Jacqueline Cochran

Cochran, Jacqueline (1912–80), U.S. pilot. She obtained her pilot's license in 1932 after only 3 weeks' flying. First woman to fly in a Bendix transcontinental race (1934), she won it in 1938. She organized and headed the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War Π, was the first civilian woman to win the Distinguished Service Cross, and was the first woman to fly faster than sound.