Maureen Adele Chase Dunlop de Popp (26 October 1920 – 29 May 2012), née Dunlop, was an Anglo-Argentine pilot who flew for the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during World War II, and became notable as a pin-up on the cover of the '' Picture Post'' magazine.

Early life

Dunlop was born in Quilmes, near Buenos Aires, on 26 October 1920. Her parents were Australian farm manager Eric Chase Dunlop, who had volunteered for the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

during World War I and was now employed by a British company to manage of sheep farms in Patagonia, and his English wife Jessimin May Williams. The couple also had an elder daughter Joan, and a younger son Eric. Educated mainly by her

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, Dunlop also attended St. Hilda's College in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires Province. Surrounded by animals, she became an expert horse rider. During a holiday in Britain in 1936, Dunlop took flying lessons. On return to Argentina, she backdated her birth certificate to allow her to continue flight training, joining the Aeroclub Argentino.

World War II

At the outbreak of war, Dunlop decided actively to support the war effort. To join the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), women pilots needed a minimum of 500 hours' solo flying, twice that of a man. After sufficiently increasing her hours, in early 1942 Dunlop and her sister Joan travelled across the Atlantic Ocean on a neutral Argentine-registered ship. While her sister joined the BBC, in April 1942 Maureen joined the ATA, one of 164 female pilots eventually to do so in three years. Trained to fly 38 types of aircraft, her 800 hours subsequently logged included time in Spitfires, Mustangs, Typhoons, and bomber types including the Wellington. She later stated that her favourite type to fly was the

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

. Initially attached to No.6 Ferry Pool at

RAF Ratcliffe The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) ...

near

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, she then moved to the all-female

Ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

Pool at Hamble, Southampton, commanded by Margot Gore, which delivered Spitfires from Supermarine's new factory at RAF Southampton. She was forced into occasional emergency landings, once after the cockpit canopy of her Spitfire blew off after takeoff and another occasion put down in a field after the engine of her Fairchild Argus failed in the air. Dunlop became a cover girl when pictured pushing her hair out of her face after she left the cockpit of a Fairey Barracuda aircraft. The shot featured on the front page of ''Picture Post'' magazine in 1944, proving women could be fearless as well as glamorous, and integral to the war effort.

After the war

At the end of hostilities, Dunlop qualified as a flying instructor at

RAF Luton London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...

, before returning to Argentina. There she instructed pilots and flew for the Argentine Air Force, and also worked as a commercial pilot. Dunlop later held a partnership in an air taxi company, continuing to fly actively until 1969. In 1955 she married retired Romanian diplomat Serban (Şerban) Victor Popp after meeting him at a

British Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Com ...

function in Buenos Aires. The couple had a son and two daughters, raised on their stud farm ''Milla Lauquen Stud''. In 1973, the family moved to Norfolk to breed pure-blood Arab horses. Her husband died in 2000. In 2003, Dunlop was one of three female ATA pilots who were awarded the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Master Air Pilot Award. The other two women pilots were Lettice Curtis and Diana Barnato Walker. She died on 29 May 2012, at her home in Norfolk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop de Popp, Maureen People from Quilmes Argentine emigrants to the United Kingdom Argentine people of Australian descent Argentine people of English descent English people of Australian descent Argentine aviators English aviators Air Transport Auxiliary pilots Women in World War II Argentina in World War II Argentine Air Force personnel 1920 births 2012 deaths British women aviators Argentine women aviators Commercial aviators Women commercial aviators

Early life

World War II

After the war

See also

References