Shadow in the Cloud

During WWII the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASP for short, was created by the USAAF. These lady pilots, more than 1,100 flew single to multi-engine military aircraft. From non-combat like transports and spotters, to fighters and bombers including the B-17, B-26, and B-29 bombers. Henry "Hap" Arnold said "he wasn't sure whether a slip of a girl could fight the controls of a B-17 in heavy weather." Later he ate crow and admitted how wrong he really was when he said "Now in 1944, it is on the record that women can fly as well as any man!"

The B-17's ball turret couldn't be entered from inside the aircraft when it was on the ground, as it required the ball turret guns to be pointed downward for the hatch to be opened and there wasn't enough clearance between the aircraft and the ground to do so.