Dorothy Olsen | |
|---|---|
 Kocher c. 1943 (U.S. Air Force photo). | |
| Born | Dorothy Eleanor Kocher July 10, 1916 Woodburn, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 2019 (aged 103) |
| Known for | Member of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) |
Dorothy Eleanor Olsen (née Kocher; July 10, 1916 – July 23, 2019) was an American aircraft pilot and member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II. She grew up on her family's farm in Woodburn, Oregon, developing an interest in aviation from a young age. She earned her private pilot certificate in 1939, when it was unusual for women to be pilots.
In 1943, Olsen joined the newly formed WASPs as a civil service employee. After training in Texas, she was assigned to the Sixth Ferrying Group in Long Beach, California, where she worked ferrying new aircraft from the factories where they were built to U.S. airbases. She flew more than 20 types of military airplanes, including high-performance fighters such as the P-51 Mustang and the twin-engine P-38 Lightning, which she favored over larger aircraft such as bombers; she was particularly fond of the P-51.
After the war, Olsen retired from flying and moved to the state of Washington, where she married, raised a family, and lived for the rest of her life. In 2009, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal honoring her service during the war. Olsen died in 2019 aged 103.