Lofthouse was one of the ‘Atagirls’ who flew aircraft including Spitfires from factories to the frontlineThe trailblazing second world war pilot Joy Lofthouse, who flew bombers and fighter aircraft for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the conflict, has died aged 94. She joined the ATA with her sister in 1943 after spotting a magazine advert that encouraged women to learn to fly. Speaking in 2015, she said becoming a pilot to help the war effort had “sounded better than working in a bank”. We were doing just about the most exciting job there was to be done by women in the war,” she said in 2015. She recalled that ATA women competed to fly as many different models of aircraft as possible, but the Spitfire was the most desirable.

Source: The Guardian November 16, 2017 19:18 UTC