Adela Riek Scharr

Adela "Del" Riek Scharr (August 10, 1907 – March 11, 1998) was an American aviator. Scharr was the first woman in St. Louis to earn her commercial flight license and worked as a flight instructor at Lambert Field. Scharr was recruited in 1942 to join the Women's Axillary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and later flew planes as a WASP. Scharr was also the first woman to fly a P-39 Bell Aircobra. After World War II, Scharr was commissioned as a major in the Air Force and also worked as a teacher.

Biography Scharr was born and raised in St. Louis. She earned her bachelor's degree from Harris Teachers College (now Harris-Stowe State College) in 1929. She started teaching in elementary schools in St. Louis after college. In 1938, she was working as a flight instructor at Lambert Field, where she met her husband, Harold N. Scharr. After she was forced out of teaching public school, she went on to teach at the Civilian Pilot Training Program at St. Louis University.

In 1941, Scharr was part of a "Powder Puff Squadron" to repel enemy aircraft that people felt might be able to make their way inland. Scharr joined the Women's Axillary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) in 1942. She was the first woman to fly a P-39 Bell Aircobra. Scharr received a commission from the Air Force in 1949, where she joined as a major. She also returned to teaching around the same time, after the law forbidding married women from teaching was lifted. In 1961, she flew a C-135 jet for the Air Force to prove that women could fly that type of aircraft. Scharr retired from the Air Force Reserves in August 1967. She retired from teaching in St. Louis in 1972.

Scharr died on March 11, 1998, after a long illness.