in a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

documentary about the Air Force, ''Top Flight,'' that the only thing she hadn't flown was a jet, the company arranged for her to fly an

F-14 The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...

. She was still flying at age 86 in 1997. On July 26, 2008, James died in

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

. Her remains were cremated and interred in Pittsburgh. In 1992, a biography about James, called ''On Wings to War: Teresa James, Aviator'' and written by Jan Churchill was published. The book gives a "personal 'view from the cockpit' account of James' time as a WASP. James' WAFS uniform is in the collection of the

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, its main building o ...

. and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Teresa 1914 births 2008 deaths United States Air Force reservists People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida People from Pittsburgh Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel United States Air Force officers 21st-century American women