Fantastic Vintage Photos of Women at Work During WWII

Gannon Burgett
A woman is trained to work on an engine installation at the Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942.
A woman is trained to work on an engine installation at the Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942.

Rosie the Riveter was more than a cultural World War II icon. To many women at the time, Rosie the Riveter was a person, an idea they aspired to while their husbands, brothers and fathers were overseas, fighting day in and day out.

Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy painting the American insignia on airplane wings. Naval Air Base in Corpus Christi, Texas in August, 1942
Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy painting the American insignia on airplane wings. Naval Air Base in Corpus Christi, Texas in August, 1942

While the men of America were overseas fighting alongside allied forces, women across the nation set to work helping support our troops state-side. From building and painting now-iconic aircraft to producing munitions and supplies, these real-life ‘Rosies’ kept the US on the top of their game when the world was at war.

In honor of these women of the war, Business News Daily recently compiled a collection of absolutely beautiful photographs from the archives in The Library of Congress. Below are just a few of those images:

Women working on a bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, CA 1942.
Women working on a bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, CA 1942.
A woman working as a shop technician at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach, 1942.
A woman working as a shop technician at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach, 1942.
A “Rosie” working on a A-31 Vengeance bomber, Nashville, TN 1943.
A “Rosie” working on a A-31 Vengeance bomber, Nashville, TN 1943.
Drilling a wing bulkhead for a transport plane, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in Texas 1942.
Drilling a wing bulkhead for a transport plane, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in Texas 1942.
Mrs. Virginia Davis being trained to take over her husband’s work, Naval Air Base in Corpus Christi, TX, 1942.
Mrs. Virginia Davis being trained to take over her husband’s work, Naval Air Base in Corpus Christi, TX, 1942.
A woman preparing metal parts to go through a multi-ton hydropess. North American Aviation, Inc. 1942.
A woman preparing metal parts to go through a multi-ton hydropess. North American Aviation, Inc. 1942.
A woman finishing a bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942.
A woman finishing a bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942.
Assembling a section of leading edge for the horizontal stabilizer of a plane, North American Aviation, Inc. in Inglewood, California, 1942.
Assembling a section of leading edge for the horizontal stabilizer of a plane, North American Aviation, Inc. in Inglewood, California, 1942.
A woman working on self-sealing gas tanks at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Ohio, 1941.
A woman working on self-sealing gas tanks at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Ohio, 1941.

If you’d like to see more images like these, head over the archives of The Library of Congress or visit their 1930s-40s in color album on Flickr.

(via SLR Lounge)

Image credits: Photographs courtesy of The Library of Congress

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