Nancy Harkness Love
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Nancy Harkness Love (February 14, 1914 - October 22, 1976) was an American pilot and squadron commander during World War II.
Nancy Harkness, born in Houghton, Michigan, earned her pilot's license at the age of 16, a month after her first flight. She attended Vassar, though she left after her second year, and started a flying school there. During and after her college education, she worked in various jobs in aviation. She married Robert Maclure Love in 1936.
In 1937 and 1938 she was a test pilot for Gwinn Air Car Company, testing various aircraft modifications including the new tricycle landing gear.
Robert Love, a reservist, was called to duty in Washington, D.C. in 1942. Nancy accompanied him to Washington and was hired by the Air Transport Command's ferrying division. She then convinced the division to establish the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron in 1942 with her as a squadron commander. In 1943 the squadron merged with the Women?s Flying Training Detachment to become the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Nancy was named executive director of the WASP at the age of 28.
She was the first woman to be certified to fly a North American P-51 Mustang, a C-54, a North American B-25 Mitchell, and along with Betty Gillies, a B-17. She was certified in 16 military aircraft, including the Douglas C-47 and the A-36.
After the war she fought for the right of the women in her squadron to be recognized as military veterans. They were recognized in 1977, shortly after her death. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1997.