Aviation Pioneer. Elisabeth Boselli received fame as a French female pilot. Serving at the rank of Second Lieutenant in 1944, she was the first female fighter pilot to serve in the French Air Force, setting eight world records for distance, altitude, and speed. Born Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Juliette Boselli, she graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies in 1935. In January 1938, she obtained her private pilot's license and purchased her own plane. On February 12, 1946, she received her military license, but since the war was over, she returned to being a civilian pilot instead of a military desk job. For her military service, she received the Legion of Honor, the Cross for Military Valour, and the Aeronautical Medal. In May of 1947, she received her glider pilot license after four months of training. She set a world women's altitude record for a single glider, reaching 5,300 miles on December 22, 1947, and breaking her own record by reaching 5,600 miles on April 6, 1948. She set a world altitude record for light aircraft of 5,791 miles on May 21, 1949. In 1951, she received her seaplane pilot license after training for ten days in the United States. She remained in aerobatic competitions and regularly set records. In 1952, she rejoined the military while continuing to compete. Women World Competition records she set in 1955 were the speed record for closed-circuit jets of 749 km/h on January 26th, the distance record for closed-circuit jets of 1,840 km on February 21st, and distance in a straight line for jet aircraft of 2,331,220 km on March 1st. In 1957, she was offered a military assignment in Algeria and was based at Oued Hamimine. She flew military evacuations and transport missions and delivered supplies and mail to troops. She had accumulated 900 flight hours and 334 missions by the age of 45. Named in her honor are an airfield converted to a housing development in Angers, France; a park in Paris, and a street in Lyons.