This collection consists of 35 reprints of historical images gathered for Anne Noggle's books, For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II (published 1990) and A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II (published 1994).
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 35 large-format black and white photographic reprints of historical images gathered for Anne Noggle's books, For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II and A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. From For God, Country and the Thrill of it there are 21 images (including nine not used in the book) relating to training of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) at Sweetwater, Texas. From A Dance with Death there are 12 images (including two not used in the book) relating to Soviet air personnel assigned to the 588th Night Bomber Regiment (later renamed the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, also nicknamed by the Germans as die Nachthexen or "Night Witches"), the 125th Guards Bomber Regiment, and the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense). Women pilots pictured include Marina Raskova, Lydia (Lilya) Litvyak, Anna Timofeyeva-Yegorova, and other Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Arrangement:
Photographs are arranged into two series; Series 1 consists of photographs relating to WASP training at Avanger Field, Sweetwater, Texas; Series 2 consists of Soviet World War II photographs. Folders containing photographs used in Noggle's books are arranged in page number order.
Biographical / Historical:
With the entry of the United States into World War II, many American women pilots longed to volunteer their skills to serve their country but were barred from flying for the US military due to their gender. Some American women pilots, including well-known racing pilot Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran, had already offered their services to the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), ferrying aircraft from the manufacturers to and between air bases and freeing up male Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots for other duties. Cochran's experience with the ATA led her to lobby long and hard for a similar organization in the US. Initially, two organizations were formed to allow American women pilots to participate in the war effort. On September 10, 1942, the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), consisting of commercially licensed women pilots under the leadership of Nancy Harkness Love, was created as part of the US Army Air Corps' Air Transport Command. On November 16, 1942, a women pilot training program designed to supply pilots for the WAFS was begun under Cochran's leadership as the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). Initially based at Howard Hughes Municipal Airport in Houston, Texas, the WFTD was soon moved to Avenger Field at Sweetwater, Texas. On August 5, 1943, the WAFS and the WFTD were merged to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), with Cochran as director of the WASP and its training division and Love as director of the ferrying division. Between November 17, 1942, and December 7, 1944, the 1,074 women who earned WASP wings flew 60 million miles for the US Army Air Corps. From light aircraft, the WASPs advanced quickly to fly every type of Air Corps aircraft in use at the time. Except for aerial gunnery and formation flying, these women received the same training as the male pilots. WASPs ferried planes, towed anti-aircraft artillery training targets, flew tracking, simulated bombing missions, performed radio control, flight tested aircraft, gave instrument instruction and performed many other duties. Their work allowed more men to participate in aviation combat roles.
The Russian Civil War which followed the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 provided new opportunities for women in previously male-dominated areas; Marxist ideology considered men and women to be equal citizens in both rights and responsibilities. Aviation became increasingly popular in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) throughout the 1920s and 1930s, with many women receiving training alongside men in aviation and aircraft mechanics through local aero clubs. In September 1938, three Soviet women made a record-setting long distance flight across the Soviet Union in the Tupolev (ANT-37bis) DB-2B "Rodina" ("Motherland"). The previous year, Marina Raskova, navigator for the flight, had become the first female staff instructor at the Zhukhovski Air Academy; Raskova later trained as a pilot and became a popular role model for young women who went on to serve as military pilots and navigators during World War II. After the Nazis invaded the USSR in June 1941, Raskova was able to convince Soviet leaders that women were a valuable asset and could play a useful military role. Young women recruited to join the 122nd Composite Air Group were sent to the Engels Military Aviation School where they were divided into four groups to train as pilots, navigators, mechanics, or armorers, based on their previous experience. They received the same training as the male recruits. In early 1942, three regiments which had been formed out of the 122nd Composite Air Group were activated: the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense), the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment (later renamed as the 125th Guards Bomber Regiment), and the 588th Night Bomber Regiment (later renamed the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, also nicknamed by the Germans as die Nachthexen or "Night Witches"). By the end of the war the three regiments had flown a combined total of over 30,000 combat sorties, and many of the airwomen had been awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their wartime service.
Anne Noggle (1922--2005) was a fine art photographer recognized for her feminist artwork on women, aging, and self-portraiture. Noggle served as a Woman Airforce Service (WASP) pilot from 1943--1944, was a stunt pilot and crop duster after the war, and was a captain in the Air Force from 1953--1959. Noggle remained an active pilot throughout her lifetime. At 38 years old, Noggle pursued a college education and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in art and art history, and a Master of Arts degree in photography from the University of New Mexico. She was the curator of photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art from 1970--1976 and taught photography as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico 1970--1984, which is recognized for their prestigious photography program. Noggle received numerous awards for her photographic work, including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Her work is in the permanent collections of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque Museum, California Museum of Photography, Denver Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of the Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Harn Museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin. Noggle also was the author of several books, including For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II, and A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II, which featured her portrait photography of the women fliers.
Related Materials:
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Art Collection includes 117 print photographs created by photographer Anne Noggle.
Provenance:
Anne Noggle Foundation, Gift, 2021, NASM.2021.0014
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
[Page 171] "Technical and mechanical staff, 586th regiment, May, 1945, in Budapest, Hungary." Formal posed group photograph of members of the technical and mechanical staff of the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense), in uniform; Budapest, Hungary, May 1945; annotated in Cyrillic in bottom border of print. Front row, left to right: Tatiana (Tanya) Lisogorskaya, Valentina (Valya) Lyamilea, Anatoli Reutsky, Viktor Kazanin; Eugenia (Zhenya) Borak. Back row: Tatiana (Tanya) Rad'ko, Valentina (Valya) Kovaleva [Valentina Kovalyova-Sergeicheva], Tatiana (Tanya) Butizova [Galina Butuzova], Zinaida (Zina) Myagkikh, Theodora (Fenya) Tkachenko, Tatiana (Tanya) Buyvolova.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Historic photographs collected by Anne Noggle for her book For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1990).
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Informal portrait photograph of Soviet woman navigator and pilot Major Marina Raskova, later commander of the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment (later renamed as the 125th Guards Bomber Regiment), in flight clothing, wearing flight helmet with goggles pushed up on her head; circa 1938.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Formal half-length portrait photograph of Soviet woman navigator Polina Gelman, 46th Guards Bomber Regiment, in uniform with medals; circa 1943-1945.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
[Written on reverse: Left - Raisa Yushina, 46th Regiment. Center: Anna Petkelyova, 46th Reg. Right - Alya Pinchuk, 46th Regiment.] Formal posed group portrait photograph of three Soviet airwomen assigned to the 46th Guards Bomber Regiment, in uniform, with medals, circa 1944-1945; print labeled by hand in Russian in lower border.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
[Page 128] "In the Kremlin after award ceremony of Hero of the Soviet Union Gold Star medals. Bottom row: Klavdiya Fomichova [sic] (left), Nadezhda Fedutenko (center). Top row: Mariya Dolina (third from left) and Antonina Zubkova (far right), 125th regiment." Formal group photograph of recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union Gold Star medal, including Soviet airwomen of the 125th Guards Bomber Regiment: Lt. Colonel Klavdia Fomicheva, Major Nadezhda Fedutenko, Major Mariya Dolina, and Captain Antonina Zubkova; circa August 18, 1945.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Three Soviet women pilots assigned to the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense) consult a map spread out on the left horizontal stabilizer of a Yakovlev Yak-1 (Ya-26, I-26); sometime between September 1942 and August 1943. Left to right: Lydia (Lilya) Litvyak, Yekaterina (Katya) Budanova, Mariya Kuznetsova.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Informal three-quarter length view of Soviet woman pilot Tamara Pamyatnykh (left) helping fellow pilot Galina Burdina (right) adjust the straps of her parachute; both women are seen in flight clothing with helmets and goggles; 586th Fighter Regiment, circa 1943.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
[Written on reverse: Readiness 1: Valentina Lisitsina, 586th Regiment.] One-half right front view, close up, of Soviet woman pilot Valentina Lisitsina, 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense), seated in the cockpit of her Yakovlev Yak-1 (Ya-26, I-26) in a state of "readiness one" (aircraft at the end of the runway with pilot in cockpit, ready to take off to intercept the enemy as it approached); circa 1942. Note open umbrella set in cockpit to shade the pilot.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Four Soviet airwomen assigned to the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense) walk from their headquarters in an airfield dugout for a mission; 1942. Rear view of Yakovlev Yak-1 (Ya-26, I-26) parked in right background.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Informal studio photograph of three Soviet airwomen in uniform taken during training at the Engels Military Aviation School, 1941; all were later assigned to the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense). Left to right: Valentina Guozdikova, Klavdiya Pankratova, Lydia (Lilya) Litvyak.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
One 9.25 x 11.5 inch and eleven 11 x 14 inch black and white print copy photographs, in page number order.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) Lenora Horton and Mildred Axton model oversized "Zoot-suit" coveralls at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, December 1943. [USAF photo B-36501 A.C.]
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
An unidentified Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) in heavy flight clothing sits on her parachute seat pack on the left wing root of a Stearman (1927) PT-17 Kaydet biplane, using a pencil to write on a document; 1943-1944.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
A group of six unidentified Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) trainees in coveralls and flight helmets pose in formation to make the shape of an airplane in front of a barracks, probably at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas; circa 1943-1944.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
An unidentified Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) trainee, barefoot and in wet coveralls, poses sitting on the edge of the wishing well at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas; circa 1943-1944. Two other women in right background.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Three unidentified Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) trainees pose outside their barracks (probably at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas) modeling three different outfits: short sleeve top and trousers, "Zoot suit" style coverall, and winter flying clothing with flight helmet and goggles.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Right side view of North American AT-6C (T-6C) Texan (s/n 41-32309, buzz number 249) in flight near Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas; circa 1943-1944.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
An unidentified Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) poses in winter flight clothing and cap, jacket open, showing off her suspenders, outside Barracks A at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, 1943.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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