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Title: Jane Spencer collection
Date (inclusive): 1940-2002
Collection Number: 80076
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box
(1.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The Jane Spencer collection contains writings, correspondence, flight logs, lists, printed matter, videotapes of interviews,
clippings, and photographs relating to the British Air Transport Auxiliary, an organization of civilian British and American
and other foreign pilots of both sexes to ferry military aircraft during World War II. The collection includes writings by
and interviews of pilots.
source:
Spencer, Jane, 1922-2007
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1980.
[Identification of item], Jane Spencer collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1922 | Born |
| 1934 | Received first flight instruction |
| 1936 | Apprentice, airplane repair shop |
| 1940 | Received ground instructor's license |
| 1941 | Received commercial license and instructor's rating |
| 1941-1942, circa | Instructor, Civilian Pilot Training Program |
| 1943-1945 | Ferry Pilot, First Officer, Air Transport Auxiliary |
| 1945 | Became the last foreign pilot or woman to fly for Air Transport Auxiliary |
| 1946-1955 | Photographer |
| 1956-1965 | Technical writer and researcher |
| 1965 | Bachelor of Science in humanities, Johns Hopkins |
| 1968 | Master of Liberal Arts, John Hopkins |
| 1980s-1990s, circa | Collected material for ATA History Project |
Source: British Air Transport Auxiliary, Jane Plant Spencer. http://www.airtransportaux.com/members/plant.html
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains material collected by Jane Spencer for the ATA History Project, an effort to document American participation
in the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), an organization of civilian pilots who ferried military aircraft during World
War II. Formed in 1939, the ATA transported planes for the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Fleet Air Arm, and the British Army.
Its membership included women pilots, elderly pilots, and pilots with disabilities from twenty-eight countries. Because of
the nature of their work, pilots were asked to fly different types of planes and were not required to receive an initial checkout
before flying planes new to them. The ATA ended its services in 1945, when Spencer became the last women or foreign pilot
to fly for the organization.
The
Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) file contains material collected from ATA pilots, including correspondence, logbooks, and diaries, as well as materials created
after World War II documenting the ATA. A significant portion of the material comes from Roy William Reisert, including diaries
and logbooks from his time as an ATA pilot. Also included are letters of ATA pilot Emily Chaplin written in 1942 and 1943.
Much of the collection consists of materials that were created after World War II, such as the newsletters of the Air Transport
Auxiliary Association, an organization formed in 1946 for former members of the ATA. The file contains materials on Spencer's
efforts to document the ATA as part of the ATA History Project, including information sheets collected from former pilots.
Recorded interviews of ATA pilots can be found in the
Air Transport Auxiliary videotapes.
Source: British Air Transport Auxiliary. http://www.airtransportaux.com
The collection is organized into three series: Air Transport Auxiliary file, Air Transport Auxiliary videotapes, and Oversize
material and artifacts.
Ann Wood-Kelly papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
John Leonard Yingst papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Roberta Boyd Sandoz Leveaux papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Video tapes
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations
World War, 1939-1945 -- Transportation
World War, 1939-1945 -- Women
Spencer, Jane, 1922-2007
Great Britain. Air Transport Auxiliary