Born on 26 October 1920 in Argentina, where she grew up with joint British and
Argentine nationality, Maureen Dunlop came in 1941 to England, where she was one of 164 female Air Transport Auxiliary pilots of several
nationalities to serve in England during WWII.
In the ATA she served as a ferry pilot until the end of the Second World War, flying aircraft ranging from such
single-engine aircraft as the Spitfire to the four-engine Lancaster. She was qualified to fly
38 types, from such
single-engine aircraft as the Spitfire to the four-engine Lancaster, her favorite being the De Havilland Mosquito. While wanting to
train as a combat pilot, women were forbidden to do so.
Dunlop became a cover girl when pictured pushing her hair out of her face after she left the cockpit of a Fairey Barracuda. The shot featured on the front page of Picture Post magazine in 1944, proving women could be fearless as well as glamorous, and integral to the war effort.
