First woman to fly multiple key U.S. military aircraft types

Around June 1, 1944, during the middle years of World War II, Nancy Harkness Love had become the first woman in U.S. military history to fly the B‑25 Mitchell, the P‑51 Mustang, and the Douglas C‑54 Skymaster, and was one of the first two women to check out in the B‑17 Flying Fortress.[2][8] These achievements marked a series of type‑rating firsts across both fighter and multi‑engine bomber/transport categories.

Flying the B‑25 and B‑17 required mastery of multi‑engine operations, complex systems, and heavy aircraft handling, while the C‑54 represented advanced long‑range transport capability. At a time when most male ferry pilots progressed through structured training pipelines, Nancy and her women colleagues had to fight for every opportunity to qualify on new types, often convincing skeptical commanders to allow check rides.[2]

Her status as the first woman to have flown this combination of aircraft demonstrated that women could handle almost the full spectrum of AAF equipment, from cutting‑edge fighters to heavy bombers and transports. It directly undercut arguments that women should be restricted to "simple" planes and strengthened the case for expanding women’s roles in military aviation.[2][9]

These mid‑war type firsts had enduring impact. They contributed to her later recognition by the National Aviation Hall of Fame and shaped how historians understand women’s contributions to World War II air operations. For the women who followed, Nancy’s record provided a powerful precedent: complex and dangerous aircraft were not inherently male domains. Even though exact individual checkout dates are not all documented, by mid‑1944 she had clearly crossed multiple key barriers in aircraft type ratings, making this period a sentinel in the history of women’s military flying.[2][8]