Ann Baumgartner  Ann G. Baumgartner Carl (August 27, 1918 – March 20, 2008) was an American aviator who became the first American woman to fly a United States Army Air Forces jet aircraft when she flew the Bell YP-59A jet fighter at Wright Field as a test pilot during World War II. She was assigned to Wright Field as an assistant operations officer in the fighter test section as member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. Ann G. Baumgartner was born in the United States Army Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, on August 27, 1918. Her father was stationed in France, so her mother moved the family to New Jersey to live with her grandparents. After her father returned to the United States, her family relocated to Plainfield, New Jersey. Her father was an engineer and patent attorney. Her inspiration to fly came from a visit by Amelia Earhart to her grade school. She went to Newark Airport with her father to watch the mail planes come in at night. Baumgartner graduated from Walnut Hill High School in Natick, Massachusetts, and then attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she graduated in 1940 as a pre-med major. While working in the Eastern Airlines public relations department, Baumgartner learned to fly at Somerset Hills Airport in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Originally, Baumgartner reported to Houston, Texas in January 1943 to be in the Women Airforce Service Pilots Class of 43-W-3, but she became ill with the measles and thus graduated on July 3, 1943, with the fifth WASP class (43-W-5). After completing the training, Baumgartner was assigned to Camp Davis in North Carolina as a tow target pilot. Camp Davis was an artillery training base and the WASPs flew as visual and radar tracking targets. Baumgartner flew the Douglas A-24, Curtiss A-25, Lockheed B-34, Cessna UC-78 and Stinson L-5 while at Camp Davis. In February 1944, Baumgartner transferred to Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio for a temporary assignment to test aeromedical equipment being designed for the WASP program. While in Ohio, Baumgartner applied for an assignment in the Flight Test Division at Wright Field as an assistant operations officer. In March 1944 she was transferred to Wright Field as an assistant operations officer in the fighter test section. Originally her duties were primarily clerical but over time she was permitted to fly as a test pilot.