Nancy Livingston Stratford
Nancy Jane Miller Livingston Stratford [1] (1919 - Present) was a Royal Air Force aviatrix and the world’s fourth licensed woman helicopter pilot.
Biography
At a young age, Stratford studied psychology at Occidental College and UC Berkeley with the expectation of becoming a schoolteacher. However, after her first flight, when she was only 16 years old [2], she could not get airplanes out of her head and started taking flying lessons at Oakland Airport [3] [4]. In late 1941, when the U.S. entered World War II, she was recruited for the Royal Air Force’s Air Transport Auxiliary. She was stationed at Hamble air base in Southampton, England, from 1942-1945 where she logged nearly 900 flight hours ferrying 50 different types of war planes including the Typhoon, Hellcat, Mosquito, Mustang, Hudson, Vega Ventura, Barracuda, Hurricane, Swordfish and the Spitfire [5].
After the war, she returned to California where, in 1947, she became the world’s fourth licensed woman helicopter pilot. That same year, Stratford earned a seaplane rating as well [6]. In 1955, she was one of the six founding members of the Whirly-Girls, which dubbed her "Whirly Girl #4" [7][8]
Due to her hearing being permanently damaged from her time as a pilot, Stratford retired at age 60 [9]
In 2010, Stratford wrote her memoir — “Contact! Britain!” [10] — in which she recalls her life as a pilot.
References
- ↑ Contact! Britain!: A Woman Ferry Pilot's Story During WWII in England, a memoir from Nancy Miller Livingston Stratford
- ↑ https://www.juneauempire.com/news/juneaus-1st-woman-helicopter-pilot-turns-100/
- ↑ Contact! Britain!: A Woman Ferry Pilot's Story During WWII in England, a memoir from Nancy Miller Livingston Stratford
- ↑ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/sdut-pioneering-aviatrix-94-relishes-memories-2013dec22-story.html
- ↑ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/sdut-pioneering-aviatrix-94-relishes-memories-2013dec22-story.html
- ↑ https://www.juneauempire.com/news/juneaus-1st-woman-helicopter-pilot-turns-100/
- ↑ "Archived Copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2021-06-18.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
- ↑ https://whirlygirls.org/history/
- ↑ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/sdut-pioneering-aviatrix-94-relishes-memories-2013dec22-story.html
- ↑ Contact! Britain!: A Woman Ferry Pilot's Story During WWII in England, a memoir from Nancy Miller Livingston Stratford
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