Navy to honor first woman fighter pilot with all-female flyover at funeral

The U.S. Navy said it will conduct its first-ever all-female flyover this week to honor the life of Capt. Rosemary Mariner, a pioneer in Naval aviation.

Mariner, the service’s first female fighter pilot, died on Jan. 24 after a long battle with cancer, the U.S. Naval Institute news site reported on Wednesday. The flyover will take place at her funeral on Saturday.

{mosads}Mariner completed flight training in 1974 and went on to become a naval aviator. In that role, she received her Wings of Gold to become the branch’s first female jet pilot.

She flew the A-4E/L Skyhawk and the A-7E Corsair II and was the first woman to command an operational air squadron as a military aviator.

Mariner also commanded the Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty-Four (VAQ-34) during Operation Desert Storm and was among the first women to ever serve on a U.S. Navy warship and qualify as a Surface Warfare Officer, according to the Naval Institute.

She retired in 1997 as a captain.

The Navy said the aviators participating in Saturday’s flyover in Maynardville, Tenn., will be flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.