Midweek Sortie 19: Jacqueline Cochran Takes Flight

Jacqueline Cochran did more than break aviation barriers during World War II—she helped prove women could strengthen American airpower, turning personal ambition into a lasting wartime and historical

‘I can cure your men of walking off the program. Let’s put on the girls.’

—Jacqueline Cochran

Jackie Cochran, undated. (National Museum of the US Army)

Maps rustled, chairs scraped, and the room carried that wartime mix of urgency and doubt. Somewhere between the briefing table and the flight line, Jacqueline Cochran pressed an argument that still sounded …