Florene Miller
Wasp Pilot, P-47D
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Print size 12 x 18"
Limited Edition $60.00
Limited Edition prints are signed and numbered by the artist and signed by the aviator.
Open Edition $18.00
Open Edition prints are signed by the artist.
Photo of Florene Miller
Florene Miller
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Florene Miller was born on December 7, 1920, in San Angelo, Texas, into a family of aviation enthusiast. She took her first airplane ride at the age of eight.
While Florene was in college, her father bought an airplane and she along with her father and two brothers learned to fly. Florene earned her commercial, flight, and ground instructors ratings in 1940 and taught large classes of 50 men for War Training Programs.
On July 4, 1941 Florene witnesses her father and a brother killed in their airplane.
Once World War Two started, her brother Dolph taught military aviation cadets and Florene was accepted into the new Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. Florene was one of the only 25 women accepted. Each woman averaged 1,100 hours of flight time.
The Army Air Corps put the requirement for women much higher than the men who entered aviation training. The male cadets needed only 250 hours of flying time to qualify. The women were required to have 500 hours, a commercial rating, and a 200 horsepower rating!
The duties of the women pilots were to ferry aircraft from factories to airfields and to oversea shipping ports across the United States. The services the WASP preformed freed up male pilots for combat duties. Women were never considered for combat.
In January 1943, Florene was sent to the 5th Ferrying Division at Love Field, Texas, to be the WAFS commanding officer. Florene earned her instrument rating at Love field where her mother was her instructor in the Link Trainer Simulator.
More women were trained at Sweetwater, Texas and they joined the WAFS. Later the name of the auxiliary unit was changed to the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots, known as WASP.
Florene was qualified to fly all of our fighter and multi engine-aircraft. She was one of only two women pilots selected as military airline pilots to fly military personnel and equipment.
Florene flew many of the P-47 Thunderbolts much like the one above.
During a landing while flying a P-47 facing the sun and haze at dusk, Florene struck an electric pole at the beginning of the runway. Her aircraft almost flipped upside down, only 20 to 30 feet above the ground. Florene brilliantly saved her self and the aircraft, thanks to acrobatic training she had received before the war.
She had ripped open the belly of the aircraft, torn off parts of one wing, one elevator, and one propeller blade. The accident had knocked out all electricity at the field leaving it with no lights or radio.
After an hour of circling the field, her vibrating plane’s instruments did not indicate that her landing gear was up or down. Florene made her first night landing with the help of a few jeeps shining their lights on the runway.
When the war ended, the WASP’s were disbanded. The women received little credit and no thanks for their superior performance from the military.
After the war, Florene married one of her flight students, Chris Watson, and they raised two children. She returned to college and earned her Masters degree and taught in Texas colleges for 30 years before retiring. Florene Miller Watson is truly one of our great American aviators and it is a pleasure to know and work with her on this series of Famous American Aviators.
Florene Miller at my art show. I flew Florene in from her home in Texas and just wish that she lived closer. She is one of the most positive wonderful person I have ever met. It was women like Florene that helped win the west, and then they won their proper place in aviation history. Florene would have loved to have flown a P-47 Thunderbolt into combat against the German Luftwaffe.
Everyone at the show loved Florene's stories of her putting on her make up in the cockpit of the Mustangs, Thunderbolts, and Lightning's, before she landed. Florene and the other WASP pilots would carry their high heels and dresses in the compartments that the machine gun ammunition was normally stored in. Florene kept everyone in stitches with her stories of how she would show up her fellow men aviators, but how she did it politely and diplomatically.
Florene Miller
WASP Wings
WASP Squadron Art
This is the finished paintings.
On January 22, 2007 Florene called and wished me a happy new year. We had not talked in years and it was great to hear from her. She told me that she was now 86 years old and her husband of 62 years is 90 and they are both doing fine. Last year Florene and her vacuum cleaner had a tumble down ten feet of stairs. She broke her leg but she is now fine and walking without assistance.
In the past when I met Florene I had not studied about Jackie Cochran. Now that I have read much about her I wondered if Florene had ever meet or worked with Jackie. Florene was one of the first 25 women pilots to become the first WAFS cadets led by Jackie Cochran. Florene did not meet Jackie often but Jackie did visit the base in Texas where Florene was stationed. Jackie visited all of the WASP units. It was part of her hands on management mannerisms.
Florene told me on the phone that in the 1970's Jackie and the WASP pilots would get together for meetings and small reunions. It was during these get togethers that Jackie choose to partner with Florene during the event. I will now call Florene again and interview her at length about her friendship with Jackie Cochran and learn more about her personal experience's during the war. I did interview Florene in the past but there is so much more to know.
Stay tuned...Sir Hamilton
All research, writings and artwork are by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette.
No one is permitted to republish any part of this story with out my personal permission.
Please call or e-mail me for any use of this story.
I do not mind sharing, just call or e-mail and ask for permission.
Sir. Ernie Hamilton Boyette
904-282-4198
e-mail: aviationartstore@peoplepc.com
Started 2-9-07