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Bishop was the only woman on a team of 21 men and the only\nperson with a hand small enough to shim struts through a small hole in the\nwing. The women who worked in factories on the home-front while many male\nsoldiers were fighting overseas are known as “Rosie the Riveter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was discovered that Bishop had actually worked on the\nexact P-63 aircraft that is now operated by the Dixie Wing, located in\nPeachtree City, Georgia. Bishop, who lives in Florida, traveled to the Dixie\nWing for the dedication ceremony. At the ceremony a prominent inscription\n“Miss Betty” was revealed on the nose of the aircraft. Leadership\nthanked Bishop for her service to her country as well as her dedication to\nsupporting the Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Betty graduated high school in 1943 and, after waiting a\ncouple months until she turned 18, took a bus to Nigara Falls. Her close\nfriend, Anne McKown, was already employed at the Bell Aircraft facility in\nNiagara Falls. After Betty\u2019s\napplication, acceptance and orientation, she was initially assigned to Dept. 53\nwhich was the assembly area for the P-39 Airacobra. Betty was given the job of fitting the \u201cbelly\ncowls\u201d to the under section of the P-39. \nThis was done by filing, shaping, fitting, and attaching the cowls. She recalls that she was not meant to be a\n\u201cbody man\u201d and wasted more material than she used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Betty was later transferred to Dept. 63 where she worked on\nthe P-63 Kingcobra. During her time in\nDept. 63, Betty worked on the landing gear and was the only women on the team\nwith 21 men. They were in desperate need\nof Betty as her hand was the only one small enough to shim the struts through\nthe small hole in the wing. Betty was\nalso responsible for bleeding and securing the brakes. As the war started to wind down and sales of\nthe P-63 to Russia came to a halt, she was transferred to pre-flight where she\nfitted armor to the entire P-39 so they could be used as target planes. During her time at the factory, she acquired\nthe nickname \u201cBunny\u201d as she was always hopping from one thing to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recalling her nickname she also recalls some of the more\nhumorous events at the factory. While in\nDept. 53, many workers had a tendency to ignore the rule stating that a chuck\nkey was required to remove a bid from the drill. Betty recalls that it was easier to remove it\nby bumping it against the catwalk. \nUnfortunately, in utilizing this action to remove a bit from the drill\nshe also accidentally drove a splinter into her finger underneath her finger\nnail. The splinter went halfway into her\nfinger and it is the first time she recalls ever passing out. Betty also carries a reminder on one of her\ntoes from a mishap with one of the oxygen tanks used to bleed the brakes on the\nP-63. These tanks weighed in at around\n100 lbs each and Betty\u2019s foot happened to be under one of these tanks when it\nslipped from the dolly on one instance. \nDuring her time in pre-flight, she recalls the reason for her nickname\ncoming in handy on more than one occasion. \nSince the planes were on the ground in pre-flight their work required a\nlot of dodging in and out. On one\noccasion, Betty remembers that she did not quite live up to her nickname when\ntrying to dodge an aileron and still bears that scar on her nose. Betty is rather proud her scars as she says\nthey remind her of a young and exciting life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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At the end of the war, Betty realized that her lay-off was\nnot too far in her future. Her sister\u2019s\nhusband was killed in action overseas during the war and her sister was\nexpecting a baby. Betty decided to leave\nher job at the Bell factory and go to Florida to provide her sister\nsupport. She has lived in Florida on and\noff ever since that time. Betty recalls\nher time during the war working at the Bell Aircraft facility in Niagara Falls\nwith fond memories. Several of her\nco-workers became good friends to her and one became a very special\nfriend. Betty and her friends from her\nBell days have shared marriage, babies, their kids\u2019 marriages, grandchildren,\nand now great-grandchildren and have enjoyed the journey through life together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CAF Dixie Wing, based in Peachtree City, Ga., was\nfounded in 1987. The Wing, one of the largest units of the Commemorative Air\nForce, maintains and flies seven WWII aircraft including a P-51 Mustang, an\nFG-1D Corsair and rare types such as the SBD Dauntless dive bomber and P-63A\nKingcobra. The unit, composed of 300 volunteers, is a non-profit, tax-exempt\norganization that relies on contributions of time and funds to carry out the\nmission of the CAF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n