Betty Chambers
| Betty Chambers | |
|---|---|
 WASP Elizabeth Maxine Chambers.jpg | |
| Born | Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey August 25, 1920 Los Angeles, California U.S. |
| 💀Died | May 11, 1961 (aged 40) Los Angeles, California U.S.May 11, 1961 (aged 40) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | United States |
| Other names | Elizabeth Black |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Elizabeth "Betty" Maxine Chambers (August 25, 1920 − May 11, 1961)[1] was one of the first female pilots in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program.[2][3] She was in WASP Class of 44-W-3.[4][5]
Early life[edit]
Chambers was born in Los Angeles, California, to Samuel Cramsey and Gertrude Cramsey (née Hulse).[6] She grew up in Hollywood, California.[7][8][9]
Career[edit]
Prior to World War II, Chambers worked for the Walt Disney Company and Universal Pictures, where she did post-production work that involved inking outlines for cartoon celluloid cells in preparation for painting during the picture process stage of film production.[3][7][10]
In 1942 during the war, Chambers' husband, Army pilot Lt. Robert William Chambers, was killed in a plane crash.[11][12] After his death, Chambers and her baby moved in with her parents and she got a job as a telephone operator at Southern California Telephone Company.[3]
Chambers applied to be a WASP. She said: "Just the day before [my husband's] accident Bob had heard about the WASPs and he wanted me to fly ... in fact, he wanted to teach me, but it didn't work out that way. I love flying as he did, and I hope to be able to replace a man to do the job that Bob wanted to do."[10] She entered training on October 4, 1943, and graduated on April 15, 1944.[13]
Chambers trained at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, and then was sent to Turner Field in Albany, Georgia. She then attended the Army Air Force Tactical School in Orlando, Florida.[2][3] Chambers was stationed at Greenwood Army Air Field in Greenwood, Mississippi.[14]
Chambers' service ended when the WASP program was disbanded at the end of 1944.[2]
As a pilot she flew AT-6, PT-17, AT-10, BT-25.[15]
After the war, Chambers worked at American Airlines at LaGuardia Airport in New York City until 1946.[16]
Honors[edit]
In 2009, President Jimmy Carter awarded those who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots Congressional Gold Medals for their civilian service during wartime.[2]
Personal life[edit]
In 1941, Chambers married Robert William Chambers, a United States Army pilot.[17] In addition to being a pilot, Chambers' husband had previously worked at Lockheed in the engineering department.[18] Their son, Robert Michael "Mike" Chambers, who was born in 1942, was in the 1943 movie Heaven Can Wait, playing Don Ameche's character as a baby.[10][19][20]
In 1947, she married Robert Edward Black.[6] She died in 1961.[21]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Elizabet M Cramsey - California Birth Index". FamilySearch. 25 August 1920.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Today marks the 70th anniversary of the deactivation of the WASP program". National Archives and Records Administration. 20 December 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mattingly, Ashley (20 December 2014). "A WASP's Story". Prologue: Pieces of History. National Archives.
- ↑ "WWII WASP Graduates: WASP Class 44-3, 57 Graduates, 4/15/44". WWII Women Pilots - Women Airforce Service Pilots. 15 April 1944.
- ↑ "WASP Class 44-W-3". TWU Libraries. Texas Woman's University. 1944.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey mentioned in the record of Robert Edward Black and Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey". FamilySearch. 29 December 1947.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Betty M Cramsey - United States Census, 1940". FamilySearch. 1940.
- ↑ "'Don Ameche' Eats Crackers Frm WASP Table; Suffers Himself To Be Pawed By Trainees" (PDF). The Avenger: News from the "Mother-H ive" of the Army WASP's (Vol 1, No. 11). Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas: Texas Woman's University. 21 January 1944. p. 3.
- ↑ WASP Class Books 1944 (PDF). Texas Woman's University. pp. 22, 31, 51. Search this book on
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Darr, Ann (19 November 1943). "Betty Chamber's Son Played Don Ameche At Age Of One For Fox Films" (PDF). The Avenger: News from the "Mother-H ive" of the Army WASP's (Vol 1, No. 7). Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas: Texas Woman's University. p. 3.
- ↑ "Robert William Chambers California Death Index". FamilySearch. 10 September 1942.
- ↑ "2LT Robert William Chambers". Find a Grave. 10 September 1942.
- ↑ 44 W 3 Graduation Program (PDF). Texas Woman's University. 15 April 1944. p. 25. Search this book on
- ↑ "Greenwood AAF, Greenwood, Mississippi (250.42.1)". Texas Woman's University.
- ↑ "Women Airforce Service Pilots: Elizabeth M. Chambers" (PDF). Texas Woman's University.
- ↑ "Dan Cupid's Log Book: 1944 Classes" (PDF). WASP Newsletter: February 1946 (Vol 3, No. 1). Texas Woman's University. February 1946. p. 12.
- ↑ "Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey mentioned in the record of Robert W Chambers and Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey". FamilySearch. 2 February 1941.
- ↑ "Betty Chambers, W-3 Tours Lockheed Plant" (PDF). The Avenger: News from the "Mother-H ive" of the Army WASP's (Vol 1, No. 19). Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas: Texas Woman's University. 19 May 1944. p. 3.
- ↑ "Robert Michael Chambers California Birth Index". FamilySearch. 11 June 1942.
- ↑ "Notes: Heaven Can Wait (1943)". Turner Classic Movies. 1943.
- ↑ "Elizabeth Maxine Black". Find a Grave. 11 May 1961.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elizabeth Maxine Chambers. |
- Elizabeth M. Chambers at the Women's Airforce Service Pilots Digital Archive at Texas Woman's University
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