HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. They formed the
332d Fighter Group 33 may refer to: *33 (number) *33 BC *AD 33 *1933 *2033 Music * ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) (2003) * ''33'' (Southpacific album) (1998) * ''33'' (Wanessa album) (2016) *"33 'GOD'", a 2016 song by Bon Iver * "Thirty-Three" (song), a 1995 song by th ...
and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(USAAF). The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The Tuskegee airmen received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting American bombers from enemy fighters. The group was awarded three
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
s. All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Griel Field, Kennedy Field,
Moton Field Moton may refer to: People Given name * Moton Hopkins (born 1986), American professional gridiron football player Surname * LeVelle Moton (born 1974), American college basketball coach * Robert Russa Moton (1867–1940), African American educato ...
, Shorter Field, and the Tuskegee Army Air Fields. They were educated at the
Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...
(now Tuskegee University), located near
Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee () is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. ...
. Of the 922 pilots, five were
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
ans from the
Haitian Air Force The Haiti Air Corps (french: Corps d'Aviation d'Haiti (Corps d’Aviation de 1’Armee d’Haiti)) was the air force of Haiti from 1942 to 1994. The air corps was disbanded along with the rest of the armed forces after Operation Uphold Democracy, t ...
and one pilot was from
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
. It also included a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
. The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and other parts of Italy). The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. It deployed to Italy in early 1944. Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with
North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
bombers, they never served in combat. In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions and, in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons. The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
fighter-bomber aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with
Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...
s (March 1944), later with
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...
s (June–July 1944) and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the
North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
(July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red
empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...
; the P-51B, C and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the
Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the S ...
and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside of the army.


History


Origins


Background

Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African-American had been a U.S. military pilot. In 1917, African-American men had tried to become aerial observers but were rejected. African-American Eugene Bullard served in the French air service during World War I because he was not allowed to serve in an American unit. Instead, Bullard returned to infantry duty with the French. The racially motivated rejections of World War I African-American recruits sparked more than two decades of advocacy by African-Americans who wished to enlist and train as military aviators. The effort was led by such prominent
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
leaders as
Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...
of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...
, labor union leader A. Philip Randolph and Judge William H. Hastie. Finally, on 3 April 1939, Appropriations Bill Public Law 18 was passed by Congress containing an amendment by Senator Harry H. Schwartz designating funds for training African-American pilots. The
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...
managed to put the money into funds of civilian flight schools willing to train black Americans. War Department tradition and policy mandated the segregation of African-Americans into separate military units staffed by white officers, as had been done previously with the 9th Cavalry, 10th Cavalry,
24th Infantry Regiment The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African-American soldiers. History The 24th Infantry Regiment (o ...
and 25th Infantry Regiment. When the appropriation of funds for aviation training created opportunities for pilot cadets, their numbers diminished the rosters of these older units. In 1941, the War Department and the Army Air Corps, under pressure — three months before its transformation into the
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
— constituted the first all-black flying unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron. Because of the restrictive nature of selection policies, the situation did not seem promising for African-Americans, since in 1940 the U.S. Census Bureau reported there were only 124 African-American pilots in the nation. The exclusionary policies failed dramatically when the Air Corps received an abundance of applications from men who qualified, even under the restrictive requirements. Many of the applicants had already participated in the
Civilian Pilot Training Program The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...
, unveiled in late December 1938 (CPTP).
Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...
had participated since 1939.


Testing

The U.S. Army Air Corps had established the Psychological Research Unit 1 at Maxwell Army Air Field,
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...
, and other units around the country for aviation cadet training, which included the identification, selection, education, and training of pilots, navigators and bombardiers. Psychologists employed in these research studies and training programs used some of the first
standardized tests A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predet ...
to quantify IQ, dexterity, and leadership qualities to select and train the best-suited personnel for the roles of bombardier, navigator, and pilot. The Air Corps determined that the existing programs would be used for all units, including all-black units. At Tuskegee, this effort continued with the selection and training of the Tuskegee Airmen. The War Department set up a system to accept only those with a level of flight experience or higher education which ensured that only the ablest and most intelligent African-American applicants were able to join. Airman
Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit. Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...
, later the first
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, Michigan. See History of Detroit, Michigan, for more information about the history of the incorporation of the city. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History ...
, told journalist
Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for '' The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral h ...
about the process:


First Lady's flight

The budding flight program at Tuskegee received a publicity boost when
First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
inspected it on 29 March 1941, and flew with African-American chief civilian instructor C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson. Anderson, who had been flying since 1929 and was responsible for training thousands of rookie pilots, took his prestigious passenger on a half-hour flight in a
Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...
. After landing, she cheerfully announced, "Well, you can fly all right." The subsequent brouhaha over the First Lady's flight had such an impact it is often mistakenly cited as the start of the CPTP at Tuskegee, even though the program was already five months old. Eleanor Roosevelt used her position as a trustee of the Julius Rosenwald Fund to arrange a loan of $175,000 to help finance the building of
Moton Field Moton may refer to: People Given name * Moton Hopkins (born 1986), American professional gridiron football player Surname * LeVelle Moton (born 1974), American college basketball coach * Robert Russa Moton (1867–1940), African American educato ...
.


Formation

On 22 March 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated without pilots at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois. A cadre of 14 black non-commissioned officers from the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments were sent to Chanute Field to help in the administration and supervision of the trainees. A white officer, Army Captain Harold R. Maddux, was assigned as the first commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron. A group of 271 enlisted men began training in aircraft ground support trades at Chanute Field in March 1941 until they were transferred to bases in Alabama in July 1941. The skills being taught were so technical that setting up segregated classes was deemed impossible. This small number of enlisted men became the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee Fields in Alabama. While the enlisted men were in training, five black youths were admitted to the Officers Training School (OTS) at Chanute Field as aviation cadets. Specifically, Elmer D. Jones, Dudley Stevenson, and James Johnson of Washington, DC; Nelson Brooks of Illinois, and William R. Thompson of Pittsburgh, PA successfully completed OTS and were commissioned as the first Black Army Air Corps Officers. In June 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was transferred to Tuskegee, Alabama, and remained the only black flying unit in the country, but did not yet have pilots. The famous airmen were actually trained at five airfields surrounding Tuskegee University (formerly Tuskegee Institute)--Griel, Kennedy, Moton, Shorter, and Tuskegee Army Air Fields. The flying unit consisted of 47 officers and 429 enlisted men and was backed by an entire service arm. On 19 July 1941, thirteen individuals made up the first class of aviation cadets (42-C) when they entered preflight training at Tuskegee Institute. After primary training at
Moton Field Moton may refer to: People Given name * Moton Hopkins (born 1986), American professional gridiron football player Surname * LeVelle Moton (born 1974), American college basketball coach * Robert Russa Moton (1867–1940), African American educato ...
, they were moved to the nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field, about to the west for conversion training onto operational types. Consequently, Tuskegee Army Air Field became the only Army installation performing three phases of pilot training (basic, advanced, and transition) at a single location. Initial planning called for 500 personnel in residence at a time. By mid-1942, over six times that many were stationed at Tuskegee, even though only two squadrons were training there. Tuskegee Army Airfield was similar to already-existing airfields reserved for training white pilots, such as Maxwell Field, only distant. African-American contractor McKissack and McKissack, Inc. was in charge of the contract. The company's 2,000 workmen, the Alabama
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
, and the U.S. Army built the airfield in only six months. The construction was budgeted at $1,663,057. The airmen were placed under the command of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (December 18, 1912 – July 4, 2002) was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. On December 9, 1998, ...
, one of only two black line officers then serving. During training, Tuskegee Army Air Field was commanded first by Major James Ellison. Ellison made great progress in organizing the construction of the facilities needed for the military program at Tuskegee. However, he was transferred on 12 January 1942, reputedly because of his insistence that his African-American sentries and
Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...
had police authority over local Caucasian civilians. His successor, Colonel Frederick von Kimble, then oversaw operations at the Tuskegee airfield. Contrary to new Army regulations, Kimble maintained segregation on the field in deference to local customs in the state of Alabama, a policy that was resented by the airmen. Later that year, the Air Corps replaced Kimble. His replacement had been the director of training at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Major Noel F. Parrish. Counter to the prevalent racism of the day, Parrish was fair and open-minded and petitioned Washington to allow the Tuskegee Airmen to serve in combat. The strict racial segregation the U.S. Army required gave way in the face of the requirements for complex training in technical vocations. Typical of the process was the development of separate African-American
flight surgeon A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered. Flight surgeons are physicians ( M ...
s to support the operations and training of the Tuskegee Airmen.Jones, D.R., L.P. Gross and R. Marchbanks-Robinson. , ''SAM-FE-BR-TR-2007-0001: US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine'' (2007); retrieved 20 March 2010. Before the development of this unit, no U.S. Army flight surgeons had been black. Training of African-American men as aviation medical examiners was conducted through correspondence courses, until 1943, when two black physicians were admitted to the U.S. Army School of Aviation Medicine at
Randolph Field, Texas Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...
. This was one of the earliest racially integrated courses in the U.S. Army. Seventeen flight surgeons served with the Tuskegee Airmen from 1941 to 1949. At that time, the typical tour of duty for a U.S. Army flight surgeon was four years. Six of these physicians lived under field conditions during operations in North Africa, Sicily, and other parts of Italy. The chief flight surgeon to the Tuskegee Airmen was Vance H. Marchbanks Jr., MD, a childhood friend of Benjamin Davis. The accumulation of washed-out cadets at Tuskegee and the propensity of other commands to "dump" African-American personnel on the post exacerbated the difficulties of administering Tuskegee. A shortage of jobs for them made these enlisted men a drag on Tuskegee's housing and culinary departments. Trained officers were also left idle as the plan to shift African-American officers into command slots stalled, and white officers not only continued to hold command but were joined by additional white officers assigned to the post. One rationale behind the non-assignment of trained African-American officers was stated by the commanding officer of the Army Air Forces, General
Henry "Hap" Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Air For ...
: "Negro pilots cannot be used in our present Air Corps units since this would result in Negro officers serving over white enlisted men creating an impossible social situation."


Combat assignment

The 99th was finally considered ready for combat duty by April 1943. It shipped out of Tuskegee on 2 April, bound for North Africa, where it would join the 33rd Fighter Group and its commander, Colonel
William W. Momyer William Wallace Momyer (September 23, 1916 – August 10, 2012) was a general officer and fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. Among his notable posts were those commanding the Air Training Command, the Seventh Air Force during the Vietn ...
. Given little guidance from battle-experienced pilots, the 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small strategic volcanic island of
Pantelleria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisi ...
, code name Operation Corkscrew, in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
to clear the sea lanes for the
Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...
in July 1943. The air assault on the island began 30 May 1943. The 99th flew its first combat mission on 2 June. The surrender of the garrison of 11,121 Italians and 78 Germans due to air attack was the first of its kind. The 99th then moved on to Sicily and received a
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
(DUC) for its performance in combat. By the end of February 1944, the all-black 332nd Fighter Group had been sent overseas with three fighter squadrons: The 100th, 301st and 302nd. Under the command of Colonel Davis, the squadrons were moved to mainland Italy, where the 99th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the group on 1 May 1944, joined them on 6 June at Ramitelli Airfield, nine kilometers south-southeast of the small city of
Campomarino Campomarino ( Arbërisht: ''Këmarini'') is an Arbëreshë '' comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, in the Italian region Molise, located about northeast of Campobasso, and about southeast of Termoli. The Campomarino comune includes the ...
, on the
Adriatic coast The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...
. From Ramitelli, the 332nd Fighter Group escorted
Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...
heavy strategic bombing raids into Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Germany. Flying escort for heavy bombers, the 332nd earned an impressive combat record. The Allies called these airmen "Red Tails" or "Red-Tail Angels," because of the distinctive crimson unit identification marking predominantly applied on the tail section of the unit's aircraft.Rice, Markus
"The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters"
''Tuskegee Airmen'' via logicalthinker2.tripod.com, 1 March 2000.
A B-25 bomb group, the
477th Bombardment Group 477th may refer to: * 477th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 477th Fighter Group, the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit * 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit See als ...
, was forming in the U.S. but was not able to complete its training in time to see action. The 99th Fighter Squadron after its return to the United States became part of the 477th, redesignated the 477th Composite Group.


Active air units

The only black air units that saw combat during the war were the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. The dive-bombing and strafing missions under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. were considered to be highly successful."Black Americans in Defense of Our Nation."
''Sam Houston State University''; retrieved 11 June 2011.
"Celebrating African Americans in Aviation"
''San Diego Air & Space Museum''; retrieved 12 June 2011.
In May 1942, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was renamed the 99th Fighter Squadron. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) during World War II. The DUCs were for operations over Sicily from 30 May – 11 June 1943, Monastery Hill near
Cassino Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Southern Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio, the last city of the Latin Valley. Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari and Liri ri ...
from 12 to 14 May 1944, and for successfully fighting off German jet aircraft on 24 March 1945. The mission was the longest bomber escort mission of the Fifteenth Air Force throughout the war."99th Flying Training Squadron History."
''United States Air Force''; retrieved 12 June 2011.
"Escort Excellence"
, nationalmuseum.af.mil; retrieved 12 June 2011.
The 332nd flew missions in Sicily,
Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Isl ...
, Normandy, the
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...
, the
Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
and Rome-Arno and others. Pilots of the 99th once set a record for destroying five enemy aircraft in under four minutes. The Tuskegee Airmen shot down three German jets in a single day."Escort Excellence"
, nationalmuseum.af.mil; retrieved 27 July 2012.
On 24 March 1945, 43 P-51 Mustangs led by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis escorted B-17 bombers over into Germany and back. The bombers' target, a massive Daimler-Benz tank factory in Berlin, was heavily defended by ''Luftwaffe'' aircraft, including propeller-driven Fw 190s, Me 163 "Komet" rocket-powered fighters, and 25 of the much more formidable Me 262s, history's first operational jet fighter. Pilots Charles Brantley, Earl Lane and Roscoe Brown all shot down German jets over Berlin that day. For the mission, the 332nd Fighter Group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation."332d Fighter Squadron"
everworld.com; retrieved 9 July 2012.
Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group earned 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Their missions took them over Italy and enemy-occupied parts of central and southern Europe. Their operational aircraft were, in succession:
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
,
Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...
,
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...
and
North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
fighter aircraft.


Tuskegee Airmen bomber units


Formation

With African-American fighter pilots being trained successfully, the Army Air Force now came under political pressure from the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...
and other civil rights organizations to organize a bomber unit. There could be no defensible argument that the quota of 100 African-American pilots in training at one time, or 200 per year out of a total of 60,000 American aviation cadets in annual training, represented the service potential of 13 million African-Americans. On 13 May 1943, the 616th Bombardment Squadron was established as the initial subordinate squadron of the
477th Bombardment Group 477th may refer to: * 477th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 477th Fighter Group, the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit * 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit See als ...
, an all-white group. The squadron was activated on 1 July 1943, only to be inactivated on 15 August 1943. By September 1943, the number of washed-out cadets on base had surged to 286, with few of them working. In January 1944, the 477th Bombardment Group was reactivated—an all-Black group. At the time, the usual training cycle for a bombardment group took three to four months. The 477th would eventually contain four medium bomber squadrons. Slated to comprise 1,200 officers and enlisted men, the unit would operate 60
North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
bombers. The 477th would go on to encompass three more bomber squadrons–the 617th Bombardment Squadron, the 618th Bombardment Squadron, and the 619th Bombardment Squadron. The 477th was anticipated to be ready for action in November 1944. The home field for the 477th was
Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
, located outside Detroit, with forays to Oscoda Army Air Field in
Oscoda, Michigan Oscoda ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The CDP had a population of 916 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Au Sable Township and Oscoda Town ...
. However, other bases would be used for various types of training courses. Twin-engine pilot training began at Tuskegee while the transition to multi-engine pilot training was at Mather Field, California. Some ground crews trained at Mather before rotating to
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...
. Gunners learned to shoot at Eglin Field, Florida. Bombers-navigators learned their trades at
Hondo Army Air Field South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4  km) northwest of the central business district of Hondo, a city in Medina County, Texas, United States. It is owned by the City of Hondo and ...
and Midland Air Field, Texas or at
Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the seat of, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the Roswell micropolitan area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 48,422, making it the fifth-largest city ...
. Training of the new African-American crewmen also took place at
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...
,
Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United ...
, and Scott Field, Belleville, Illinois. Once trained, the air and ground crews would be spliced into a working unit at Selfridge.


Command difficulties

The new group's first commanding officer was Colonel Robert Selway, who had also commanded the 332nd Fighter Group before it deployed for combat overseas. Like his ranking officer, Major General
Frank O'Driscoll Hunter Frank O'Driscoll Hunter (December 8, 1894 – June 25, 1982) was a World War I flying ace, being credited by the United States Army Air Service with downing nine enemy aircraft. Hunter became an advocate of fighter aircraft strategy and tactics. ...
from Georgia, Selway was a racial segregationist. Hunter was blunt about it, saying such things as "...racial friction will occur if colored and white pilots are trained together." He backed Selway's violations of Army Regulation 210–10, which forbade segregation of airbase facilities. They segregated base facilities so thoroughly that they even drew a line in the base theater and ordered separate seating by race. When the audience sat in random patterns as part of "Operation Checkerboard," the movie was halted to make men return to segregated seating. African-American officers petitioned base
Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
William Boyd for access to the only officer's club on base. Lieutenant Milton Henry entered the club and personally demanded his club rights; he was court-martialed for this. Subsequently, Colonel Boyd denied club rights to African-Americans, although General Hunter stepped in and promised a separate but equal club would be built for black airmen. The 477th was transferred to
Godman Field Godman or God-man may refer to: * Godman (name) * Godman (India), a colloquial term used in India for a charismatic spiritual leader * ''The Godman'', a 1999 Indian Malayalam film * ''God-Man'', a recurring character in the comic '' Tom the Dancin ...
, Kentucky before the club was built. They had spent five months at Selfridge but found themselves on a base a fraction of Selfridge's size, with no air-to-ground gunnery range and deteriorating runways that were too short for B-25 landings. Colonel Selway took on the second role of the commanding officer of Godman Field. In that capacity, he ceded Godman Field's officers club to African-American airmen. Caucasian officers used the whites-only clubs at nearby Fort Knox, much to the displeasure of African-American officers. Another irritant was a professional one for African-American officers. They observed a steady flow of white officers through the command positions of the group and squadrons; these officers stayed just long enough to be "promotable" before transferring out at their new rank. This seemed to take about four months. In an extreme example, 22-year-old Robert Mattern was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, transferred into squadron command in the 477th days later, and left a month later as a
major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
. He was replaced by another Caucasian officer. Meanwhile, no Tuskegee Airmen held command. On 15 March 1945, the 477th was transferred to Freeman Field, near
Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia * Seymour, Victoria, a township * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Seymour, Tasmania, a localit ...
, Indiana. The white population of Freeman Field was 250 officers and 600 enlisted men. Superimposed on it were 400 African-American officers and 2,500 enlisted men of the 477th and its associated units. Freeman Field had a firing range, usable runways, and other amenities useful for training. African-American airmen would work in proximity with white ones; both would live in a public housing project adjacent to the base. Colonel Selway turned the noncommissioned officers out of their club and turned it into a second officers' club. He then classified all white personnel as cadre and all African-Americans as trainees. One officers' club became the cadre's club. The old
Non-Commissioned Officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s Club, promptly sarcastically dubbed "Uncle Tom's Cabin", became the trainees' officers club. At least four of the trainees had flown combat in Europe as fighter pilots and had about four years in service. Four others had completed training as pilots, bombardiers and navigators and may have been the only triply qualified officers in the entire Air Corps. Several of the Tuskegee Airmen had logged over 900 flight hours by this time. Nevertheless, by Colonel Selway's fiat, they were trainees. Off base was no better; many businesses in Seymour would not serve African-Americans. A local laundry would not wash their and yet willingly laundered those of captured German soldiers. In early April 1945, the 118th Base Unit transferred in from Godman Field; its African-American personnel held orders that specified they were base cadre, not trainees. On 5 April, officers of the 477th peaceably tried to enter the whites-only officer's club. Selway had been tipped off by a phone call and had the assistant
provost marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...
and base billeting manager stationed at the door to refuse the 477th officers' entry. The latter, a major, ordered them to leave and took their names as a means of arresting them when they refused. It was the beginning of the Freeman Field Mutiny. In the wake of the Freeman Field Mutiny, the 616th and 619th were disbanded and the returned 99th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the 477th on 22 June 1945; it was redesignated the 477th Composite Group as a result. On 1 July 1945, Colonel Robert Selway was relieved of the Group's command; he was replaced by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. A complete sweep of Selway's white staff followed, with all vacated jobs filled by African-American officers. The war ended before the 477th Composite Group could get into action. The 618th Bombardment Squadron was disbanded on 8 October 1945. On 13 March 1946, the two-squadron group, supported by the 602nd Engineer Squadron (later renamed 602nd Air Engineer Squadron), the 118th Base Unit, and a band, moved to its final station, Lockbourne Field. The 617th Bombardment Squadron and the 99th Fighter Squadron disbanded on 1 July 1947, ending the 477th Composite Group. It would be reorganized as the 332nd Fighter Wing.


War accomplishments

In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946. 355 were deployed overseas, and 84 lost their lives. The toll included 68 pilots killed in action or accidents, 12 killed in training and non-combat missions and 32 captured as prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments: * 1578 combat missions, 1267 for the Twelfth Air Force; 311 for the Fifteenth Air Force * 179 bomber escort missions, with a good record of protection, losing bombers on only seven missions and a total of only 27, compared to an average of 46 among other 15th Air Force P-51 groups * 112 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground and 148 damaged. This included three
Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: " Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: " Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Ge ...
jet fighters shot down * 950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed (over 600 rail cars) * One torpedo boat put out of action. was an Italian World War I-era warship (''Giuseppe Missori''), that had been seized by the Germans and put into service. It was attacked on 25 June 1944, and damaged so severely she was never repaired. She was decommissioned on 8 November 1944, and finally
scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
on 5 February 1945."The Freeman Field Mutiny: A Study In Leadership"
''Air University, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base'', Montgomery, Alabama; retrieved 12 June 2011.
* 40 boats and barges destroyed Awards and decorations included: * Three
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
s ** 99th Pursuit Squadron: 30 May – 11 June 1943, for actions over Sicily ** 99th Fighter Squadron: 12–14 May 1944: for successful airstrikes against
Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...
, Italy. The first two Distinguished Unit Citations received by the 99th Fighter Squadron were awarded to the groups to which the squadron was attached. At the time, when a group received the honor, it was shared with the squadrons the were assigned or attached to the group. ** 332nd Fighter Group (and its 99th, 100th, and 301st Fighter Squadrons): 24 March 1945: for a bomber escort mission to Berlin, during which pilots of the 100th FS shot down three enemy Me 262 jets. The 302nd Fighter Squadron did not receive this award as it had been disbanded on 6 March 1945. * At least one
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
* 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses to 95 Airmen; Captain William A. Campbell was awarded two. * 14
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...
s * 744
Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...
s * At least 60
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
s


Controversy over escort record

For decades, the Tuskegee Airmen were popularly believed to have never lost a bomber under escort. This belief derived most directly to an article, "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss", published by the ''
Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against J ...
'' on 24 March 1945. Citing information supplied by the 15th Air Force, the article said that no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been lost to enemy fire.Johnson, Bob
"Ex-Pilot Confirms Bomber Loss, Flier Shot down in 1944 was Escorted by Tuskegee Airmen"
p. A18, WashingtonPost.com, 17 December 2006; retrieved 20 March 2010.
This statement was repeated for many years, and not publicly challenged, partly because the mission reports were classified for a number of years after the war. In 2004, William Holton, who was serving as the historian of the Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated, conducted research into wartime action reports. Alan Gropman, a professor at the
National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...
, disputed the initial refutations of the no-loss myth and said he researched more than 200 Tuskegee Airmen mission reports and found no bombers were lost to enemy fighters. Daniel Haulman of the
Air Force Historical Research Agency The Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) is the repository for United States Air Force historical documents. The Agency's collection begun during World War II in Washington, D.C. and moved in 1949 to Maxwell Air Force Base, the site ...
(AFHRA) reassessed the history of the unit in 2006 and early 2007. He documented 25 bombers shot down by enemy fighter aircraft while being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen, citing after-mission reports filed by the bomber units and Tuskegee fighter groups, records of missing air crew, and witness testimony. Haulman wrote a subsequent article, "The Tuskegee Airmen and the Never Lost a Bomber Myth," published in the ''
Alabama Review (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
'' and by
NewSouth Books NewSouth Books is an independent publishing house founded in 2000 in Montgomery, Alabama, by editor H. Randall Williams and publisher Suzanne La Rosa. Williams was the founder of Black Belt Press, working there from 1986 to 1999, and La Rosa wo ...
as an e-book, and included in a more comprehensive study regarding misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen released by AFHRA in July 2013. The article documented 27 bombers shot down by enemy aircraft while those bombers were being escorted by the 332nd Fighter Group. This total included 15 B-17s of the 483rd Bombardment Group shot down during a particularly savage air battle with an estimated 300 German fighters on 18 July 1944, that also resulted in nine kill credits and the award of five Distinguished Flying Crosses to members of the 332nd. Of the 179 bomber escort missions the 332nd Fighter Group flew for the Fifteenth Air Force, the group encountered enemy aircraft on 35 of those missions and lost bombers to enemy aircraft on only seven, and the total number of bombers lost was 27. By comparison, the average number of bombers lost by the other P-51 fighter groups of the Fifteenth Air Force during the same period was 46. In 2022, Dr. Haulman published a comprehensive study that established that the record of the 322d differed substantially from that of the three other P-51
groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in terms of bombers lost. The group was noticeably better at protecting bombers they escorted, even if not perfect. While the 332nd only lost 27 escorted
heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...
s while flying 179 escort missionsStatistics for the 332nd Group include escort missions flown with P-47s., the
31st Fighter Group 31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number. In mathematics 31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...
lost 49 in 184 missions, the 325th lost 68 in 192 escort missions, while the 52nd lost 88 in 193 missions. Moreover, the 332nd flew more missions than any of the other three groups on which they lost no escorted bombers. Combining these numbers with the numbers of enemy aircraft destroyed by each of these groups suggests that the 332nd stuck closer to protect the bombers they escorted, while the other groups were willing to pursue enemy fighters away from the bombers. The historical record shows several examples of the fighter group's losses. A mission report states that on 26 July 1944: "1 B-24 seen spiraling out of formation in T/A arget areaafter attack by E/A nemy aircraft No chutes seen to open." The Distinguished Flying Cross citation awarded to Colonel Benjamin O. Davis for the mission on 9 June 1944, noted that he "so skillfully disposed his squadrons that in spite of the large number of enemy fighters, the bomber formation suffered only a few losses."
William H. Holloman William Hugo Holloman III (August 21, 1924 – June 12, 2010) was a U.S. Army Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot, and high-profile member of the prodigious 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red ...
was reported by the ''Times'' as saying his review of records confirmed bombers had been lost. Holloman was a member of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., a group of surviving Tuskegee pilots and their supporters, who also taught Black Studies at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
and chaired the Airmen's history committee. According to the 28 March 2007 Air Force report, some bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort protection were even shot down on the day the ''Chicago Defender'' article was published. The mission reports, however, do credit the group for not losing a bomber on an escort mission for a six-month period between September 1944 and March 1945, albeit when Luftwaffe contacts were far fewer than earlier.


Postwar

Contrary to negative predictions from some quarters, Tuskegee Airmen were some of the best pilots in the U.S. Army Air Forces due to a combination of pre-war experience and the personal drive of those accepted for training. Nevertheless, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to have to fight
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...
. Their combat record did much to quiet those directly involved with the group, but other units continued to harass these airmen."Tuskegee Airmen History"
, Tuskegee airmen; retrieved 11 October 2010.
In 1949, the 332nd entered the annual U.S. Continental Gunnery Meet in Las Vegas, Nevada. The competition included shooting aerial and ground targets and dropping bombs on targets. Flying the long-range Republic P-47N Thunderbolt (built for the long-range escort mission in the Pacific theatre of World War II), the 332nd Fighter Wing took first place in the conventional fighter class. The pilots were Captain Alva Temple, Lts. Harry Stewart, Jr., James H. Harvey III and Halbert Alexander. Staff Sergeant Buford A. Johnson (30 August 1927 – 15 April 2017) served as the pilots' aircraft crew chief. Lt. Harvey said, "We had a perfect score. Three missions, two bombs per plane. We didn't guess at anything, we were good." They received congratulations from the governor of Ohio and Air Force commanders across the nation. After segregation in the military was ended in 1948 by President Harry S. Truman with
Executive Order 9981 Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. This executive order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces, and led to the re-integra ...
, the veteran Tuskegee Airmen found themselves in high demand throughout the newly formed
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
. Some taught in civilian flight schools, such as the black-owned
Columbia Air Center The Columbia Air Center was an airfield in Croom, Maryland from 1941 to 1958. It was started by African American pilots who were not permitted to use other airports, but was also open to whites. It had an all black staff, and a number of the tra ...
in Maryland. On 11 May 1949, ''Air Force Letter 35.3'' mandated that black Airmen be screened for reassignment to formerly all-white units according to qualifications. Tuskegee Airmen were instrumental in postwar developments in aviation. Edward A. Gibbs, a civilian flight instructor who helped launch in the U.S. Aviation Cadet Program at Tuskegee, later became the founder of Negro Airmen International, an association joined by many airmen. USAF General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. (then Lt.) was an instructor of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and later a fighter pilot in Europe. In 1975, he became the first African-American to reach the rank of
four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...
. Post-war commander of the 99th Squadron
Marion Rodgers Marion Raymond "Rodge" Rodgers USAAF (23 September 1921 – 5 December 2017) was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American military pilot (aeronautics), pilots who fought in World War II and were the first African-American mil ...
went on to work in communications for
NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
and as a program developer for the
Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
project. In 2005, seven Tuskegee Airmen, including Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Carter, Colonel Charles McGee, group historian Ted Johnson, and Lieutenant Colonel Lee Archer, flew to Balad, Iraq, to speak to active duty airmen serving in the current incarnation of the 332nd, which was reactivated as the 332nd Air Expeditionary Group in 1998 and made part of the
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing (332 AEW) is a Provisional Wing of Air Combat Command, currently active. It was last inactivated on 8 May 2012, and most recently reactivated on 19 May 2015. The Wing's 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group (332 ...
. "This group represents the linkage between the 'greatest generation' of airmen and the 'latest generation' of airmen," said Lt. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan III, commander of the
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
and
U.S. Central Command Air Forces The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
."Tuskegee Airmen suit up, head to Iraq."
''USA Today'', 22 October 2005; retrieved 20 March 2010.
, no one knew how many of the original 996 pilots and about 16,000 ground personnel were still alive. In August 2019, 14 documented original surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen participated at the annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention, which is hosted by Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Willie Rogers, one of the last surviving members of the original Tuskegee Airmen, died at the age of 101 on 18 November 2016 in St. Petersburg, Florida, following a stroke. Rogers was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was part of the 100th Air Engineer Squad. Rogers also served with the Red Tail Angels. He was wounded in action, shot in the stomach and leg by German soldiers during a mission in Italy in January 1943. In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the 300 surviving Tuskegee Airmen, but Rogers was not present. He was given a medal in 2013 after he revealed his previously undisclosed involvement. His pastor, Rev. Irby, said Rogers was a "passionate oral historian." Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, 24, had gone missing while flying a
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
and escorting a reconnaissance flight to Prague from Italy on 23 December 1944. He was on his 68th mission and had previously been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 27 July 2018, his remains, which had been recovered in Austria a year earlier, were conclusively identified and confirmed to his daughter – included with them was a ring inscribed from her mother to her father and dated 1943. The day before to the announcement, his wingman, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Martin, had died at 99, in Olympia Fields, Illinois. The bodies of 26 other Tuskegee Airmen who disappeared in WWII remain unrecovered. In 2019, Lt. Col. Robert J. Friend, one of 12 remaining Tuskegee Airmen at the time, died on 21 June in
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...
at the age of 99. He had flown 142 combat missions in World War II. A public viewing and memorial was held at the Palm Springs Air Museum on 6 July. He had spoken about his experiences in many different events before to his death, such as in John Murdy Elementary School's "The Gratitude Project" in Garden Grove. On January 16, 2022, Brigadier General Charles McGee died in his sleep at the age of 102. His 30-year military career included 409 combat missions in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
, and
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. File:T-1A 3.jpg, ''Red Tails'' continue to fly in the 99th Flying Training Squadron at
Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...
in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen File:Tuskegee Airmen + US Congressional Gold Medals, 2007March29.jpg, The
Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
was collectively presented to approximately 300 Tuskegee Airmen or their widows, at the
U.S. Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...
in Washington, D.C. by President George W. Bush on March 29, 2007. File:State of the Union 2020 (49494263147).jpg, Brigadier General Charles McGee being honored by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
at the 2020 State of the Union Address, with his great-grandson Iain Lanphier to the left and Second Lady Karen Pence to the right


Legacy and honors

On 29 March 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded a
Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
at a ceremony in the
U.S. Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...
. The medal is currently on display at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...
. The airfield where the airmen trained is now the
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, commemorates the contributions of African-American airmen in World War II. Moton Field was the site of primary flight training for the pioneering pilots known as the Tusk ...
.
Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
, the future Supreme Court justice, got his start defending Tuskegee bomber trainees. The 477th Bombardment Group was formed in 1944 to extend the so-called "Tuskegee experiment" by allowing black aviators to serve on bomber crews. The aim was to send pilots—many of them veterans of the original Tuskegee fighter group—back to the States for training on B-25 bombers. While in Indiana, some of the African-American officers were arrested and charged with mutiny after entering an all-white officers' club. Marshall, then a young lawyer, represented the 100 black officers who had landed in jail as a result of the confrontation. The men were soon released (although one was later convicted of violent conduct and fined)."History in the Headlines: The Tuskegee Airmen: 5 Fascinating Facts"
History.com, 20 January 2012; retrieved 9 July 2012.
Robert W. Williams Jr, a navigator/bombardier in the
477th Bombardment Group 477th may refer to: * 477th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 477th Fighter Group, the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit * 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit See als ...
, became a judge in the First Judicial District, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 1979, he was elected to the Commonwealth Court, an appellate court, and the first African American to serve on that court. In 1985, he resigned from the court to run for the District Attorney of Philadelphia County. He was the first African American to successfully become a city-wide candidate for that office. Other members of the Tuskegee Airmen have made contributions in the world of business. Eugene Winslow founded Afro-Am Publishing in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, Illinois, which published ''Great Negroes Past and Present'' in 1963. Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. started his career in the early 1940s at Tuskegee, joining the Army Air Corps in July 1943. After the war ended, James stayed in what became the Air Force and flew missions in both Korea and Vietnam. In 1969, James was put in command of
Wheelus Air Base Wheelus Air Base was a United States Air Force base located in British-occupied Libya and the Kingdom of Libya from 1943 to 1970. At one time it was the largest US military facility outside the US. It had an area of on the coast of Tripoli. Th ...
outside of Tripoli. Four Tuskegee airmen went on to become generals. For keeping his cool in the face of Qaddafi's troops, James was appointed a
brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
by President Nixon. However, he was not the only Tuskegee graduate to make flag rank. James followed in the footsteps of
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (December 18, 1912 – July 4, 2002) was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. On December 9, 1998, ...
, the original commander of the 332nd Fighter Group and the first black general in the U.S. Air Force. Another Tuskegee aviator, Lucius Theus, retired a major general after dedicating most of his 36-year career in the Air Force to improving the military's bureaucracy, helping to implement a direct deposit system for service members. In 2019, at 100 years old, Colonel Charles McGee was promoted to honorary Brigadier General. In 2006, California Congressman
Adam Schiff Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented since 2013. Schiff's district (numbered as the 2 ...
and Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay Jr., led the initiative to create a commemorative postage stamp to honor the Tuskegee Airmen. The
99th Flying Training Squadron The 99th Flying Training Squadron (99 FTS) flies Raytheon T-1 Jayhawks and they have painted the tails of their aircraft red in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame, known as the "Red Tails," whose lineage the 99 FTS inherited. Th ...
flies T-1A Jayhawks and, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, painted the tops of the tails of their aircraft red. On 1 August 2008, Camp Creek Parkway, a portion of State Route 6 in south Fulton County and in the City of East Point near Atlanta,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, was officially renamed in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen. The road is a highway that serves as the main artery into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The Heinz History Center in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
presented an award to several
Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
Tuskegee veterans, as well as suburban
Sewickley, Pennsylvania Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 according to the 2010 census. The Sewickley Bridge crosses the Ohi ...
dedicated a memorial to the seven from that municipality. An exhibit was established at Pittsburgh International Airport in Concourse A. On 9 December 2008, the Tuskegee Airmen were invited to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first African-American elected as president. Retired Lt. William Broadwater, 82, of
Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...
, a Tuskegee Airman, summed up the feeling. "The culmination of our efforts and others was this great prize we were given on 4 Nov.. Now we feel like we've completed our mission." More than 180 airmen attended 20 January 2009 inauguration. In July 2009, 15-year-old Kimberly Anyadike became the youngest female African-American pilot to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States. She cited the Tuskegee Airmen as one of her biggest inspirations, and was accompanied on her trip by 87-year-old former Tuskegee Airman Levi Thornhill. The Tuskegee Airmen Memorial was erected at Walterboro Army Airfield, South Carolina, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, their instructors, and ground support personnel who trained at the Walterboro Army Airfield during World War II. In the 2010
Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...
, the city of
West Covina, California West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, located east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census. West Covi ...
paid tribute to the "service and commitment of the Tuskegee Airmen" with a float, entitled ''"Tuskegee Airmen—A Cut Above"'', which featured a large bald eagle, two replica World War II ''"Redtail"'' fighter aircraft and historical images of some of the airmen who served. The float won the mayor's trophy as the most outstanding city entry—national or international. In June 1998, the Ohio Army and Air National Guard opened a jointly operated dining hall. They dedicated the new dining facility called the "Red Tail Dining Facility" to the Tuskegee Airmen. The facility is operated at the Rickenbacker ANG base outside of
Columbus Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
. In 2008, the Tuskegee Airmen were inducted into the
International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Si ...
at the
San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
. In January 2012, MTA Regional Bus Operations officially changed the name of its 100th Street depot in New York City to the Tuskegee Airmen Depot. In 2012,
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
produced '' Red Tails'', a film based on the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen. In 2012, Aldine Independent School District in
Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...
named Benjamin O. Davis High School in honor of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. On 16 September 2019, the USAF officially named the winning
T-X program The T-X program is a United States Air Force development and acquisition program for a new two-seat jet trainer to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon. On 27 September 2018, the US Air Force selected the Boeing/Saab T-X entry to become its train ...
aircraft the " T-7A Red Hawk" as a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, who painted their airplanes' tails red, and to the
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
, one of the aircraft flown by the Tuskegee Airmen. On 2 February 2020, McGee brought out the commemorative coin for the Super Bowl coin flip.Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles McGee Presents Coin In Super Bowl LIV Coin Toss
''
Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'', 2 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
In 2021 the U.S. Mint issued an America the Beautiful quarter commemorating the
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, commemorates the contributions of African-American airmen in World War II. Moton Field was the site of primary flight training for the pioneering pilots known as the Tusk ...
. The coin depicts a Tuskegee Airman suiting up with two
P-51 Mustangs The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
flying overhead and the motto "They fought two wars". On 25 April 2021, NASCAR Cup Series driver,
Erik Jones Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That J ...
honored the Airmen with a paint scheme at
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
similar to the design of the
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
they flew in World War II. Jones led 7 laps in the race, but crashed while running fourth on the final lap, and had to settle for a 27th-place finish.


Artistic depictions

* ''Red Tails Escorting the B17s'', a watercolor by Kay Smith is in the collections of the Pritzker Military Library. There is a mural depicting the Tuskegee Airmen and their contributions at 39th and Chestnut Streets in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. * ''Tuskegee Airmen'', a watercolor mural by Andrew J. Woodstock is currently on display at the
Air Zoo The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, inc ...
Aerospace and Aviation Museum in Portage, Michigan.


In popular culture

* ''The Homestead Grays'' (1978), a wartime novel by James Wylie, loosely based on the combat exploits of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. * '' Wings for This Man'' (1945), a propaganda short about the Tuskegee Airmen, was produced by the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Forces. The film was narrated by
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. * "Graveyard", an episode of '' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1966), starring
Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...
,
Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...
, Lloyd Haynes. * '' The Tuskegee Airmen'' (1995), a film starring
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
, was produced and aired by HBO. * "The Tuskegee Airmen", an episode of the documentary TV series '' Dogfights'', was originally aired on the
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
on 6 December 2007. * The Tuskegee Airmen (1997) are represented in the G.I. Joe action figure series. * ''The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s over Germany'' (2001), a book by Stephen Ambrose, describes the Tuskegee Airmen in a tribute to their achievements. * '' Silver Wings & Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly'' (2004) is a documentary that was the first film to feature information regarding the " Freeman Field Mutiny", the struggle of 101 African-American officers arrested for entering a white officer's club. * '' Red Tail Reborn'' is a documentary film about the restoration of an aircraft that was flown by the Tuskegee Airmen and its use as a flying memorial to them. * '' Red Tails'' is a film about the Tuskegee Airmen produced by
Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the '' Star Wars'' and ...
and released in January 2012. The film was written by John Ridley and
Aaron McGruder Aaron Vincent McGruder (born May 29, 1974) is an American writer, cartoonist, and producer best known for creating ''The Boondocks'', a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip and its animated TV series adaptation. Early life and education Aaron ...
, and directed by
Anthony Hemingway Anthony Maurice Hemingway (born 1977) is an American television and film director. He has worked extensively in television, directing numerous episodes of '' CSI: NY'', '' Treme'', ''True Blood'' and '' Shameless'', among others. He has also dire ...
. * '' Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'' (2009) features the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the Airmen, played by Keith Powell, narrates the group's activities in a stentorian voice ("The Tuskegee Airmen are on the march once again!"). Another one of the Airmen ( Craig Robinson) says to
Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
(
Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
), "A lot of people didn't think we could fly, either ... thanks for clearing the runway for us." * ''
Black Angels Over Tuskegee Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
'' (2015), an
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
play about the Airmen written and directed by Layon Gray, currently performs in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. * The story of one such airman is retold in the radio drama "Last Letter Home" presented by ''
Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a weekly radio program produced by WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950 that presented biographical histories of prominent African-Americans such as George Washington Carver, Satchel Paige, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tu ...
''.Last Letter Home
, ''
Destination Freedom ''Destination Freedom'' was a weekly radio program produced by WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950 that presented biographical histories of prominent African-Americans such as George Washington Carver, Satchel Paige, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tu ...
''


Squadron images

File:99th Fighter Squadron patch.jpg, Patch of the
99th Fighter Squadron The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the ...
File:100th Fighter Squadron patch.jpg, Patch of the
100th Fighter Squadron The 100th Fighter Squadron (100 FS) is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing located at Dannelly Field, Alabama. The 100th is equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C+ Fighting Falcon. The 100th FS was one of the Tuskege ...
File:301st_Fighter_Squadron_-_AETC_-_Emblem.png , Patch of the
301st Fighter Squadron The 301st Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 325th Operations Group, stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It is an associate unit of the active duty 325th Fighter Wing. The squadron was ...
File:302d Fighter Squadron.jpg, Patch of the 302d Fighter Squadron


See also

*
92nd Infantry Division 92nd Division may refer to: * 92nd Infantry Division (German Empire) * 92nd Armored Division of the Iranian Army * 92nd Infantry Division (United States) The 92nd Infantry Division (92nd Division, WWI) was an African-American infantry division ...
* 93rd Infantry Division * 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion "Triple Nickle" *
761st Tank Battalion The 761st Tank Battalion was a separate tank battalion of the United States Army during World War II. The 761st was made up primarily of African-American soldiers, who by War Department policy were not permitted to serve alongside white troops ...
* Bessie Coleman – first African-American civil aviator * ''
Fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
'' (2009 play about the Tuskegee Airmen) *
List of African-American Medal of Honor recipients The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. Recipients must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own l ...
* List of Tuskegee Airmen * List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes, 1942–1946, listing graduating Cadet Pilots by Class, Year and Class Type * Military history of African-Americans * Racial discrimination against African-Americans in the U.S. Military *
Red Ball Express The Red Ball Express was a famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. To expedite cargo shipment to the front, trucks emblazoned with red ...
*
Strategic bombing during World War II World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close ...
*
Port Chicago disaster The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion of the ship SS ''E. A. Bryan'' that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Munitions detonated while being loaded ...
* Walterboro Army Airfield training site and memorial * Willa Brown


Explanatory notes


References


Citations


General and cited references

* * * Berry, Ben. ''Tuskegee Airmen: To the Moon, Mars and Beyond (Secrets Revealed)''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011; * Broadnax, Samuel L. ''Blue Skies, Black Wings: African-American Pioneers of Aviation''. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2007; . * Bucholtz, Chris and Jim Laurier. ''332nd Fighter Group – Tuskegee Airmen''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2007; . * * Caver, Joseph, Jerome Ennels, and Daniel Haulman. ''The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939–1949''. Montgomery, Alabama: New South Books, 2011; . * Cotter, Jarrod. "Red Tail Project", ''Flypast No. 248'', March 2002. * * * Haulman, Daniel L. "The Tuskegee Airmen and the Never Lost a Bomber Myth", ''The Alabama Review'', Vol. 64, No. 1, January 2011. * * * * Hill, Ezra M. Sr. ''The Black Red Tail Angels: A Story of the Tuskegee Airmen''. Columbus, Ohio: SMF Haven of Hope, 2006. * Holway, John B. ''Red Tail, Black Wings: The Men of America's Black Air Force''. Las Cruces, New Mexico: Yuca Tree Press, 1997; . * * Leuthner, Stuart and Olivier Jensen. ''High Honor: Recollections by Men and Women of World War II Aviation''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989; . * * McKissack, Patricia C. and Fredrick L. ''Red Tail Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II''. New York: Walker Books for Young Readers, 1996; . * * Percy, William A. "Jim Crow and Uncle Sam: The Tuskegee Flying Units and the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II", ''The Journal of Military History'', 67, July 2003. * Ross, Robert A. ''Lonely Eagles: The Story of America's Black Air Force in World War II''. Los Angeles: Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Los Angeles Chapter, 1980; . * Sandler, Stanley. ''Segregated Skies: All-Black Combat Squadrons of WWII''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992; . * * Thole, Lou. "Segregated Skies." ''Flypast No, 248'', March 2002. * Tucker, Phillip Thomas. ''Father of the Tuskegee airmen, John C. Robinson''. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, Inc., 2012; , e-book *


External links


Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University

Tuskegee Airmen Museum


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110716132207/http://www.starduststudios.com/tuskegee_airmen.htm Images of Tuskegee airmen, photos, paintings etc.* "Red-Tail Angels": The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)

Funeral Program for Tuskegee Airman Cassius Harris


* ttp://www.bet.com/shows/bet-honors/2012/honorees/tuskegee-airmen.html The Tuskegee Airmen at the 2012 BET Honors Awards
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. – Official Web Site

The Red Tail Project

African Americans in the U.S. Army

The Negro Pilot Training Program

"Tuskegee Airmen: Brett Gadsden Interviews J. Todd Moye", ''Southern Spaces'' 30 September 2010.

Interview with historian Todd Moye regarding the Tuskegee Airmen on "New Books in History"

Contemporary newsreel about "Negro Pilots" – YouTube
* * * * * * * *

* ttp://www.wdl.org/en/item/2735 Photographs and information about the Tuskegee Airmenfrom
World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

Interview with three Tuskegee Airmen: Robert Martin, Dr. Quentin P. Smith, and Shelby Westbrook
at the
Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its sp ...
in October 2008
Citizen Soldier episode on Tuskegee Airmen
recorded at the
Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its sp ...
on 12 September 2013
Tuskegee Airmen Collections
University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban dist ...

Mr. Local History Project: Robert Terry from Basking Ridge and Tuskegee Airmen from New Jersey

"Airmen and Adversity"
WTVI, 1998-02-06, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia,
American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digital ...
* U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit.
Wings for This Man (1945)'' Tuskegee Airmen Documentary
Video via
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. See '' Wings for This Man'' {{Authority control African-American history of Alabama Articles containing video clips Black aviators Congressional Gold Medal recipients Groups of World War II History of Alabama Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama North American P-51 Mustang Tuskegee University United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Army officers