Oscar Winner Zellweger to Play WASP in New TV Series

The show tells the story of the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) and cover the challenges they faced as a critical but largely officially unrecognized part of the United States Army Air Corps circa 1943.

It is remarkable to note that despite only being formally organized as a civilian service group for about two years, the WASPs flew more than 60 million miles. They transported every type of military aircraft, towed targets for live gunning practice, simulated strafing, and transported cargo. These incredibly skilled pilots often jumped into a new type, perhaps a P-51, and flew it with little to no transition training for it.

Unfortunately, a 1944-bill to provide military status to WASP pilots was defeated in the US House of Representatives by a vote of 188 to 169. Jackie Cochran had led support for the legislative effort, and it was backed by General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, chief of the Army Air Force. Cochran had started the movement by writing to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who introduced her to General Arnold. The general then had Cochran ferry a bomber to England as a public demonstration that women made excellent pilots in military aircraft.

Filming takes place at Avenger Field (now a general aviation airport with ICAO code KSWW), the real-life air base near Sweetwater, Texas. It was there that 1,074 WASP pilots received their wings (1,830 women accepted to the program, out of more than 25,000). The training took between 27-30 weeks, and students could amass more than 200 flying hours in the process.