Violet Cowden flew 19 different types of "pursuit planes" during World War II, including the Mustang, as she helped deliver new aircraft from factories to military bases across the nation. She served in a branch of the Army Air Forces known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots,
I won't go into it in great detail here, but the WASPs performed an extremely valuable service and got royally screwed for it as payment from a government (ours) that didn't give a shit about them until very recently.
Read more about them here and here.
Cowden poses aboard a P-51C Mustang after flying into Long Beach Airport with members of Wings of Freedom, a group that showcases vintage airplanes. The Mustang will be on display along with a B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 bomber.
I think she's a cool ol' gal, but I still get a visual of her flyin' along at about 9 miles per hour and not being able to see over the steering wheel, all the while oblivious to the carnage in her wake...
A P-51 sure beats the shit out of a brand new shiny red superstock Dodge! Go, Granny, go!
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