From FlyGirls fan Alex Esquerra...
Of all the planes WASP flew, their experience with the B-29 remains my favorite story. An exceedingly complex aircraft that was rushed into production, it quickly gained a reputation so bad (especially with engine fires) that many male pilots feared training in it. It was only after Paul Tibbets (of "Enola Gay" fame) enlisted the help of two WASPs (Dora Dougherty and Dorothea Moorman) to demo one of the bombers (appropriately dubbed "Ladybird") to apprehensive male instructors and trainees did the boys finally accept B-29 training with gusto (if not having to prove to themselves that no "girl" was going to outfly a man!!! Haha!).
The B-29 would go on to (quite successfully) deliver the war directly to the Japanese home islands... thanks to the contribution of WASP.
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