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Title details for Spitfires by Becky Aikman - Wait list

Spitfires

The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger during World War II

by Becky Aikman
ebook
Pre-release: Expected May 6, 2025
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"A bold and soaring work of history . . . whip-smart, deeply researched, and beautifully written." -Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life

"A soaring narrative."-Keith O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls

The heart-pounding true story of the daring American women who piloted the most dangerous aircraft of World War II through the treacherous skies of Britain.

They were crop dusters and debutantes, college girls and performers in flying circuses-all of them trained as pilots. Because they were women, they were denied the opportunity to fly for their country when the United States entered the Second World War. But Great Britain, desperately fighting for survival, would let anyone-even Americans, even women-transport warplanes. Thus, twenty-five daring young aviators bolted for England in 1942, becoming the first American women to command military aircraft.

In a faraway land, these "spitfires" lived like women decades ahead of their time. Risking their lives in one of the deadliest jobs of the war, they ferried new, barely tested fighters and bombers to air bases and returned shot-up wrecks for repair, never knowing what might go wrong until they were high in the sky. Many ferry pilots died in crashes or made spectacular saves. It was exciting, often terrifying work. The pilots broke new ground off duty as well, shocking their hosts with thoroughly modern behavior.

With cinematic sweep, Becky Aikman follows the stories of nine of the women who served, drawing on unpublished diaries, letters, and records, along with her own interviews, to bring these forgotten heroines fully to life. Spitfires is a vivid, richly detailed account of war, ambition, and a group of remarkable women whose lives were as unconventional as their dreams.

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  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2024

      In 1942, a group of American women, who weren't permitted to fly for the U.S. Army, traveled to England to ferry fighter planes and bombers for the British Royal Air Force. Drawing on interviews and unpublished diaries, letters, and records, Aikman (Off the Cliff) relates the true stories of nine of these remarkable women pilots. With a 100K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2025
      Women who dared. Journalist Aikman draws on diaries, letters, and interviews to create a brisk, lively account of nine intrepid American women, among the 25 who joined Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary, the civilian arm of the RAF. Unlike the U.S., which prohibited women from flying in the military, the U.K. was desperate for pilots. Responding to the need, star aviatrix Jackie Cochran sent invitations to 76 women with more than 300 hours of flying time, some as stunt flyers, crop dusters, or flying instructors. The American "Atta-Girls" came from widely varied backgrounds, from hardscrabble lives to high society; from America's youngest flying instructor, at 21, to a 32-year-old, the oldest and most experienced, with 1,800 flying hours. All were ambitious, defiant, eager to reinvent themselves. "Professionally," Aikman writes, "they mastered jobs that demanded technical expertise, physical strength, steely valor, and quick judgment." The first group to arrive in 1942 were shocked by bombed-out cities, food deprivations, and the chilly British homes where they were billeted. There was a chilly reception, too, caused by a stark cultural disconnect between the boisterous Americans and the upper-class British women of the ATA. Aikman recounts the pilots' friendships, romances, marriages, and losses, and the challenges they faced flying unfamiliar planes across unfamiliar terrain, sometimes in threatening weather. All confronted danger with every flight: "The knowledge that something as simple as an oil leak, a peculiar propeller mishap, a moment of inattention, or an unexpected conjuring of fog could bring about sudden, bolt-from-above death." By 1944, the original 25 had been depleted to 13. Despite hardship and fear, though, they depicted their years as an Atta-Girl as nothing less than a "golden period" of their lives. Engaging portraits of a spirited crew.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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