Elizabeth Chambers

Elizabeth Maxine Chambers (August 25, 1920 − May 11, 1961) was one of the first female pilots in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program in which women took on non-combat flying duties so more male pilots were available for combat. She was in WASP Class of 44-W-3 as part of the 318th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment. She became a pilot shortly after her husband lost his life while flying, despite the fact that she had a new baby, She grew up in Hollywood, California.

Career Prior to World War II Chambers worked for the Walt Disney Company and Universal Pictures, where she did post-production work that involved inking outlines for cartoon celluloid cells in preparation for painting during the picture process stage of film production.

Chambers was married to Robert William Chambers, a United States Army pilot who had previously worked at Lockheed in the engineering department. Later, during her service as a WASP, Chambers would be sent on a mission to tour a Lockheed plant.

In 1942 during the war, Robert was killed in an aircraft crash. After his death, Chambers and her baby moved in with her parents and she got a job as a telephone operator at Southern California Telephone Company.

Chambers trained at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, and then was sent to Turner Field in Albany, Georgia. She then attended the Army Air Force Tactical School in Orlando, Florida. At Greenwood, Chambers accrued over 420 hours of flight time up until December 20, 1944.

As a pilot she flew North American AT-6 advanced trainers, PT-17 biplane primary trainers, Beechcraft AT-10 twin-engineer trainers, and the BT-25.

Chambers' service ended when the WASP program was disbanded at the end of 1944.

Honors On November 2, 1977, President Jimmy Carter passed Public Law 95-202, which gave those that served in the WASP program military veteran status. They were previously considered civilians.

Personal life In 1941, Chambers married Robert William Chambers, a United States Army pilot.

In 1947, she married Robert Edward Black, a lumberman. She died in 1961.