Air Transport Auxiliary Women Pilots at Hamble

1941

During the Second World War, the all-women Number 15 Ferry Pool of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was based at Hamble airfield. The ATA was a civilian organisation responsible for ferrying new, repaired, and damaged military aircraft between factories, maintenance units, and operational RAF stations. The women pilots of the Hamble pool flew every type of aircraft in the RAF inventory, from single-engine trainers to four-engine heavy bombers and fast fighters including the Spitfire and Hurricane. They flew without weapons, without radios for much of the war, and often in poor weather conditions, navigating by map and visual reference. The ATA women challenged the prevailing assumptions about women's capabilities in aviation, demonstrating that they could fly the same aircraft as their male counterparts with equal competence. Among the most famous ATA pilots associated with Hamble was Lettice Curtis, the first woman to fly a four-engine bomber. The ATA women came from diverse backgrounds and several countries, united by their skill and determination. Fifteen women of the ATA lost their lives during the war. The Hamble pool's contribution to the war effort was immense, delivering thousands of aircraft and freeing male pilots for combat duties. Their story has gained wider recognition in recent decades, and the ATA women are now celebrated as pioneers of women's aviation.