Where there’s a will, there’s a way — but for pilot Jacqueline Cochrane, there had to be even more. “To live without risk, for me,” she said, “would be tantamount to death.” One of the biggest risks of her career was pioneering the US organisation, WASPS (Women Airforce Service Pilots). In the heat of WWII, the WASPS proved that not only could women fly, but they could fly furiously well. They trained under the same rigorous conditions as their male counterparts under the hot sun of Sweetwater, Texas, piloting combat planes, ferry aircrafts – they even flew as live practice targets for the men – but were never allowed to enter combat. In fact, until the 1970s, they weren’t even granted military status. Only in recent years has credit been given to these unsung sheroes of the skies, who proved that “Anything you can do, I can do better – and in lipstick.”
- Messy Nessy Chic
