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It would have been no surprise if this group of WAFS had shown the best fatality, accident, and severance rates. That they did not is not discredit to them, but is striking evidence of the validity and effectiveness of the AAF flying training program, for a large portion of the graduates had at time of assignment to operational duty less than 300 hours of flying.

For what it may be worth in such an analytical study, there were several long-experienced pilots who went through the training program. Fifty-four (54) graduates had more than 500 hours at time of assignment to operational duty. For this group of graduates, the rates of fatalities and total accidents, compared with the same rates among the original WAFS, were as follows:

[[3 Columned Table]]
|No header|54 WASP Grads.|WAFS|
|---|---|---|
|Fatalities per 1000 hours|.041|.210|
|Accidents per 1000 hours|.533|.694.|

All indications are that full value was obtained from this preliminary training to fly the Army way and that in any future program all women pilots should go through the regular AAF flying training program before assignment to operational duties. Apart from standardization of flying practice and technique, the regimentation and discipline the trainees received at Sweetwater also had considerable value in subsequent operations.

XVI

MEDICAL FEATURES

The medical aspects of the WASP program were given close attention as a part of the experimental features of the program. The primary purpose was to get findings and experience peculiar to women pilots to evaluate medically their adaptability to flying. Prior to the program there had

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6-1262,AF