Norbeck, Jeanne Lewellen, 2nd Lt

On October 16, 1944 Jeanne Norbeck was on a test assignment in a BT-13 Trainer  that was purported to have a problem with the left wing. She reported via radio at one point to her friend and other engineering test pilot, , Marybelle Arduengo, also flying a BT-13, that the aircraft appeared fine "in straight and level flight." The two pilots separated after arriving at the test area to conduct their individual assignments. Apparantly Norbeck noted something wrong with the aircraft and turned back to her base. On the approach to the airfield the aircraft suddently rolled over and into a spin, the aircraft crashing to the ground upside down and burning.  Source: http://www.atterburybakalarairmuseum.org

 

Jeanne Norbeck was born in Columbus, Indiana, where she grew up with a brother and sister. She began flying while in high school  and received a pilots license in college. She married Edward Norbeck in September 1940 while in Hawaii. They were in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Her husband entered the U.S. Army Intelligence Service and she returned to Columbus. Her early pilot training was at the Dallas Aviation School and Roscoe Turner Aviation School. She applied to the Women Airforce Service Pilot Program and entered training in 1943.

Jeanne Norbeck's name was inscribed on one of the 25 columns of the Bartholomew County Courthouse in Columbus, Ohio and a restored chapel at the Columbus Municipal Airport was named the Jeanne Lewellen Norbeck Memorial Chapel and dedicated to her memory.

Note: For more detailed informaton about the life of Jeanne Norbeck, as well a photographs, visit the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum at http://www.atterburybakalarairmuseum.org.