The Hurricane Girls: The inspirational true story of the women who dared to fly by Jo Wheeler

Author:Jo Wheeler [Wheeler, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241354643
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-07-25T23:00:00+00:00

12. Spitfires

Margaret Fairweather arrived in style on the Anson from her home in White Waltham one clear and balmy July morning. She went to the office to collect her chit as usual with a light heart. There was a buzz of conversation: some were happy with what they’d got, and had a Hurricane or something they liked; others who had an old Proctor or something a bit ropey were grumbling. Margaret greeted the adjutant and took her delivery chit. She had to read it twice to be certain what it said.

Spitfire. Pilot: M. Fairweather.

There was none of the fanfare that had surrounded the first flight in a Hurricane. Margaret simply smiled and told the girls, who were of course all green with envy. She then picked up her bag, goggles and helmet and went to find her aircraft. She climbed up on the wing to get in and settled into what was a very snug cockpit. After all the checks and a few notes from the fitter, she fired up the powerful Merlin engine. The plane was a bit nose-heavy on the runway and she realised it was near impossible to see ahead because of the huge engine blocking the view. The brakes were touchy and to be used sparingly on taxiing. As she pulled the throttle and released the brakes, the plane issued a sharp kick from the engine right into her back and there was a huge roar in her ears. Although she had heard it many times from a distance, it was quite another thing being right next to it.

Almost imperceptibly she left the ground, accelerating into the air much faster than she had experienced before. She shot up into the sky, soon reaching 250 mph, and took note of how sensitive the controls were. It was like no other feeling. Once airborne, the Spitfire was smooth and cosy and natural as it swooped and soared with ease. The central control column, or stick as they called it, moved gently back and forth, allowing her to climb at will with barely a movement of the hand.

Margie’s delivery went without a hitch and when she arrived back she was characteristically low-key about having been the first woman to fly a Spitfire. She was of course proud of her place in aviation history and mentioned it in a letter to her father some weeks later.

When they heard more about the pleasure of flying such a well-designed aircraft, the other women couldn’t wait for their turn, and that summer more of them did indeed find the Spit on their own chits.

Jackie Sourer, who had added an extra gold stripe to her lapel and been promoted to first officer, made her first delivery of a Spitfire in August. She found the whole thing exhilarating, as she dived and climbed, amazed by how easy it was in the air. Being of a slight build, she actually found it a benefit to be in such a compact cockpit where everything was right there where you needed it.

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