Dorothy “Dottie” Mae
Nichols 43-W-2
(26 September 1916 –
11 June 1944)
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| WASP Dorothy Mae Nichols - UCLA Masters Degree in History |
(Excerpt from To Live and Die a WASP)
Dorothy Nichols,
Class 43-W-2, completed pursuit training and received orders to fly a P-39
Airacobra fighter from the Bell factory in Niagara Falls, New York to Great
Falls, Montana.
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| WASP Dorothy Mae Nichols |
The P-39s were being
sent to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease agreement. Passed by Congress
in early 1941, the Act allowed transfer of military equipment and supplies to
any nation whose fighting was vital to the national security of the United
States. However, the women couldn’t fly out of the country, so once the planes
reached Great Falls, men from the Ferrying Division flew the planes on to
Fairbanks, Alaska, where they turned them over to Soviet pilots.
Stranded in Bismark,
ND because of weather, Dorothy told technicians that she had noticed a rough
running engine while coming in to land. Mechanics replaced the carburetor.
On June 11, 1943,
the weather cleared and Dorothy began to taxi. Dorothy’s engine was still
running rough. She told the tower and they said she could return to the flight
line if she wanted to, but Dorothy said no, she decided to takeoff. Just as she
lifted off, her engine quit, the P-39 crashing into the runway bursting in a
fireball. The other WASP flying with her taxied back to the flight line, where
they were told the dead pilot was Dorothy.
It took three days
by train for Dorothy’s body to reach home. He mother was waiting along with
seven other WASP in dress uniform, who would act as pallbearers. Although it
was rare, an American flag covered Dorothy’s coffin and, at the end of the burial
service; her mother took it home.
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| WASP Dorothy Mae Nichols 1916-1944 |
