Eleanor Wadsworth, one of the last surviving female pilots of World War II, died in December following an illness, the BBC reported.
Wadsworth was born in Nottingham and joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in 1943 at age 25 as a response to an advertisement for female pilots.
She was one of six women accepted despite lack of previous flying experience. During her duties, Wadsworth transported aircraft to the front line, flying Spitfires 132 times. She was reportedly one of 165 women who flew without radios or instrument flying instructions, according to the BBC.
Eleanor enjoyed flying Spitfires the most. “It was a beautiful aircraft, great to handle,” she said in a 2020 interview. She recalled that she and other female ATA aviators received equal pay and were well-respected by male colleagues. She piloted a plane for the last time in 1945.
Read the full BBC tribute here.
