A is for Elsa Andersson - Pioneer Women in Aviation: A-Z Challenge

Elsa Andersson 1897-1922

Elsa Andersson had no desire to stay in farming when she grew up. Born in 1897 to Swedish farmers, Edward Andersson and wife Alma Svensson, Elsa desired a different life. Elsa’s mother died in childbirth when Elsa was only six years old. An older brother also left the family for America to start a new life, which no doubt got Elsa to thinking about her future. She knew that life was short and she knew that life could be different if given the opportunity.

As a young woman, Elsa started looking to the sky for inspiration. She knew that Sweden’s pioneer aviator and aircraft designer Enoch Thulin ran a flight school and decided to enroll. She became the second of two women to enroll and she and Ruth Bergman worked hard as the school’s first female students. But Ruth dropped out for some reason, leaving Elsa to earn the first pilot’s license by a Swedish woman (1920). Interestingly, she was also Thulin’s last student.

Elsa was proud of her new pilot’s license (ticket #203) and eager to increase her skills. She wanted to learn parachuting, but Sweden’s only qualified skydiving instructor, Raoul Thörnblad, refused to teach women the skill. With grit and stubborn resolve, Elsa traveled to Berlin, Germany to train at Otto Heinecke’s parachute school. There she became Sweden’s first parachutist.

Elsa, 1922 (source: Tekiniska Museet)

As part of her training, Elsa did two student exhibition jumps in Sweden, one in 1921 near Kristianstad and a second jump in Helsingborg the following week. Pumped and exited to be Sweden’s first female pilot and stunt parachutist can only describe the exhilaration Elsa must have felt. Likewise, we can imagine the excitement of her family and friends who must have gathered below to watch, applauding and shouting their praise.

A third exhibition jump, scheduled in Edö outside Askersund in 1922, drew a crowd of 3000-4000 people, who had gathered on frozen Lake Alsen to watch. Unfortunately, it was Elsa’s final jump. Pilot Albin Lundberg carefully positioned the plane somewhere between 600 and 700 meters above the jump site, but upon jumping, the parachute cord tangled around Elsa’s arm. By the time the chute opened, it was too late. Elsa crashed to the ground and died on impact. She was twenty-five.

An interesting aftermath is two more jumpers died in Stockholm four years later, both due to parachute malfunctions. As a result, Swedish authorities established restrictions to protect future skydivers. The Royal Swedish Aero Club also built a three meter high obelisk (a memorial stone) in Elsa’s memory at the crash site. 

Elsa's memorial stone. © Magnus Posse

 Online there is much discussion about the safety and dangers of skydiving. Apparently, it’s not as dangerous as one might think if done correctly. Altitude is critical though. A skydiving myth is: “the higher the altitude, the more dangerous the jump.” Quite the contrary, according to Skydiver (Feb. 5, 2009). It takes “600 to 800 feet” for a chute to open.


Other aviators:
Micky Axton (1919-2010) USA
Jacqueline Auriol (1917-2000) France
Valérie André (1922- ) France 



Source:
http://cousinlinda.blogspot.com/2013/02/tombstone-tuesday-elsa-andersson-first.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Andersson; https://www.flickr.com/photos/tekniskamuseet/12835746874; http://skydiving-encyclopedia.com/wiki/skydiving/10-fears-of-falling-risks-safety/10-2-risk-death/parachuting-and-skydiving-risk/; http://memim.com/elsa-andersson.html; http://girlsgrowupstrong.blogspot.com/2014/08/elsa-theresa-andersson-april-27-1897.html; http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8919034; http://america.pink/elsa-andersson_1417833.html

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing