Amazing vintage photos provide a vivid snapshot of working life for brave British women during World War Two British women worked as transport pilots, ATS spotters, armourers and on the land during World War Two Many, particularly those whose job it was to spot incoming enemy planes, regularly risked their lives Elsewhere, American women played an important role in the military, especially in the US Navy From flying transport planes to preparing torpedoes, life for women on the Home Front during World War Two wasn't all about cooking with coupons and dealing with the effects of relentless German bombing raids. While many did join the ARP [Air Raid Precautions] and work on the land, others became an integral part of the armed forces as these incredible snapshots from the 1940's demonstrate. Others joined Britain's secret services, including those who worked on the world's first electronic programmable computer, Colossus, at Bletchley Park, where they also contributed to cracking the German Lorenz and enigma codes - one of British intelligence's greatest wartime triumphs. Brave: Women in the WRNS (Royal Navy) including this radio mechanic, flew test missions in planes such as the Fairley Barracuda dive bomber (behind) Essential: Trainee pilot Nancy Nesbit, pictured in her Army training plane at Avenger Field, later joined the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron Jobs for the girls: Other naval roles available to women included working as transport drivers, although as this image shows, that included doing repairs Deadly: WRNS based at the enormous British naval base at Portsmouth move a torpedo towards a loading bay used by one of the Navy's U-class submarines Hard at work: Pauline Gower, an officer of the Air Transport Auxiliary's No 5 Ferry Pilots Pool, was based at Hatfield in Berkshire during the war years Camaraderie: Pauline Gower (centre), pictured with fellow pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary's No 5 Ferry Pilots Pool Women's Section in 1940 But while the role of Britain's female code-breakers was shrouded in secrecy at the time, those who joined the Women's Royal Naval Service, or WRNS, were celebrated for their bravery. Among the jobs performed by women were ferrying munitions and men to Royal Navy ships at Portsmouth and Devonport [Plymouth], providing mechanical back-up and even testing planes and equipment, including the Fairey Barracuda - an early carrier-borne dive bomber used by British forces. Others took roles as armourers, loading torpedos and other munitions into Royal Navy submarines, as engineers and as ferry pilots in the RAF's Air Transport Auxiliary. Away from the armed forces, women became ATS [Auxiliary Territorial Service] spotters - an incredibly dangerous job that involved scanning the sky for hours on end in search of enemy planes - and even manned anti-aircraft guns such as the Bofors 40mm or Bofors Gun. But British women weren't the only ones to play their part in the Allied victory of 1945. The USA too had women's army and navy units, most notably the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service or WAVES programme. Leading the line: A WRNS officer examines her rifle while training to become an armourer at a Scottish Royal Airforce Base in 1940 Trainee pilot: Phyliss Jarman, a recent recruit to the Women's Auxilary Ferrying Squadron, writes up a report during training at Avenger Field Dangerous work: Auxiliary Territorial Service spotters scan the skies for any sign of hostile aircraft at a London anti-aircraft battery, equipped with a range finder A pair of spotters using a Kine-Theodolite - an instrument which records the bursts of anti-aircraft shells - to check the accuracy of firing at an AA Battery at Manorbier Duty: An ATS spotter scans the skies with binoculars at an anti-aircraft command post in December 1942 with a 3.7 inch anti-aircraft gun in the background Mum's army: A sergeant drilling civilian members of the Women's Home Defence Corps, in the use of rifles during the Battle of Britain in 1940 Action stations: Members of the Army Catering Corps are put through their paces during a training course in the early years of the war Working on the land: A pair of Land Army girls sporting straw hats return from the fields accompanied by their Shire horse in September 1939 Wood cutter: Cicely Clark of The Women's Timber Corps at work in a timber camp in Suffolk as part of the war effort in 1942 Backbreaking: A group of Land Girls shovel sugarbeet in the Lincolnshire beet fields in October 1940 Top secret: Women work on the Colossus computer at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, which was used to help crack the German Lazlo and enigma codes Women in the WAVES really did face the same dangers as male colleagues as the haunting photo of five American WAC officers, including Colonel Ruth Briggs, sitting with fellow survivors onboard a rescue destroyer after their transport ship was torpedoed off the North African coast in February 1943. Others joined the Women's Air Corps or WAC, and spent the war years working as Women Airforce Service pilots ferrying new planes and other supplies to American airforce bases all over the United States. Back in Europe, stars of the era such as German-born Marlene Dietrich did their bit by touring armed forces bases to help boost the morale of troops, while more prosaically, Land Girls spent the war years providing food for the British population as well as timber, coal and other essential supplies. Among them was Cicely Clark, who spent the war years working with the Women's Timber Corps in Suffolk. Others, such as the pair of Land Girls photographed carrying straw hats through the fields, did their duty by helping to grow beetroot in Lincolnshire. But whether pilot, Land Girl, timber cutter or munitions worker, what these photos make clear is that without the efforts of these brave British and American women, defeating Hitler could have taken far longer than it did. Recruitment: Capt. Jean Sullivan of the US Women's Army Corps watches as Corp. Ailie M. Ferko (left) and Sgt. Gloria Barnard straighten up for the inspection tours Iconic: American pilot trainee Shirley Slade in a flight suit and pigtails sits on the wing of her training plane. The photo was later used on the cover of Life Magazine Recovery: A female engineer uses a cutting torch in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in Hawaii in 1943 Expertise: A member of the US Navy's WAVES checking target hits with a male colleague to tally up the results of her pistol marksmanship during target practice Formidable: The same unidentified women aims her pistol during target practice as she trains for future work with the US Navy's WAVES Rescue: Five American WAC officers including Col. Ruth Briggs (lower centre) with other survivors after their troop ship was torpedoed off North Africa in February 1943 Morale boost: Film actress Marlene Dietrich signs autographs for American troops in Germany shortly after victory was declared in 1945