THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

Before the first African American military pilots became known as the "Red Tails" they wore striped tails as they began their flight training in the Army's PT-17 Stearman bi-plane. Their flying adventure started at Moton Field, in Tuskegee, Alabama, where the Army Air Corps began a military "experiment" to see if Negroes could be trained to fly combat aircraft. Come--share their adventure!!

Enjoy this documentary video tribute (below) to the courageous Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, narrated by beloved actor and aviator Morgan Freeman. ​Brought to you by PilotMag.

​The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black servicemen to serve as military aviators in the U.S. armed forces, flying with distinction during World War II. Though subject to racial discrimination both at home and abroad, the 996 pilots and more than 15,000 ground personnel who served with the all-black units would be credited with some 15,500 combat sorties and earn over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses for their achievements. The highly publicized successes of the Tuskegee Airmen helped pave the way for the eventual integration of the U.S. armed forces under President Harry Truman in 1948.

 The 332nd flew bomber escorts. In March 1945, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. led the 332nd on a 1,600-mile round-trip escort mission to Berlin. During that mission, the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber, despite an onslaught of the latest and fastest enemy German planes. The 332nd won a Distinguished Unit Citation for the mission.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

​African Americans fought a war on two fronts in World War II: against fascism abroad and against white supremacy at home. No group battled both as directly, made better use of the opportunities the war created, or did more to lay the groundwork for the civil rights movement than the Tuskegee Airmen. These all-black fighter and bomber groups fought their way into the U.S. Army Air Forces, then battled Hitler’s Luftwaffe in the skies over Europe and Jim Crow’s forces at postings throughout the United States.

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Tuskegee Airmen Facts

• The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who volunteered to become America's first Black military airmen.
• Those who possessed the physical and mental qualifications and were accepted for aviation cadet training were trained initially to be pilots, and later to be either pilots, navigators, or bombardiers.
• Tuskegee University was awarded the U.S. Army Air Corps contract to help train America's first Black military aviators because it had already invested in the development of an airfield, had a proven civilian pilot training program and its graduates performed highest on flight aptitude exams.
• Moton Field is named for Tuskegee University's second President, Dr. Robert R. Moton who served with distinction from 1915-1935. The Airmen were deployed during the presidential administration of Dr. Frederick Douglas Patterson (1935-1953).
• The all-Black, 332nd Fighter Group consisted originally of four fighter squadrons, the 99th, the 100th, the 301st and the 302nd.
• From 1941-1946, some 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee.
• The Airmen's success in escorting bombers during World War II – having one of the lowest loss records of all the escort fighter groups, and being in constant demand for their services by the allied bomber units.- is a record unmatched by any other fighter group.
• The 99th Squadron distinguished itself by being awarded two Presidential Unit Citations (June-July 1943 and May 1944) for outstanding tactical air support and aerial combat in the 12th Air Force in Italy, before joining the 332nd Fighter Group.
• The 332nd Fighter group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its' longest bomber escort mission to Berlin, Germany on March 24, 1945. During this mission, the Tuskegee Airmen (then known as the 'Red Tails') destroyed three German ME-262 jet fighters and damaged five additional jet fighters.
• The 332nd Fighter Group had also distinguished itself in June 1944 when two of its pilots flying P-47 Thunderbolts discovered a German destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy.
• The tenacious bomber escort cover provided by the 332nd "Red Tail" fighters often discouraged enemy fighter pilots from attacking bombers escorted by the 332nd Fighter Group.
• C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson earned his pilot's license in 1929 and became the first Black American to receive a commercial pilot's certificate in 1932, and, subsequently, to make a transcontinental flight.
• Anderson is also well known as the pilot who flew Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, convincing her to encourage her husband to authorize military flight training at Tuskegee.
• In 1948, President Harry Truman enacted Executive Order No. 9981 - directing equality of treatment and opportunity in all of the United States Armed Forces, which in time led to the end of racial segregation in the U.S. military forces.
• The U.S. Congress authorized $29 million in 1998 to develop the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, with the University, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. and the National Park Service serving as partners in its development. To date, a mere $3.6 million has been appropriated for the Site's implementation.

Facts provided by Tuskegee Airmen Inc. and the Tuskegee University Office of Marketing and Communications.

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The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments:

Awards and decorations included:

-Over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses to 95 Airmen; Captain William A. Campbell was awarded two.

-14 Bronze Stars (4th highest military decoration)

-744 Air Medals

-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

-950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed (over 600 rail cars).

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