The Hurricane Girls: The inspirational true story of the women who dared to fly

by Jo Wheeler

Celebrating the lives of the magnificent women, the ATA girls, who courageously flew Spitfires, Tiger Moths, Lancaster Bombers and many other aircraft during World War Two.

These extraordinary women, Mary Ellis, Jackie Moggridge and Pauline Gower are just a few of the remarkable stories inside . . .

Since the invention of aeroplanes, women have taken to the skies. They have broken records, performed daredevil stunts and faced such sexism and prejudice that they were effectively barred from working as pilots.

That changed in the Second World War. Led by firebrand Pauline Gower, an elite group of British women were selected as ferry pilots to fly for the Air Transport Auxiliary. They risked their lives flying munitions and equipment for the boys on the front line.

Flying day and night without radio; dodging storms, barrage balloons and anti-aircraft fire; and with only a map, compass and their eyesight to guide them, they navigated the treacherous wartime skies.
____________

The Hurricane Girls is the thrilling, moving and inspirational story of the female air force who once ruled our skies.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Aviation, War, Feminism, 20th Century, World War II

ebook

Published July 26, 2018

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read that kept me interested all the way through. These were particularly brave women. Flying the different aircraft was a feat in itself but the fact they had no radio and were unarmed can't have been easy. They did come into contact now and again with German fighters and had to dodge them before being seen.
There are some sad parts, as expected and there is an epilogue telling us what happened to the women after the war. It must have been so hard for them to get back to 'normal' after all they'd been through during the war years.
Well worth a read for anyone interested in history and women in a man's world of the time.

[Flybyreader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a well-thought but poorly executed novel.

The idea behind The Hurricane Girls is quite interesting. The story of the women flying an aircraft in a time when women were thought to belong to home and even wearing pants were out of question in many parts of the world. The strong female role models, who have tasted the life above clouds and decided to fight against odds to fly the metal machine play an important part in WWII, even though it was not their mission in the first place. The story starts with how these women started flying for fun and ended up flying military planes when the war broke out. However, the narration was so prosaic and tasteless and it sounded like a broken record, repeating itself over and over again after the first half of the book.

However, one full star goes to the highlight below, which is the main reason that fueled my passion for flying:

“There is something about getting into an airplane that divorces you from everyday problems. there is a unique feeling of freedom. On the rare occasions when the ATA pilot had to climb up to 6000 feet in a Spitfire or a Hurricane, there was the most incredible release from the pressures and concerns of life back down on earth. It could be exhilarating , at other times, it would simply be terrifying.”

Oh how I love that feeling of complete and utter silence and peace of mind.

[Zarco Dragonetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw it for a number of reasons. Primarily, I live around a mile from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight base, so the Hurricanes, Spitfires and Lancaster are a regular visitor over my house. Secondly, my grandfather served in the RAF in WW2, and would often tell us grandkids about the lady pilots and how good they were at flying, especially the Polish ladies.

Naturally, this made me desperate to get my hands on this book and find out more. I'm so glad I did! These girls - wow! If only young girls were more like these ladies now, instead of taking selfies and obsessing over the Kardashians. What a great bunch, rebelling against the rules of what ladies should be doing and giving the boys a run for their money! I'd love to have been a part of their world. I bet their were great company. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to see these girls as their role models.

I loved this book. It gave such a lovely insight into their world and personalities. It was quite emotional at times, and I found myself Googling them to see their pictures.

I thoroughly recommend this book - get your teenage girls reading it too! We need more ladies like this in the spotlight!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating real-life account of the women of WW2 who were allowed to fly - starting from a requirement of hundreds of flight hours and only allowed to ferry the smallest planes from factory to squadron base, as the war heightened less initial experience was required and training was provided on larger and larger planes. No over-dramatisation, but a factual and interesting narrative.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From an historical perspective it was brilliant. The story of the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary), it tells the story of those women who were as important to WWII as all the men who,flew and fought. Without these women and those men who served in the ATA, the many aeroplanes that were used during the war wouldn’t have got to the camps the RAF were flying from. These young women flew every type of plane imaginable and were, briefly, the only women to achieve true parity with men. The same wage for doing the same job. Truly inspirational and a side of the wartime story never shown on film or told in the many history programmes. Well done ladies!

[Laura Adriani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish the story because I lost track of the main story, there were too many characters and abbreviations with too little clarification, which made it hard to follow for me.

[Dorothy Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making a history book interesting and entertaining isn't exactly easy, but Jo Wheeler has done a good job of telling the story of the women pilots who served in the Air Transport Auxiliary in England during World War II. Wheeler manages to include considerable background information of the pre-war and war era in England. She also covers the planes, the flying conditions, the locations, and some personal stories of the women involved. There have been several fictional accounts of the ATA women, popularly called "The Spitfire Girls," and this book adds to those stories useful historical background. While not as fun and creative as fiction, THE HURRICANE GIRLS is very readable. I enjoyed it very much.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating topic, but I struggled with the writing style.

[Paula Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ripped through this book it was that good! This was a truly inspirational story of determination, guts and the power of women to succeed in the face of adversity. The story of the founding of the ATA, its development as the war progressed, and the women who founded and fought to join the service is fascinating and a story everyone should read. I was aware that there were women pilots moving aeroplanes around the country thanks to some novels that had characters involved in this, but I didn't know the true story, which is much better than fiction!

There are a lot of tragic stories, as one would expect, but these women were trailblazers and it is such a shame that the chauvinistic attitude they overcame to fly returned after the war with a vengeance. They broke the glass ceiling before it even existed.

[Louise Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up from the Imperial War Museum after Christmas. It’s content and subject matter is delightful and very interesting however, it’s execution is poor.

I felt increasingly that it was not well written and that the sentence and paragraph structure made what should be an incredibly easy read, a little stunted. There was a lot of repetition which almost felt like it was unintentional. I kept thinking I was going mad and had read this page before and then realising it was just repeating itself.

Wheeler regularly (and fairly) criticised the way the the contemporary press falsely painted the world of women pilots as full of rich, glamorous girls having a good time but she did very little to dispel that myth which I found disappointing.

Otherwise, an interesting educational read about a lesser documented element of the Second World War.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspirational tale of amazing women pioneers during the Second World War and their struggle for recognition. The pay disparity between women and men doing the same dangerous work of piloting aircraft is a sharp reminder that women have had to overcome a great deal of prejudice. I am filled with admiration for these brave pilots.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a pilot this book really helped put history of aviation in a female perspective and I was rooting for all of my sisters to take on that challenge of a new plane and show the men we deserve to be in the cockpit too! It explains basic flying aerodynamics so that readers of YA and Adult levels should be able to understand.

[Carm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read how a few women, who were determined to work, and who were determined to work in a non-traditional field. I liked how close, connected and cooperative they were of each other as they achieved their tasks. They were really brave and also great fliers. I don't think they should be forgotten.

[Amy Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is absolutely fascinating and I couldn’t put it down. It covers a whole aspect of WW2 I knew nothing about and I loved learning about it. I also really enjoyed the style of writing because it’s written like a story. An inspiring and interesting account of some brilliant and brave women!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating tale of a little-known facet of World War II: the women who helped Great Britain ferry its combat aircraft.

[Cyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title says it all, inspirational and true. Done in a very interesting way, a series of anecdotes that chronicle the challenges and successes of women pilots in England during WWII.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent subject matter but disjointed, flat narrative as others have said. Disappointing.

[Livia Legge · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a lot of informations. Definitely meant for a public that enjoys historical stories. Besides that it’s also a lot of tiny tales of strong and willing women!

I recommend it.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like reading a Ladybird book

[Geri MM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t fully finish the book and there is no point for pushing. This could have been handled a bit better - focus each chapter on one of these women. This way I could focus a lot more on the situations and the strategies. I am doing some flying lessons myself and I did get inspired. Funnily it felt that the women wanted to fly not out of national pride but out of sheer love for flying.

It is difficult to think of this book as anything more than a bunch of footnotes and quick additions.

Shame, because I think these women would have been inspirational enough to get a chapter each.

I was sad to learn about Amy Johnson’s fate.