Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, maintenance units (MUs), scrapyards, and active service squadrons and airfields, but not to naval aircraft carriers. It also flew service personnel on urgent duty from one place to another and performed some air ambulance work. Notably, around 10% of its pilots were women, and from 1943 they received equal pay to their male colleagues, a first for the British government.
| Air Transport Auxiliary | |
|---|---|
ATA, Air Transport Auxiliary Ferry pilot's badge | |
| Active | 15 February 1940–30 November 1945 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Size | 16 ferry pools (1944) Air Movement Flight Unit 2 Training Units 1,152 pilots (male) 168 pilots (female) 151 flight engineers 19 radio officers 27 ADCC, ATC, and Sea cadets 2,786 ground staff |
| Command HQ | White Waltham, Maidenhead |
| Nickname(s) | Call sign: Lost Child Ferdinand (overseas) |
| Motto(s) | Latin: Aetheris Avidi "Eager for the Air" Unofficial: Anything To Anywhere |
| Decorations | 2 Commander British Empire (CBE) 13 Officer British Empire (OBE) 36 Member British Empire (MBE) 6 British Empire Medal (BEM) 1 George Medal 6 Commendations 5 Commended for Gallantry 18 King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air |
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