Elizabeth Maxine Chambers (August 25, 1920 − May 11, 1961)[1] was one of the first female pilots in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program in which women took on non-combat flying duties so more male pilots were available for combat.[2][3] She was in WASP Class of 44-W-3 as part of the 318th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment.[4][5] She became a pilot shortly after her husband lost his life while flying, despite the fact that she had a new baby,[2] and was the only recent widow and mother to have served as a WASP.
Betty Chambers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey August 25, 1920 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 1961 (aged 40) Los Angeles, California U.S. |
| Other names | Elizabeth Black |
| Occupation | Women Airforce Service Pilots |
Early life
editChambers was born in Los Angeles, California, to Samuel Cramsey and Gertrude Cramsey (née Hulse).[6] She grew up in Hollywood, California.[7][8][9]
Career
editPrior to World War II Chambers worked for the Walt Disney Company and Universal Pictures, where she did post-production work that involved inking outlines for cartoon celluloid cells in preparation for painting during the picture process stage of film production.[3][7][10]
Chambers was married to Robert William Chambers, a United States Army pilot who had previously worked at Lockheed in the engineering department.[11] Later, during her service as a WASP, Chambers would be sent on a mission to tour a Lockheed plant.[12]
In 1942 during the war, Robert was killed in an aircraft crash.[13] After his death, Chambers and her baby moved in with her parents and she got a job as a telephone operator at Southern California Telephone Company.[3]
Chambers applied to be a WASP. She said: "Just the day before [my husband's] accident Bob had heard about the WASPs and he wanted me to fly ... in fact, he wanted to teach me, but it didn't work out that way. I love flying as he did, and I hope to be able to replace a man to do the job that Bob wanted to do."[10] She entered training on October 4, 1943, and graduated on April 15, 1944.[14]
Chambers trained at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, and then was sent to Turner Field in Albany, Georgia. She then attended the Army Air Force Tactical School in Orlando, Florida.[2][3] Chambers was stationed at Greenwood Army Air Field in Greenwood, Mississippi.[15] At Greenwood, Chambers accrued over 420 hours of flight time up until December 20, 1944.[16]
As a pilot she flew North American AT-6 advanced trainers, PT-17 biplane primary trainers, Beechcraft AT-10 twin-engineer trainers, and the BT-25.[17]
Chambers' service ended when the WASP program was disbanded at the end of 1944.[2]
After the war, Chambers worked at American Airlines at LaGuardia Airport in New York City until 1946. She eventually lost touch with the WASP community, a close-knit group who often held reunions and get-togethers.[18]
Honors
editOn November 2, 1977, President Jimmy Carter passed Public Law 95-202, which gave those that served in the WASP program military veteran status. They were previously considered civilians.[2] In July 2009, President Barack Obama signed a bill that gave the WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal.[19][20]
Personal life
editIn 1941, Chambers married Robert William Chambers, a United States Army pilot.[11] Their son, Robert Michael "Mike" Chambers, who was born in 1942, was in the 1943 movie Heaven Can Wait, playing Don Ameche's character as a baby.[10][21][22]
In 1947, she married Robert Edward Black, a lumberman.[6] She died in 1961.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Elizabet M Cramsey - California Birth Index". FamilySearch. 25 August 1920.
- ^ a b c d e "Today marks the 70th anniversary of the deactivation of the WASP program". National Archives and Records Administration. 20 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d Mattingly, Ashley (20 December 2014). "A WASP's Story". Prologue: Pieces of History. National Archives.
- ^ "World War II WASP Graduates: WASP Class 44-3, 57 Graduates, 4/15/44". World War II Women Pilots - Women Airforce Service Pilots. 15 April 1944.
- ^ "WASP Class 44-W-3". TWU Libraries. Texas Woman's University. 1944. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
- ^ a b "Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey mentioned in the record of Robert Edward Black and Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey". FamilySearch. 29 December 1947.
- ^ a b "Betty M Cramsey - United States Census, 1940". FamilySearch. 1940.
- ^ "'Don Ameche' Eats Crackers Frm WASP Table; Suffers Himself To Be Pawed By Trainees" (PDF). The Avenger: News from the "Mother-H ive" of the Army WASP's. Vol. 1, no. 11. Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas: Texas Woman's University. 21 January 1944. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ WASP Class Books 1944 (PDF). Texas Woman's University. pp. 22, 31, 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
- ^ a b c Darr, Ann (19 November 1943). "Betty Chamber's Son Played Don Ameche At Age Of One For Fox Films" (PDF). The Avenger: News from the "Mother-Hive" of the Army WASP's. Vol. 1, no. 7. Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016 – via Texas Woman's University.
- ^ a b "Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey mentioned in the record of Robert W Chambers and Elizabeth Maxine Cramsey". FamilySearch. 2 February 1941.
- ^ "Betty Chambers, W-3 Tours Lockheed Plant" (PDF). The Avenger: News from the "Mother-Hive" of the Army WASP's. Vol. 1, no. 19. Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas. 19 May 1944. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016 – via Women Air Service Pilots Digital Archive at Texas Woman's University.
- ^ "Robert William Chambers California Death Index". FamilySearch. 10 September 1942.
- ^ "44 W 3 Graduation Program" (PDF), Women Air Service Pilots Digital Archive, Texas Woman's University, p. 25, 2013, archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-20, retrieved 2016-11-03
- ^ "Greenwood AAF, Greenwood, Mississippi (250.42.1)". Texas Woman's University.
- ^ "GAAF WASP History: Greenwood, Mississippi" (PDF). Texas Woman's University. 1944. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- ^ "Women Airforce Service Pilots: Elizabeth M. Chambers" (PDF). Women Air Service Pilots Digital Archive. Texas Woman's University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
- ^ "Dan Cupid's Log Book: 1944 Classes" (PDF). WASP Newsletter: February 1946. Vol. 3, no. 1. Order of Fifinella. February 1946. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02 – via Women Air Service Pilots Digital Archive at Texas Woman's University.
- ^ "WWII Female Pilots Honored With Gold Medal". All Things Considered. NPR. 10 March 2010.
- ^ 123 Stat. 1958 Public Law 111-40: Women Airforce Service Pilots Congressional Gold Medal (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O. 1 July 2009. OCLC 437033643.
- ^ "Robert Michael Chambers California Birth Index". FamilySearch. 11 June 1942.
- ^ "Notes: Heaven Can Wait (1943)". Turner Classic Movies. 1943.
External links
edit
- Elizabeth M. Chambers Archived 2019-04-17 at the Wayback Machine at the Women's Airforce Service Pilots Digital Archive Archived 2016-11-04 at the Wayback Machine at Texas Woman's University