A girl riveting machine operator at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant joins sections of wing ribs to reinforce the inner wing assemblies of B-17F heavy bombers, Long Beach, Calif. Better known as the Flying Fortress, the B-17F bomber is a later model of the B-17, which distinguished itself in action in the south Pacific, over Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude, heavy bomber, with a crew of seven to nine men, and with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions. Although the image of Rosie the Riveter reflected the industrial work of welders and riveters, the majority of working women filled non-factory positions in every sector of the economy. What unified the experiences of these women was that they proved to themselves, and the country, that they could do a man's job and could do it well. Photographed by Alfred T. Palmer, 1942. |