Talent and Innovation
A Group of Tuskegee Airmen: Image courtsey of History.com.
Constant innovation has been a hallmark of aerial combat since the Wright brothers. This innovation is driven by the competition for aerial superiority. Throughout WWII, countries fought to be the greatest in the air; this led to the invention of crucial aspects of aircraft including guided missiles, jet propulsion, radar and pressurized cabins.
1918 Biplane: Image courtsey of The Columbian
1945 Curtiss XP-42: Image courtsey of NASA History
During this time of competition, countries used every resource they had to take advantage of the frontier. In the U.S., this included giving women and minorities opportunities in the air industry for the first time. Perhaps the most notable example of minorities in combat was the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American fighters who played a crucial part in destroying German forces. Women participated in the war effort beginning in 1942 with the establishment of the The Women Airforce Service Program. During WWII, these women pilots flew 80% of all ferrying missions. Women also worked on the ground, helping manufacture 300,000 aircraft during the war.
The Tuskegee Airmen "Prove Themselves Efficent": Image courtsey of Newpapers.com
WASP Pilots: Image courtsey of the Smithsonian
“Without the people who bring the drive, creativity, sense of mission and core values to the fight, our Air Force would be a conglomerate of requirements, rules and rote actions, nothing more.”
~ Gen. Susan Helms
Woman Working on Aircraft on a Maintenance Assembly Line: Image courtsey of the Hill Air Force Base.
Air superiority requires a vast array of leading-edge technologies and weapon systems, which in turn require integrated teams of talented people. It is not just the technology that changes war but the people who invent and deploy it.
“It's the partnership and collaboration within the industry that enables aviation to occur.”
~ Leanne Caret, Aerospace CEO