Women in World War IIEssay Preview: Women in World War IIReport this essayWomen in World War IILife for women changed dramatically after the start of World War II. Many women had to get out of their comfort zone on the home front and go to work in the men’s field. Women faced man hardships while the men were away at war.
Women had many jobs on the homefront during the war. They volunteered in the Red Cross and the Office of Civilian Defense (The National World War II Museum. “The Role) (Minnesota History Center) they also provided recreation to the men in canteens and sold war bonds. With the men being gone, women had to work on the farm to replace their husbands. Women also had to feel other male positions such as working in factories and shipyards. (Minnesota History Center). Most women were laid off after the war ended and the men returned home needing jobs (The National World War II Museum “The Role).
During the war, essential items had to be rationed. Food, fuel, and many household items were in short supply (The National World War II Museum “Rationing”). Clothing, gas, and food had to be rationed (The US Homefront during World War II). Every American was issued a series of ration books. Once a person’s ration stamps were used up, he/she could not buy any more of that product (The National World War II Museum “Rationing”).
Women had many other jobs in the Second World War Women had to become proficient cooks and housekeepers, manage the finances, and learn to fix their cars. Some women even because “conductorettes.” They also helped out by volunteering in war-related organizations (The National World War II Museum “American”). Other women went on and served in the military (The National World War II Museum “The Role).
Many women served in uniform at home and abroad. Women took office at clerical jobs in the armed forces, freeing men to fight. They volunteered in the Women’s Army Corps, The Navel Women’s Reserve, The Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and The Coast Guard of Women’s Reserve (The National World War II Museum “American”). Women became air force pilots, working with the WAFs and the WASPs (Women in the US Army). Women flew military aircraft and test flew plane they had repaired. Women trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets. They rigged parachutes, analyzed photographs, and served as radio operators. Women drove trucks, worked as laboratory technicians, and many become army
The Civilian Air Patrol (CAA) was a civilian service in the early 1900s when it consisted of men and women for the defense, civil service, and military. An organization of 25 or so women, mostly in civilian settings, were actively engaged in building and running the civilian aviation industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
The total number of civilian aircraft units was about 854 million in 1934 and by 2000 the air industry was operating at about 1.7 billion passenger-carrying aircraft at the same time. By 1940, about 70 percent of American and Soviet air carriers had flown more than 3,000 aircraft. Since 1942, the total number of passenger aircraft had increased to about 80 million and as early as 1949, the number of U.S. military planes was about 10 to 10 times that size. By 1967, all U.S. military aircraft carriers had more than 350,000 passenger-carrying capacity. In addition, women accounted for 23 percent of U.S. civilian, private, and corporate aviation workers in 1939, and a third of all workers in all civilian aviation industries.
Women were the backbone of the industrial process, a vital element of the American air industry. They supported workers in other fields, they helped coordinate transportation between places they worked, they made transportation and maintenance tasks more profitable. They would even help set up railroad safety, or security for the city-states. Women were also the key players in the manufacturing industries.
Civilian Aviation
The Civilian Air Patrol (CCPA) was the first of the civilian organizations, organized in the 1930s and 1940s, to develop and maintain large-scale commercial aviation infrastructure (which was in the military and civilian industry). Through its network of aircraft carriers, which were manned by men and women, and with over 2,000 flight days spent each year doing everything from handling ships, landing aircraft, and maintaining airports to moving and refit airplanes, the CAA could control aircraft and provide pilots and ground-support for their fleets. In addition, they held large contracts with many civilian and defense contractors. Women worked closely with them as technicians, engineers, and security operators.
The CAA began as a small group with the aim to establish an air transportation system that would be safe and effective. The early years were characterized by women taking over as crew and supporting aviation in the urban areas. With the opening of American cities to business and the growth of industries such as the telephone, automobile, and computer industries, as well as in the aviation fields, CAA pilots were able to take care of their crews, as well as maintain the airplanes in an affordable and sustainable manner. The