Gertrude Tompkins Silver
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October 16, 1911
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Gertrude Tompkins Silver | |
|---|---|
 Gertrude Tompkins Silver WASP photo. | |
| Born | Gertrude Vreeland Tompkins[1] October 16, 1911 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Disappeared | October 26, 1944 (aged 33) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Status | Missing for 81 years, 4 months and 10 days |
| Occupation | Pilot |
| Era | World War II |
| Organization | Women Airforce Service Pilots |
| Spouse | Henry Silver |
| Notes | |
Graduated WASP Class 43-W-7[2] | |
Gertrude "Tommy" Tompkins Silver (October 16, 1911 – disappeared October 26, 1944) was the only Women Airforce Service Pilots member to go missing during World War II.[3]
Gertrude Vreeland Tompkins was born October 16, 1911, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of Vreeland Tompkins, founder of Smooth-On, Inc., and Laura Tompkins (née Towar).[4] The family later moved to Summit, New Jersey.[5] Gertrude attended Ambler School of Horticulture and moved to New York City following her graduation.[5] Following the death of her boyfriend, who took her flying and later died while flying for the Royal Air Force, Gertrude applied to the WASP program.
Disappearance and search
She departed from Mines Field (Los Angeles International Airport) for Palm Springs, on October 26, 1944, flying a North American P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey. She never arrived at Palm Springs and due to reporting errors a search was not started until three days later. Despite an extensive ground and water search, no trace of Silver or the aircraft were found.[6]
