The B-17 Bombers of WWII and The Women who Flew Them

By Pamela S. Meyers 

In my book research about women who served the WWII war effort, I have been most impressed about the women of WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). who flew new aircraft from their point of manufacture to U.S. military bases on either coast. From there, male military pilots would take over the equipment and take the planes into battle. 

Vintage Postcard of the B-17

WASP pilots were not considered military but rather a service group that served the military during wartime. These ladies were smart, talented, and courageous women who endured 22-1/2 weeks of training that equally compared with what the men in the Army Airforce received. The only two areas of training the women didn’t receive was gunnery and formation flying since they were not to go into battle. The women of WASP had moxie. So courageous and smart. 

In addition to their rigorous training, what impressed me was the planes they flew weren't small planes, but huge bombers like the B-17, also known as "The Flying Fortress). I was already familiar with that plane because a few years ago, I attended a fly-in of vintage aircraft at my local private airport and one of the highlights was a B-17 that I was able to enter and see the interior. 

Me standing in front of the B-17 I saw
at the fly-in. You can see how big the
plane was compared to the people.

Soldier standing guard over newly
manufactured B-17
Wikimedia, Public Domain

WASP was not considered to be a part of the U.S. Military and I'm not sure how much people even knew about them and what they were doing behind the scenes to serve. The purpose of WASP was to get the newly minted war machines to the coasts to be taken into battle without having to use men to get them there. The men were needed in the war zones, not making domestic trips on the homefront.

WASP even had a mascot, a little sprite called Fifinella. I presume Fifi (her nickname) was designed to encourage the women and hopefully draw attention to their important work in the war effort. 

Public Domain Wikimedia

Similar to Marvel characters, she started out as one of the Gremlins that were featured in a book titled The Gremlins by a former RAF pilot, Roald Dahl. Walt Disney went on to make an animated movie called The Gremlins and acquired the copyright to Fifinella. There’s quite a backstory of legalities that ensued, which I’m not going to go into in this post. 

“Fifi” appeared on patches the WASP pilots wore on their uniforms and also was painted onto the nose of some of the planes they flew. Today, she still appears on merchandise you can purchase online. 

Photo of a WASP woman with 
Fifinella patch on her uniform jacket
Public Domain-Wikimedia

Have you ever piloted an airplane? If so, please share in the comments! 

Pam Meyers has been writing since she was a child and kept a diary at age eight. She's published a number of historical novels set in her hometown of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, along with several contemporary novels.

She makes her home in northern Illinois with her two rescue cats. She's only about an hour away from Lake Geneva and you'll often find her there nosing around for new story ideas.

 

BEHIND THE SCENES IN BIBLICAL FICTION - THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN

By Golden Keyes Parsons

I can remember the first time I read a biblical fiction novel. It was Marjorie Holmes's Two From Galiliee. which was the love story of Mary and Joseph. I was mesmerized. I gave the book to a friend declaring she would absolutely love it ... but she hated it. Upon inquiring of her why she did not like the book, her reply was that it made Mary and Joseph too human. That was what had captured my heart.

While doing the research for my novella collection of nameless women in the Gospels, I ran across

item after item that did indeed make the biblical characters human, but gave me a deeper

understanding of who these women were. For example, I had always thought the adulterous woman was a prostitute. However in doing the research, many scholars believe she was a betrothed virgin. The reason given for this viewpoint was the very logical conclusion that if the woman was a prostitute, what grounds did the Pharisees have to accuse her of adultery? Prostitution was widely practiced in Jesus's day. Many of the very men who brought her before Him were most probably regular customers of prostitutes. No, in order for them to trap Jesus, they needed an iron-clad case of adultery. It had to be a married woman with someone besides her husband. A betrothed virgin would suffice as betrothal in this day and time for the Jews was as binding a marriage.

Secondly, it was a trap, a set-up. Someone had made a deal with the Pharisees to participate in this despicable scheme in order to trap Jesus. If He agreed to stone her, then they would say He couldn't be the Messiah because He was not compassionate. If He were to say, "Let her go," they would again say He couldn't be the Messiah because He wasn't upholding the Law. So this young girl had been lured by some means into committing adultery in order to trap Jesus. Another incriminating piece of information it was a trap is the fact that her partner was not brought before Jesus. The Law stated both partners were to be presented before the priest. Where was he? Possibly gloating over his successful venture counting the money he was paid by the conspirators.

Another interesting tidbit of research concerns the age-old question: "What was Jesus writing in the sand?" In Numbers 5:11-31 there is a curious custom called "the law of the jealous husband." If a

man thought his wife guilty of adultery, he could bring her to the priest for judgment. The priest would scoop up dust from the Temple floor, mix it with holy water and make her drink it. If her stomach bloated, she was guilty. If it didn't, she was innocent. Did the Pharisees perhaps think Jesus was going to put this judgment into motion? Did the adulterous woman think she would have to drink the concoction and be proven guilty? She knew she was guilty. Instead he began to write something, and I believe it was the names of those ready to stone the woman to death because of her sin. I believe He wrote those men's names and the women with whom they had committed adultery.

These bits of information from my research gave me a whole new perspective on this woman and on the compassion of Jesus. Instead of being angry at the Pharisees trying to trap Him, his focus was on this woman who needed forgiveness. Perhaps we all need a new perspective on those around us who simply need a touch from Jesus.

Although a multi-published fiction author, Golden Keyes Parsons’ first published non-fiction work, Spiritual Spring Cleaning, (BoldVision Books) just released in April 2015. Her series, Darkness to Light, (Thomas Nelson) chronicled the journey of her ancestors in 17^th century France and was a finalist for ACFW’s Debut Author of the Year in 2008. Her fourth novel, His Steadfast Love, a Civil War novel, was a National Readers Choice finalist. Parsons has also written a biblical fiction series entitled Hidden Faces, Portraits of Nameless Women in the Gospels (WhiteFire Publishing). Golden lives in Waco, TX, with her husband, Blaine. www.goldenkeyesparsons.com

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