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Last Spitfire female WWII pilot dies in UK

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Press Trust of India London

Mary Ellis, the last surviving female pilot who flew the Spitfire in the World War II, has died, a media report said today, a week after the death of the youngest Spitfire pilot.

The 101-year-old veteran, who was a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and delivered Spitfires and bombers to the front line during the conflict, died at her home on the Isle of Wight in the UK on Tuesday.

ATA secretary John Webster described Ellis as an "amazing" person. Tributes have been paid to Ellis by fellow pilots.

"I hope you are enjoying a well-earned sherry up there with Joy Lofthouse again", a fellow pilot posted on Twitter.

 

She flew 76 different types of plane through the war and had delivered more than 1,000 aircraft by its end. Roughly 400 of those were Spitfires, a media report said.

She joined the ATA in 1941 after hearing an advertisement for women pilots on radio, the BBC reported.

Earlier this year, she was granted the Freedom of the Isle of Wight award.

She was awarded the Master Air Pilot certificate by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots in 2016.

Ellis' death follows that of youngest spitfire pilot Geoffrey Wellum last Friday.

The ATA was a British civilian organisation set up during the Second World War and headquartered at White Waltham Airfield.

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First Published: Jul 26 2018 | 4:10 PM IST

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