Flight Lieutenant Julie Ann Gibson was the
first full-time female pilot for the
Royal Air Force when she graduated in 1991. Previously a ground-based officer, she learnt to fly while attending
City, University of London. She was subsequently assigned to
No. 32 Squadron RAF flying
Hawker Siddeley Andovers, and following her promotion to Captain,
Lockheed C-130 Hercules at
RAF Lyneham.
She attended the
City, University of London, where she graduated in 1983 with a
Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. While at University, she had learnt to fly and had joined the associated
University Air Squadron.
Gibson joined the
Royal Air Force College in 1984, and following her officer training, she was posted to
RAF Honington in
Suffolk. She was initially in charge of 75 engineers. In the following assignment, she commanded 160 men in the
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II tactical weapons unit. Alongside fellow female pilot
Sally Cox, Gibson took her first solo flights in 1990 at
RAF Linton-on-Ouse. She successfully applied for pilot training, going on to train in the Advanced Flying Training Wing. She graduated as the first female pilot in the RAF on 14 June 1991 at
No. 6 Flying Training School RAF, within
RAF Finningley. She was assigned to
No. 32 Squadron RAF, where she flew
Hawker Siddeley Andovers out of
RAF Northolt. She was subsequently promoted to Flight Lieutenant, and assigned to fly
Lockheed C-130 Hercules at
RAF Lyneham.
Joanna Mary Salter (born 27 August 1968, in
Bournemouth) was
Britain's first female fast jet pilot flying the
Panavia Tornado ground attack aircraft with
617 Squadron, she later became an inspirational speaker.
Salter joined the
Royal Air Force at the age of 18 with the intention of becoming an engineering officer but she went on to train as a
pilot after the
British government announced that women would be allowed to fly jet aircraft in 1992. As part of her engineering training she had studied at the
Royal Military College of Science. Salter was awarded her wings on 3 April 1992 and at the end of 1992 she finished her fast jet training at
RAF Brawdy with
Dawn Hadlow (nee Bradley), who became Britain's first RAF female flight instructor.
In August 1994 Salter joined 617 Squadron at
RAF Lossiemouth in August 1994 as a
flight lieutenant, and was declared "combat ready" by the RAF on 21 February 1995. Salter was the first woman to be an operational Tornado pilot and she later flew from both Turkey and Saudi Arabia in protection of the
no-fly zone over
Iraq. Whilst flying ground attack Tornados, Salter started an
MBA course with the
Open University in 1996, being sponsored by the
MoD, she completed the course in 1999.
