Pepa, Mari (1913–2004)

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Pepa, Mari (1913–2004)

Spanish aviator. Name variations: Mari Pepa Colomer. Born Mar 31, 1913, in Barcelona, Spain; died May 24, 2004; dau. of a textile wholesaler who was a friend of Picasso and Dali; m. Josep Carreras (pilot).

At 17, was the 1st woman in Spain to qualify as a pilot (1930); worked as an instructor at El Prat; during Civil War, trained fliers, tested aerial bomb fuses, piloted airborne ambulances, helped civilians escape to France, then escaped to France herself (1939); with husband, moved to Surrey, England, at start of WWII.