Gertrude Tompkins Silver

Gertrude "Tommy" Tompkins Silver (October 16, 1911 – disappeared October 26, 1944) was the only Women Airforce Service Pilots member to go missing during World War II.[3]

Gertrude Tompkins Silver
Gertrude Tompkins Silver WASP photo.
Born
Gertrude Vreeland Tompkins[1]

(1911-10-16)October 16, 1911
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
DisappearedOctober 26, 1944 (aged 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
StatusMissing for 77 years, 5 months and 21 days
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPilot
EraWorld War II
OrganizationWomen Airforce Service Pilots
Spouse(s)Henry Silver
Notes
Graduated WASP Class 43-W-7[2]

Early life

Gertrude Vreeland Tompkins was born October 16, 1911, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of Vreeland Tompkins, founder of Smooth-On, Inc., and Laura Tompkins (née Towar).[4] The family later moved to Summit, New Jersey.[5] Gertrude attended Ambler School of Horticulture and moved to New York City following her graduation.[5] Following the death of her boyfriend, who took her flying and later died while flying for the Royal Air Force, Gertrude applied to the WASP program.

She departed from Mines Field (Los Angeles International Airport) for Palm Springs, on October 26, 1944, flying a North American P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey. She never arrived at Palm Springs and due to reporting errors a search was not started until three days later. Despite an extensive ground and water search, no trace of Silver or the aircraft were found.[6]

Follow up and aftermath

In January 2010, search efforts to locate the possible crash site in Santa Monica Bay were unsuccessful.[4][7][8][9]

See also

References
  1. "Gertrude Vreeland Tompkins Silver". www.militaryhallofhonor.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. "WASP Class 43-W-7 - Texas Woman's University". twu.edu.
  3. Slater, Stefan (16 September 2014). "The Lost Wasp - Southbay". Southbay. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. Ure, James W. (2017). Seized by the Sun: The Life and Disappearance of World War II Pilot Gertrude Tompkins. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1613735879.
  5. Kanzler, Kaitlyn (30 September 2019). "The 75-year search for a missing WWII pilot from NJ continues". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  6. Merl, Jean (14 September 1997). "Mystery in the Sky". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  7. Ongoing Search For Mrs. Gertrude Tompkins Silver. Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West.
  8. "Search Underway for Missing Heroine of World War II and her P-51 Mustang | Scuba Diving Magazine". Scubadiving.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  9. "The Last Missing WASP of WWII". Adventures in Rediscovery. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.