Books by Sarah Byrn Rickman
Cornelia Fort WAFS Pilot:
Her Life for Her Country
A Young Adult biography by WASP Authority Sarah Byrn Rickman
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN 978-1735059532
Flight to Destiny Press
The story of Cornelia Clark Fort soars. Cornelia herself soared every time she stepped into the cockpit of the aircraft she was flying that day, from takeoff to landing – including her last flight. While doing her sworn duty to the best of her ability, she gave her life for her country when it was at war fighting for democracy and the right to live free. Principles she fervently believed in.
Jean Landis, WASP Pilot
2,500 Miles … Long Beach to Newark in a P-51
A Young Adult biography By WASP Authority Sarah Byrn Rickman
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN 978-1735059525
Flight to Destiny Press
“My Aunt Jean is an inspiration to every little girl who has a dream,” says her great nephew. – A youthful pioneer spirit and love of adventure led Jean Landis to volunteer to fly first trainer and later fighter aircraft for her country in World War II – when she was desperately needed.
Teresa James, WAFS Pilot
Gear Up/Gear Down: A P-47 to Newark
A Young Adult biography By WASP Authority Sarah Byrn Rickman
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN 978-1735059518
Flight to Destiny Press
In the early 1930s – when she was just twenty-one years old – Teresa James thrilled air-show audiences with her dizzying, dare-devil barnstorming stunts in a vintage 1920s biplane. Little did she know her exceptional flying skills and nerves of steel would be called upon to serve Uncle Sam in World War II.
Betty Gillies: WAFS Pilot
The Days and Flights of a World War II Squadron Leader
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN-13 : 978-1735059501
Flight To Destiny Press
Betty Gillies, 5 feet 1½ inches and known to the girls in her squadron as “the Mighty Atom,” flew every twin and single-engine, single-seat fighter aircraft the U.S.A. needed to win World War II. Her husband, Bud, made special blocks for her that allowed her to reach the rudder pedals of these big, powerful aircraft.
For their 28 months of WAFS/WASP service, Betty was leader Nancy Love’s “rock” and confidante.
Nancy Love: WASP Pilot
A Young Adult biography By WASP Authority Sarah Byrn Rickman
Paperback and Kindle ISBN 978-1735059556
Flight to Destiny Press
The Army C-54 began its takeoff roll. The lumbering giant strained to gain momentum. The wind caught its wings, and the aircraft lifted from the runway. For the first time, a woman’s hands held the controls of the 38,930-pound cargo/transport plane.
The pilot was Nancy Harkness Love.
Fully loaded, the four-engine wartime beast of burden climbed through the heavy humid air of Calcutta, India. The pilot set an east-by-northeast heading and flew out over the jungles of east India.
BJ Erickson: WASP Pilot
A Young Adult biography By WASP Authority Sarah Byrn Rickman
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN 978-1735059549
Flight to Destiny Press
BJ and Nancy Love were assigned to fly Genevieve, a patched-up, war-weary B-17, to the graveyard – “with loving care.” They flew Genevieve at greatly reduced airspeed because a large red sign on the instrument panel advised DO NOT RETRACT LANDING GEAR.
“Along the entire route, we ignored intruders who flew by us signaling – in a superior manner – that we’d forgotten to pull up the landing gear. We suspect the epithet ‘women drivers’ was directed at us along with their hand signals.”
FINDING DOROTHY SCOTT
Letters of a WASP Pilot
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN-978-0-89672-972-8
Texas Tech University Press
“Oh, Pop, we made a nighttime formation take off between smudge pots lining the runways,” Dorothy wrote. “I’ll never in all my life forget that ride! We were nearly touching the other plane – guided only by
small lights and the flare of the exhaust. The rapidly fading field looked like a million small fires.”
Dorothy’s letters put you in the aircraft with her. Her voice transcends the years.
WASP OF THE FERRY COMMAND
Women Pilots, Uncommon Deeds
Paperback and Kindle — ISBN 978-1-57441-677-0
University of North Texas Press
Eleven-hundred-two American women – the WASP – flew U.S. Army aircraft in World War II. What they did is WWII’s best-kept secret.
The accepted story is that the whole idea originated with Jackie Cochran. Her contribution is only half the story. The first and full story of the WASP begins with Nancy Love, the woman who formed and then led the women ferry pilots.
In 1944, one hundred or so WASP ferry pilots took the new, trailblazing P-51D fighters on their very first flight – from the factory to the docks at Newark, New Jersey. From there, ships took them to England. U.S. male pilots flew those P-51s from England to Berlin and back – escorting and protecting America’s four-engine B-17 and B-24 bombers. The work of the P-51s eventually brought Nazi Germany to its knees.
Flight To Destiny
A WASP Novel
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN 978-1-57074-110-4
Braughler Books
“Here we go.” Annie and Clare knew this was the flight of their lives – their flight to destiny.
In minutes they were flying in a magnificent canyon of mammoth icy crags. The surface of the fjord below appeared to be but a few feet beneath their wings. Just as they were warned, at points the icy walls closed in on them, but the wingtips passed with ease as Clare wove the big airplane through the narrows.
She caught herself holding her breath.
“My Gawd, it is beautiful!” The full impact of the Arctic beauty unfolded before her eyes.
A 5,000-foot long, 145-foot wide runway stretched away from them running slightly uphill. It ended abruptly at the foot of a very large snowbank. The glacier!
“I never dreamed I’d ever see anything this magnificent,” said Annie.
Nancy Batson Crews
Alabama’s First Lady of the Air
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN-978-0-8173-5553-1
University of Alabama Press
Nancy’s story is written straight from my heart. We were best friends her final year. She flew P-47s, P-51s, P-38s, heroic stuff to this child of WWII! Nancy chose me to write the story of her beloved WAFS.
THE ORIGINALS is as much her book as it is mine. After she was gone, I chose to write this book, her story, the sometimes painful but inspirational portrait of an American patriot. – Sarah Byrn Rickman,
2009
Nancy Love
and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II
Paperback and Kindle — ISBN 978-1-57741-576-6
University of North Texas Press
Nancy Love, working with General William H. Tunner, created THE concept to allow women pilots to ferry aircraft for the US military in WWII. By September 1944, she had 134 civilian women pilots delivering three-fifths of all the single-engine pursuit aircraft coming off factory
assembly lines.
How? Read her story and find out.
FLIGHT FROM FEAR
A WASP Novel
Paperback and Kindle – ISBN 1-58444-273-5
Lacy heard the metallic rip. A jet of slick black oil poured onto her windscreen. “Oil line rupture!”
“We’ve got to bail.” Cin’s voice contained the same element of terror Lacy felt.
“No,” she yelled as the engine seized up and quit. Lacy, knowing she had seconds to find a place to land, cut the ignition and lowered the nose.
A rush of cold air filled the airplane. Cin’s canopy was open.
“Jump!” she heard Cin say.
“No, Cin, wait!” …
THE ORIGINALS
The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of WWII
Paperback – ISBN-978-1-945091-38-4
Braughler Books
“Did I tell ya about the time I popped the buttons off Giuseppe Faranessi’s pants?” WAFS Teresa James asks, while turning to the page in her scrapbook with the photocopy of her advanced instructor’s license.
I shook my head.
“Giuseppe Faranessi was my combat aerobatics instructor. ‘Young lady,’ he said, ‘Any woman who can pop the buttons off my pants at 7,000 feet deserves a ticket. You damn near catapulted me outta the plane.’”
Read about Teresa and the other 27 original WAFS in The Originals.