Margot Duhalde Sotomayor

Margot Duhalde Sotomayor (12 December 1920 – 5 February 2018) was a Chilean pilot who served with the Air Transport Auxiliary in World War II. She was Chile's first female military pilot and first female air traffic controller,

Although she spoke almost no English, she was trained as a transport pilot to enable her to fly both single and twin-engine aircraft, and both British and American machines. Over the next four years, Duhalde moved more than 900 aircraft, of 70 different types, from English bases to combat zones in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Post-war After the war, in 1945, Duhalde flew warplanes for the French Air Force. She was France's first female combat pilot. She served as a transport pilot for the French, based in Meknes, Morocco. She later opened her own flying school and worked as a flight instructor and as an air traffic controller in the air force.

Honours and awards In 1946 Duhalde was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour, and in 2007 she was made a Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour. In 2009 Duhalde received the Veteran's Badge from the British ambassador in Santiago, Howard Drake, for her work with the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II.