Adela "Del" Riek Scharr (August 10, 1907 – March 11, 1998) was an American aviator. Scharr was the first woman in St. Louis to earn her commercial flight license and worked as a flight instructor at Lambert Field. Scharr was recruited in 1942 to join the Women's Axillary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and later flew planes as a WASP. Scharr was also the first woman to fly a P-39 Bell Aircobra. After World War II, Scharr was commissioned as a major in the Air Force and also worked as a teacher.

Adela Riek Scharr

Biography

Scharr was born and raised in St. Louis.[1] She earned her bachelor's degree from Harris Teachers College (now Harris-Stowe State College) in 1929.[1] While she was at college, she began to become interesting in flying.[2] She started teaching in elementary schools in St. Louis after college.[1] In 1934, she earned her master's degree in education from the University of Missouri at Columbia.[1][3] Scharr started flying in 1935.[3] In 1938, she was working as a flight instructor at Lambert Field, where she met her husband, Harold N. Scharr.[3] The couple married in 1939 and she was forced to quit teaching after she married.[3][2] In 1940, Scharr became the first woman to earn her commercial license at Lambert Field.[4][5] After she was forced out of teaching public school, she went on to teach at the Civilian Pilot Training Program at St. Louis University.[6]

In 1941, Scharr was part of a "Powder Puff Squadron" to repel enemy aircraft that people felt might be able to make their way inland.[7] Scharr joined the Women's Axillary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) in 1942.[3] By the time she was invited to join, she had 1,429 of flight time.[8] She worked with Nancy Love and was part of the first squadron sent to Romulus Army Air Base where newly built aircraft were both inspected and refueled.[9] Love put her in charge of WAFS at the Romulus initially, though later, Love removed Scharr from Romulus and Scharr reported to the 2nd Ferrying Group in Wilmington.[10][11] When the WAFS became the WASP, she continued to fly and ferry military planes.[1] She was asked to join the WASP in 1943 and made up the first group of women who joined.[12] She was the first woman to fly a P-39 Bell Aircobra.[5] Scharr flew the P-39 from Montreal to Los Angeles and had been prepared to fly by watching a short film and reading the instruction booklet for the plane.[12]

In 1948, she became an officer of the Ninety-Nines.[13] Scharr received a commission from the Air Force in 1949, where she joined as a major.[3][14] She also returned to teaching around the same time, after the law forbidding married women from teaching was lifted.[10] In 1961, she flew a C-135 jet for the Air Force to prove that women could fly that type of aircraft.[10] Scharr retired from the Air Force Reserves in August 1967.[3] She retired from teaching in St. Louis in 1972.[1]

Scharr died on March 11, 1998, after a long illness.[1]

Bibliography

  • Sisters in the Sky: The WASP. St. Louis: Patrice Press. 1997. ISBN 9780935284553.
  • Sisters in the Sky: The WAFS. St. Louis: Patrice Press. 1987. ISBN 9780935284461.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Adela Riek 'Del' Scharr, 90; Aviation Pioneer, School Teacher". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 15 March 1998. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "Flying Thrilled First Female Pilots". The Times. 13 February 1987. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Woman Who Soloed in Wild Blue Turns to Art". St. Louis Dispatch. 11 October 1967. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Corbett 1999, p. 267.
  5. 1 2 "Along the Skyways". The St. Louis Star and Times. 22 January 1949. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Merry 2011, p. 182.
  7. ↑ "25 Women Plane Pilots Here Organizing 'Powder Puff Squadron'". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 28 September 1941. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com. "Women Flyers Here Organizing". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 28 December 1941. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Rickman 2016, p. 137.
  9. ↑ Rickman 2016, p. 136.
  10. 1 2 3 Merry 2011, p. 184.
  11. ↑ Rickman 2016, p. 166-167.
  12. 1 2 La Plante, Beckie (19 June 1975). "Their Uniforms Didn't Fit, and the Men Were Jealous". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Ninety-Nines Chapter Elects Adela Scharr". The St. Louis Star and Times. 25 September 1948. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ White, Virginia Betts (29 January 1962). "Maj. Scharr To Be Zonta Dinner Speaker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 20 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

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