Female players in those Battle of Britain books
It's fun how often when reading about one thing, you pick up other bits of information.
I already knew about the female pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (who, among other things, referred to the Spitfire as the "perfect lady's aeroplane.") I did not know about the women engineers who worked on aircraft in those days.
I give you Beatrice Shilling, who devised an ingenious little device to prevent flooding in the legendary Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
And Beryl Platt, who worked on the Hurricane during the war and on aviation safety after it, before moving on to a career in politics.
And the Canadian on the list, Elsie MacGill, Queen of the Hurricanes, who initially designed aircraft at Canadian Car and Foundry, and then taking a major role in the plant's wartime production of (you guessed it) Hurricanes.
There are books written about Shilling and MacGill. The least I can do is try to get my hands on them via document delivery!
I already knew about the female pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (who, among other things, referred to the Spitfire as the "perfect lady's aeroplane.") I did not know about the women engineers who worked on aircraft in those days.
I give you Beatrice Shilling, who devised an ingenious little device to prevent flooding in the legendary Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
And Beryl Platt, who worked on the Hurricane during the war and on aviation safety after it, before moving on to a career in politics.
And the Canadian on the list, Elsie MacGill, Queen of the Hurricanes, who initially designed aircraft at Canadian Car and Foundry, and then taking a major role in the plant's wartime production of (you guessed it) Hurricanes.
There are books written about Shilling and MacGill. The least I can do is try to get my hands on them via document delivery!