During World War II, the United States Navy created a naval reserve branch to bring women into service. It became known as WAVES, an acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. Approximately 100,000 women served in the WAVES during the war, doing a variety of jobs ranging from clerical and warehouse work to weather forecasting, navigation, hospital duty, and engineering. Read more about it at brooklyn-yes.com.
Floyd Bennett Field
When it opened in 1931, Floyd Bennett Field was not a military airport. In the 1930s, this Brooklyn airfield was used by commercial pilots, including famous aviators. Several pioneering women, such as Laura H. Ingalls and Jacqueline Cochran, set aviation records, taking off from its runways. The U.S. Navy purchased the airfield in June 1941, six months before the U.S. entered World War II in December of that year. Soon after, Floyd Bennett Field Naval Air Station became the busiest in the United States.
With the war’s outbreak, a large number of Brooklyn men went to the front, leading to a labor shortage at the companies that produced military equipment for the U.S. Armed Forces and the businesses they collaborated with. To address the situation, companies began hiring women for jobs previously available only to men. These positions included factory workers, engineers, air traffic controllers, and test pilots. This shift did not bypass the famous Brooklyn Naval Air Station, Floyd Bennett Field.
It’s worth noting that Brooklyn women rose to the challenge admirably. Patriotism, a desire for independence and adventure, and a good salary motivated women of all ages, races, and educational backgrounds to work at war-related businesses, including Floyd Bennett Field. What’s more, it can be said with certainty that their contributions were essential in helping the Allies win on both the Atlantic and Pacific fronts of the war.
In those difficult times, women took an active part in World War II on the home front all over the country, including in Brooklyn. For instance, hundreds of women served at the Floyd Bennett Field Naval Air Station. Many of them were part of the United States Naval Reserve, better known as the WAVES.
Josephine C. Tanner’s Memories
After the war, women remembered those days as a difficult ordeal. But few would say they weren’t also happy times. Josephine Tanner recalls her training before she started working at the Floyd Bennett Field Naval Air Station.
She says they had to wake up at 4:00 a.m., followed by a hearty breakfast of meat and potatoes. Then they would march and train, doing the same exercises as the men, climbing ropes and navigating an obstacle course. Later, when the instructors realized they were dealing with women, who aren’t always as physically strong, built, or enduring, the exercises were adjusted accordingly.
During this period, candidates for various positions were evaluated for their abilities, stability, and physical stamina to determine where each of them could best serve. Candidates underwent IQ tests, as well as dexterity and aptitude tests.
Josephine Tanner said she was one of the first women to join the U.S. Navy’s WAVES female reserve. Her group was the first to go through basic training. After a few more groups joined them, the U.S. Navy moved their training camp to Hunter College in New York City. Josephine is proud to have been one of the first to train under such conditions, paving the way for all the women of Brooklyn.
At Floyd Bennett, Josephine was assigned to the aircraft commissioning unit. This unit was responsible for receiving, equipping, and inspecting naval aircraft arriving from Grumman factories and other businesses in the Eastern United States. After passing inspection and being signed off by the aircraft captains, one of whom was Josephine Tanner, the plane would be transferred to the West Coast to be put into service as a combat unit. By the end of the war, her unit had safely delivered over 40,000 aircraft.
Female Friendship During the War
One of the perks of being an aircraft captain was earning “flight covers,” which allowed them to fly with a pilot on one of the serviced planes at certain times. During her service at Floyd Bennett, Josephine was transferred to the assembly and repair department. This department was responsible for the proper assembly and maintenance of each aircraft to keep it in a satisfactory flight condition, as well as for regular engine overhauls. It was in this department that Josephine became an aircraft captain on a three-man crew. Her signature was all that was needed to transport a serviced aircraft to the West Coast.
Josephine Tanner says she has only warm memories of the years she spent as a WAVES reservist. The city residents were kind and understanding. This was especially nice, given that Christmas of 1942 was the first she celebrated away from home.
Another important result of her military service, Josephine believes, was the development of genuine friendships. During her military career at Floyd Bennett Field, she made many friends who are still a part of her life today. On January 4, 1946, Josephine Tanner was honorably discharged from the Navy with the rank of Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class.
Fran Boggs Metcalf’s Story
The story of Brooklynite Fran Metcalf is no less moving and patriotic. In 1944, she turned 20. On her 20th birthday, she got on a streetcar, went downtown, and took the oath as a WAVES Navy service member. This is how Fran joined the naval reserve.
After that, Fran arrived at the Floyd Bennett Field Naval Air Station. There were plenty of young women like Fran there; they were housed in a female barracks, with 50 women in each, and four beds in a cabinette, into which the large room was divided—two upper and two lower bunks. There was a locker for clothes. Life in the barracks was like a college dorm, with a shared shower area with no curtains or any privacy, and long rows of sinks, toilets, and mirrors next to the shower room.
Fran Metcalf recalls that there were virtually no misunderstandings or conflicts among the barracks residents; they all lived very amicably. Even married women could join the WAVES, as long as the candidate had no children or was not pregnant. Fran recalls a case when one woman was discharged when it was discovered she was expecting a child.
Fran Metcalf later said that in those days, women were not allowed to leave Floyd Bennett base in pants. The dress uniform was mandatory. The command had no objections to pants or jeans, but they were considered proper attire only on the base. The woman remembers her own flare jeans, which were very comfortable for work.
Fran says that when she was assigned to an aircraft crew, she serviced F4U, F4F, and PBY planes. The young lady carried many tools, washed props, changed oil filters, unbuttoned the cowl, and wiped dust from the cockpit. Today, Fran Metcalf still meets with her former partner Amy Foster Felyuk several times a year, supporting the old friend she made at Floyd Bennett Field.
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