B-29 DOC Hangar Celebrates Women’s Contribution To Aviation

A ’Women in Aviation’ exhibit, along with the Kansas Women in Aviation Hall of Fame, is now open inside the B-29 Doc Hangar, Education and Visitors Center in Wichita, Kansas.

Approximately 2,000 square feet honors the women who were on the manufacturing and assembly lines, building wartime equipment and serving during a crucial time of need during World War II. The exhibit and hall of fame were made possible thanks to a gift from Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., which has been a founding sponsor of B-29 Doc and Doc’s Friends, Inc., since 2012.

Ms. Connie Palacioz, 97 years old, was inducted as the inaugural member of the Women in Aviation – Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame by Tom Gentile, Spirit AeroSystems President & CEO. She was one of the original “Rosie the Riveters” who worked at the Boeing Wichita plant building B-29 Superfortress bombers during World War II. Mr. Gentile said “Connie is not only a Wichita treasure, but a national one”.

Ms. Palacioz went straight to the Boeing Wichita factory right out of high school at age 17, and proved, like other women, to be a trailblazer. She also broke racial barriers as a Mexican-American who worked alongside a diverse group of women to produce more than four completed B-29 Superfortress aircraft per day at the height of production at the Wichita factory in 1945. She stated that she was “honored to be featured in this exhibit that tells the story of the women who went to work in the Boeing Wichita factory during World War II.”

FMI: https://www.b29doc.com