Nancy Harkness Love, born Hannah Lincoln Harkness in Houghton, Michigan, was an American pilot and commander during World War II. The daughter of a wealthy physician, Harkness developed an intense interest in aviation at an early age. At 16 she took her first flight and earned her pilot's license within a month. Although she went to all the right schools, including Milton Academy in Massachusetts and Vassar in New York, she was restless and adventurous. At Vassar she earned extra money taking students for rides in an airplane she rented from a nearby airport.
During World War II she was appointed as Executive of Women's Pilots by Colonel William Tunner, the commander of the Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command. Within a few months, she had recruited 29 experienced female pilots to join the newly created Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Nancy Love became their Commander. In September, 1942, the women pilots began flying at New Castle Army Air Field, Wilmington, Delaware, under the 2nd Ferrying Group. By June, 1943, Nancy Love was commanding four different squadrons of WAFS at Love Field in Texas, New Castle in Delaware, Romulus in Michigan and Long Beach in California. The WAFS' number had greatly increased because of the addition of graduates of the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas, an organization championed and headed by Jacqueline Cochran. On August 5, 1943, the WAFS merged with the WFTD and became a single entity: the Women Air Service Pilots (WASP). Nancy Love was named as the Executive for all WASP ferrying operations . Under her command, female pilots flew almost every type military aircraft then in the Army Air Force's arsenal, and their record of achievement proved remarkable. She was the first woman to be certified to fly the North American P-51 Mustang, C-54, B-25 Mitchell, and along with Betty Gillies, the B-17 Flying Fortress. She was certified in 16 military aircraft, including the Douglas C-47 and the A-36. In 1944, after the WASPs were disbanded, Love continued to work on the Air Transport Command's Report. She set a record of being the first woman in aviation to make a flight around the world. She flew the plane at least one-half of the time, including crossing over the Himalayas. After the war, Nancy Love became the mother of three daughters, but she continued as an aviation industry leader, as well as a champion for recognition as military veterans for the women who had served as WASPs. In 1948, after the creation of the United States Air Force she was designated the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Love died of cancer at the age of 62 in 1976, so she didn't live to see the WASPs being accorded military recognition three years later. The WASPs were recognized in 1977, shortly after her death.
From the description of Nancy Harkness Love Research Collection. (Michigan Technological University). WorldCat record id: 758676423
