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Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 7 Aug 2010 10:04AM GMT
Classification: Query
Does anybody know what the duties of a LACW would have been, please?

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 7 Aug 2010 9:31PM GMT
Classification: Query
Leading Aircraft Woman a female rank in the RAF.

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 8 Aug 2010 1:09PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thanks. I wondered if the women did the same jobs as the men, like fly the planes?

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 8 Aug 2010 1:20PM GMT
Classification: Query
I doubt if they did fly planes, It is the lowest of the ranks. More of a training rank.

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 2 Apr 2014 9:41PM GMT
Classification: Query
Some women did fly planes; there was a whole group of them in the Air Transport Auxiliary. Most of them were flying freshly built planes to the bases where they were needed domestically. Whether they got that specific title you mentioned I don't know, though.

There was a fascinating programme about them a couple of years ago, and the most fun bit for me was that so many were still around. They talked about how they had to fly very basic style, not using the radios or having a navigator. They had to fly by the landscape. They had to be able to fly whatever plane needed moving, so they had a little instruction crib book that gave them tips on where to find the controls and what to expect on each machine.

There were the odd occasions where men didn't believe that they had brought a plane in, but they seemed to think that was funny, rather than take too much offence. It was a pretty international group of women, too.

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 11 May 2014 2:58PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Leading Aircraft woman LACW
Hi there

I saw that programme too. The women flew those planes with no weapons to defend themselves. The weapons were added after the planes were delivered. Such courage in the face of danger!

Sue Thompson, Liverpool

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 15 May 2014 5:27PM GMT
Classification: Query
I think they were only allowed to fly because they were considered not to be in direct danger of airborne conflict, but they were at risk without the proper instrumentation we would expect.

The programme was rehashed and shown again recently, and the twinkle in the eyes of those ladies as they relived flying the Spitfires was marvellous!

Re: Leading AirCraft Woman LACW

Posted: 2 Aug 2015 5:05AM GMT
Classification: Query
The women who flew those aircraft were in the ATA, not the WAAF. LACW is a rank that can be applied to any WAAF activity. My mother was a LACW as a cook in the WAAF. It was not the lowest rank.
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