Women's Unparalleled Contributions to Aviation During World War I

“If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the War.”

-Joeseph Joffre, French field marshal and commander-in-chief during World War I 

Many are familiar with Rosie the Riveter, the iconic symbol of women’s contributions to World War II. However, women also played an important role in World War I, especially in regard to aviation. While most women were denied the opportunity to enlist in the military (though some still tried), they contributed in other ways. Some learned an entirely new skill—the manufacturing of aircraft. Others used their flying prowess and fame to raise money and spread awareness. In rare cases, they enlisted in the military if allowed.

Women Built Aircraft

When World War I began in 1914, the airplane was still in its infancy. The Wrights had only completed the first successful heavier-than-air flight just over a decade before in 1903. When war broke out, airplanes were only produced in small numbers.  

Ramping up aircraft production posed challenges. Building aircraft was a new skill even before the war. The Allied Powers needed to produce large quantities of airplanes, and fast. With large portions of the almost all-male workforce away at war there was a labor shortage. Women rose to the challenge. 

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Manufacturing aircraft required skilled workers who could adapt to rapidly changing designs. During this period, wood and fabric were the primary materials used in airplane construction. These materials made building an airplane particularly difficult. It required dozens of workers with different skills.  

Women made up about 20% of the American aircraft manufacturing workforce during World War I. Over 1 million women in Britain joined the workforce between the start of the War and July 1917. Women made up nearly 30% of German armaments producer Krupp’s workforce. Nearly 1.4 million women were employed in the war labor force nationwide in Germany. 

Women Flew Airplanes to Fundraise and Recruit for the War Effort

When the United States entered the War in 1917, American aviator Ruth Law saw no reason why she should not be able to serve her country like male pilots. Law was a well-known and accomplished aviator by 1917. She was the first woman to fly at night. In 1915, she became the first woman to carry out a “loop the loop.” In 1916, she set the nonstop flying record in America. 

Despite these clear qualifications, both the U.S. Army and the French air service denied her requests to enlist. The Secretary of War, Newton Diehl Baker, put it simply: “We don’t want women in the Army.”

Law persisted. She was eventually the first woman permitted to wear a U.S. Army non-commissioned officer’s uniform. Law wore the uniform while she flew promotional flights to raise money for the war effort, recruit troops, and while flying Liberty Loan flights.  

Liberty Loan flights aided the war effort back home by promoting government bonds. Law was joined by other well-known female aviators of the time, such as Katherine and Majorie Stinson. They would drop leaflets out of their planes that were designed to look like a bomb. The leaflets had text on them promoting Americans to invest in government bonds to support the war effort.

British Women Joined the Military to Support Aviation

While female aviators like Ruth Law were denied the opportunity to enlist in the military, the British Women’s Royal Airforce (WRAF) encouraged woman into more aviation and support roles than other nations.  

The WRAF was formed in April 1918. It placed most women in desk jobs. Others, however, worked directly with aircraft, including as mechanics. The WRAF carried out practice drills and wore uniforms like any other branch of the military. They helped maintain aircraft, staffed mobile repair shops used by the Royal Airforce, and supported machine shops, among other things.  

Women in Aviation After the War

The war’s end eliminated most aviation manufacturing jobs. This downsizing meant that women’s roles in military aviation were also eliminated. However, women’s wartime experiences further inspired them to push for women’s rights, especially voting rights.

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While women's role in military aviation and airplane manufacturing went away with the end of the War, that did not mean they were no longer involved in the wider field of aviation. World War I provided a foundation for civil aviation, where women did not face as many barriers as they did when trying to join the military during the war. Warring nations converted many of their aircraft for new, non-military uses. This gave women new avenues to take to the sky.

The widespread availability of wartime trainers like the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" shaped the growth of aviation in the United States. Aviator Laura Bromwell flew a Jenny for the New York City Police Department's Aviation Section. She also set a record of 199 consecutive loops while barnstorming in 1921. She suffered a fatal crash just two weeks later.

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After the war, Ruth Law returned to flying for entertainment. She went on to establish “Ruth Laws Flying Circus.” The flying circus was a troupe of three planes that amazed spectators at state and county fairs by racing against cars, flying through fireworks, and setting altitude and distance records. She retired from flying in 1922 at the request of her husband.  

Ruth Law and Laura Bromwell are just two examples of women’s continued involvement in civil aviation during the interwar period, but there are many. Bessie Coleman broke through both racial and gender barriers to become a famous barnstormer. Amelia Earhart broke countless records in the years after the war.  

As war once again loomed in the 1930s and 40s, women mobilized. Women aided the war effort in World War II as members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and in other ways, despite continuing discrimination based on their gender. Today, women are fully integrated in U.S. military aviation, thanks to the efforts of the women of the past.