# First female U.S. Army pilots in combat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562 "2010-08-17T19:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/1 "2010-08-17T19:53:09Z")
Who were the first female Army pilots to officially fly combat missions? When, where, what unit, and names if possible? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/2 "2010-08-17T20:54:23Z")
There were some in WW1, both [French](http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/women_combat_pilots_ww1.html) and [Russian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Russian_and_Soviet_military). ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/3 "2010-08-17T21:03:31Z")
I know it’s not what you’re asking, but FWIW, the Army National Guard’s first female aviator was/is [MG Jessica L. Wright](http://www.ng.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/1162.htm), the most badass general I’ve ever met. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/4 "2010-08-17T21:40:41Z")
Sorry, I should have specified U.S. Army pilots. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/5 "2010-08-17T21:43:33Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I know it’s not what you’re asking, but FWIW, the Army National Guard’s first female aviator was/is [MG Jessica L. Wright](http://www.ng.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/1162.htm), the most badass general I’ve ever met. Nice to know she was the first first ANG pilot. > [@](#): > > General Wright became the first female maneuver brigade commander in the United States Army as she took command of the 28h Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Is that a flying position? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/6 "2010-08-17T22:26:04Z")
[moderating] Thread title changed from “First female Army pilots in combat?” to “First female U.S. Army pilots in combat?” at the OP’s request. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/7 "2010-08-17T22:27:25Z")
Thanks, **Gary**. So… if you were in the Army would you be a Combat Wombat? ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/8 "2010-08-17T22:35:19Z")
[This](http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/pilots.html)link says that the first female _combat mission_ pilots flew in 1993, but goes on to specify that > [@](#): > > Another of the first American woman to fly in combat in the '90s was Lt Col.Martha McSally, ranked as the top female Air Force pilot. Lt Col McSally was among the first women trained by the Air Force as a fighter pilot. During a 1995-96 tour of duty in Kuwait, she became the first woman in military history to fly a combat sortie in a fighter aircraft. She also flew more than 100 combat hours on an A-10 Warthog attack plane over Iraq in the mid-1990s, and served as a flight commander and trainer of combat pilots. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/9 "2010-08-17T22:42:47Z")
I have a friend who was a Black Hawk pilot in the Gulf War, and there was another woman in the squadron as well. So they, at least, predate Lt. Col. McSally. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/10 "2010-08-17T22:49:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > > > I know it’s not what you’re asking, but FWIW, the Army National Guard’s first female aviator was/is [MG Jessica L. Wright](http://www.ng.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/1162.htm), the most badass general I’ve ever met. > > Nice to know she was the first first ANG pilot. > > > [@](#): > > > > General Wright became the first female maneuver brigade commander in the United States Army as she took command of the 28h Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Pennsylvania Army National Guard. > > Is that a flying position? ANG = Air National Guard ARNG = Army National Guard She was the first A **R** NG pilot. She flew mainly rotary, I believe. The Brigade Commander doesn’t do any flying, no. I mean, I guess she could if she wanted to, but it’s not her duty. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/11 "2010-08-17T23:36:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Thanks, **Gary**. > > So… if you were in the Army would you be a Combat Wombat? Maybe. Or perhaps I’d be a Military Marsupial. Or a Veteran Vombatiform. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![boilercake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@boilercake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boilercake)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/12 "2010-08-18T00:01:27Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I know it’s not what you’re asking, but FWIW, the Army National Guard’s first female aviator was/is [MG Jessica L. Wright](http://www.ng.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/1162.htm), the most badass general I’ve ever met. Maybe I missed it, but has she been in combat? Looks like a lot of state-side stuff in her resume. Maybe I just skimmed over it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/13 "2010-08-18T00:04:33Z")
> [@boilercake](#): > > Maybe I missed it, but has she been in combat? Looks like a lot of state-side stuff in her resume. Maybe I just skimmed over it. That was my question. But I think his point was that she was the first female pilot in the Army National Guard; not that she was a combat pilot that early. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/14 "2010-08-19T18:07:06Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > During a 1995-96 tour of duty in Kuwait, [Lt Col McSally] became the first woman in military history to fly a combat sortie in a fighter aircraft. What about [these](http://wio.ru/aces/gal-f.htm) gallant ladies? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/15 "2010-08-19T19:05:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I have a friend who was a Black Hawk pilot in the Gulf War, and there was another woman in the squadron as well. So they, at least, predate Lt. Col. McSally. Were these women flying attack/combat missions or resupply/transport missions? I know SOCOM has modified Black Hawk copters for attack but in general they are transport aircraft. SOCOM has used Hellfire missiles, the 30mm chain gun from an Apache in a fixed mount, 7.62mm mini-guns, 2.75" rocket launchers, and og know what else. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/16 "2010-08-19T19:07:45Z")
There were also female CH-47 Chinook pilots during the Gulf War - in combat but not necessarily combat/attack missions. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/17 "2010-08-19T19:35:39Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Were these women flying attack/combat missions or resupply/transport missions? Transport and supply, I think, since they were in Black Hawks. Still, flying troops into a combat zone is ‘combat’, just as ‘slicks’ did in Vietnam. As another example, my dad was Combat Aircrew in an AEW Skyraider in Korea. They didn’t drop any bombs or shoot at anyone, but they were part of the combat mission. EDIT: IOW, this (emphasis mine): > [@smithsb](#): > > There were also female CH-47 Chinook pilots during the Gulf War - in combat but not necessarily combat/attack missions. . ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/18 "2010-08-20T09:17:40Z")
> [@Fish\_Cheer](#): > > > [@mnemosyne](#): > > > > What about [these](http://wio.ru/aces/gal-f.htm) gallant ladies? See post #2 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/19 "2011-03-29T15:53:04Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Were these women flying attack/combat missions or resupply/transport missions? Here’s some additional information. The first airborne assault into Iraq during the Gulf War was flown by the 101st Airborne. ‘G-hour’ was when the wheels hit the ground. My friend was flying troops into the assault in a UH-60. There was one other female pilot in another helicopter, and a female crew chief in another. The female crew chief crossed the border into Iraq – the ‘war zone’, if you will – first. My friend was the first female pilot to cross the border in that assault. After the mission a LT told my friend that she was the first woman to fly a combat mission. My friend was like, ‘Whatever,’ because she hated the guy. She won’t say that she was the first female pilot to fly a combat mission because she doesn’t know. (Actually, she doesn’t like talking about her flying because other women seem to have an adverse reaction.) She thinks she’s one of the first. She’d like to find out. ---
**Author:** ![ggimlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/0ea827/32.png) [@ggimlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ggimlick)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562/20 "2012-02-25T16:40:32Z")
The first female Army helicopter pilot I know of who flew in combat was 1LT Kathy Henderson of the 18th AVN Co, 18th ABN Corps, Ft Bragg in Granada. It was by accident for the most part since she was the platoon leader who was not supposed to deploy with the 18th, but ended up getting on the plane because one of the mission pilots didn’t make it back to base in time. She took his place and quietly went about the mission. It was not a popular move once found out and the Corps leaders tried to keep it quiet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-female-u-s-army-pilots-in-combat/550562.md?page=2)