Joy Lofthouse (pictured) is one of just a handful of female pilots to fly for the British Airforce during World War II – when she was part of an all-woman air force division nicknamed the “Attagirls”.
Her job as a service pilot was to shuttle planes from the front lines back to factories for repairs. During her time in the service, she flew 18 different aircraft.
And even though it’s been decades since her last flight, Joy jumped at the chance to board a Spitfire airplane (her favourite model) for one more trip as part of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.
After a hugely successful flight, Joy was beaming, saying:
“It’s very hard to describe the feeling . . . It almost makes one feel young again,” she said. “The nearest thing to having wings of your own and flying”.
Watch the full flight in this video.
