Margot Duhalde (12 December 1920 – 5 February 2018) was a Chilean aviator whose career spanned military and civil aviation in Europe and South America. She is best known for her wartime service with the Air Transport Auxiliary of the Royal Air Force and for continuing to fly and teach after the war, breaking gender barriers in several roles. Her life is often cited as an example of women pilots who moved into formerly male-dominated fields during and after World War II.

Early life and path to flying

Duhalde was born in 1920 in Chile and developed an early interest in mechanics and flying — interests that led her to pursue pilot training at a time when few women entered aviation. Drawn to the opportunity to contribute to the Allied effort, she traveled to Britain during the Second World War and applied to serve in a support capacity that used civilian pilots to ferry aircraft between factories, maintenance units and front-line squadrons.

Wartime service

During the conflict she served with the Air Transport Auxiliary of the Royal Air Force (Air Transport Auxiliary), a civilian organization that provided crucial logistical support during World War II. ATA pilots were responsible for collecting new, repaired or surplus aircraft and flying them to the units that required them. These duties exposed pilots to a wide variety of military aircraft and demanded strong navigation, handling and adaptability under sometimes hazardous conditions.

Post-war career in Europe and return to Chile

After hostilities ended, Duhalde remained in Europe and flew warplanes for the French Air Force. She has been described in some accounts as one of the first women to perform combat-related flying duties for France, though contemporary sources vary in how this status is characterized. In recognition of her wartime contributions she was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1946 (Legion of Honor).

In 1947 she returned to Chile. At that time the national airline did not employ women pilots, and Duhalde initially worked as a private pilot for a businessman. She later opened a flying school, taught as a flight instructor and served as an air traffic controller in the Chilean air force — roles that allowed her to shape civil aviation training and operations in her home country.

Roles, legacy and notable facts

  • Wartime ATA pilot: ferried military aircraft to meet operational needs.
  • Post-war military flying: flew for the French Air Force in the immediate postwar years.
  • Civil aviation pioneer: flight instructor, flying school founder and air traffic controller in Chile.
  • Honors: appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1946.

Duhalde's career illustrates how wartime exigencies opened new possibilities for women in aviation and how some of those women continued to influence training, safety and operations after the war. Her story is referenced in broader studies of female pilots who served in auxiliary and ferrying roles, and she remains a notable figure in Chilean aviation history for both her international service and her postwar contributions at home.

For further information about the organizations and period in which she served, see resources linked to the Air Transport Auxiliary and World War II histories, as well as collections that discuss honors such as the Legion of Honor. Additional research can clarify the precise nature of her roles in France and the extent to which she was the first woman to perform specific combat-related duties for the French Air Force.