Henrietta Alemayehu

Ethiopia's first female pilot who broke racial and gender barriers in aviation

Henrietta Alemayehu (1912-1985) was an Ethiopian aviation pioneer whose achievements shattered multiple societal boundaries. Born to a Eritrean father and Ethiopian mother during Italian occupation, she became Africa's first Black female pilot after completing training in Paris (1935). Despite Fascist Italy's racial laws, she flew supply missions during Ethiopia's resistance against Italian colonization.

Henrietta's 1941 memoir <《Wings Over Abyssinia》> documents her daring flights under enemy fire. She later established Ethiopia's first flight school for women, training over 500 pilots by 1960. Her 1955 trans-African flight from Addis Ababa to Dakar made international headlines. The Ethiopian National Aviation Museum features her restored 1937 Potez Caravelle aircraft. Though largely forgotten in the West, her contributions are celebrated in African Aviation Heritage initiatives. Recent documentaries like <《Sky Diva of the Nile》> (2021) have revived interest in her legacy.