The
Tuskegee Airmen
is the popular name of a group of
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
pilots who fought in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the
477th Bombardment GroupThe 477th Fighter Group is the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit. The unit is assigned to Tenth Air Force and is based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.-Overview:...
of the
U.S. Army Air CorpsThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans in many U.S. states still were subject to racist
Jim Crow lawsThe Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
. The American military was
racially segregatedRacial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subject to racial discrimination, both within and outside the army. Despite these adversities, they trained and flew with distinction.
Although the 477th Bombardment Group "worked up" on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat; the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit, first sent overseas as part of
Operation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
, then in action in Sicily and Italy, before being deployed as
bomber escortsThe escort fighter was a World War II concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets.The perfect escort fighter had long range, a lengthy combat loiter time to protect the bombers, and enough internal fuel to return home...
in Europe where they were particularly successful in their missions.
The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with
Curtiss P-40 WarhawksThe Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, 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 and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
fighter-bomber aircraft, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally the fighter group acquired the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47's red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. Bomber crews applied a more effusive "Red-Tail Angels" sobriquet.
Background
Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African American had become a U.S. military
pilotAn aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
. In 1917, African-American men had tried to become aerial observers, but were rejected, however, African American
Eugene BullardEugene Jacques Bullard was the first black military pilot and the only black pilot in World War I along with Ahmet Ali .-Early life:...
served as one of the members of the Franco-American
Lafayette EscadrilleThe Lafayette Escadrille , was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters.-History:Dr. Edmund L...
. Nonetheless, he was denied the opportunity to transfer to American military units as a pilot when the other American pilots in the unit were offered the chance. Instead, Bullard returned to infantry duty with the French.
The racially motivated rejections of World War I African-American recruits sparked over two decades of advocacy by African-Americans who wished to enlist and train as military aviators. The effort was led by such prominent
civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leaders as
Walter WhiteWalter Francis White was a civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for almost a quarter of a century and directed a broad program of legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement. He was also a journalist, novelist, and essayist...
of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, labor union leader
A. Philip RandolphAsa Philip Randolph was a leader in the African American civil-rights movement and the American labor movement. He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Negro labor union. In the early civil-rights movement, Randolph led the March on Washington...
, and Judge
William H. HastieWilliam Henry Hastie, Jr. was an American, lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and advocate for the civil rights of African Americans...
. Finally, on 3 April 1939, Appropriations Bill Public Law 18 was passed by Congress containing an amendment designating funds for training African-American pilots. The War Department managed to deflect the monies into funding 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 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. A further series of legislative moves by the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1941 forced the Army Air Corps to form an all-black combat unit, despite the
War Department'sThe United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
reluctance.
Due to the restrictive nature of selection policies, the situation did not seem promising for African-Americans since, in 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau reported 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 already had participated in the
Civilian Pilot Training ProgramThe Civilian Pilot Training Program was a flight training program sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military preparedness....
, in which the
historically blackHistorically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
Tuskegee Institute had participated since 1939.
Testing
The U.S. Army Air Corps had established the Psychological Research Unit 1 at Maxwell Army Air Field,
Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, and other units around the country for aviation cadet training, which included the identification, selection, education, and training of pilots,
navigatorsThe title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces where it was an air force warrant officer rank. It was also an air force rank in several Commonwealth nations where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant...
, and
bombardiersA bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
. Psychologists employed in these research studies and training programs used some of the first standardized tests to quantify IQ, dexterity and
leadershipLeadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
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. In an effort to subvert the unit before it could commence operations, the War Department set up a system to accept only those with a level of flight experience or higher education, criteria intended to exclude most applicants. The attempts to derail the unit by setting high standards of entry requirements, ensured that only the most able and intelligent were able to join, contributing to the ultimate success of the all-black combat flyers.
The First Lady's flight
The budding flight program at Tuskegee received a publicity boost when
First LadyFirst Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
inspected it in March 1941, and subsequently 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
Waco biplaneThe Waco Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturer located in Troy, Ohio, USA. Between 1919 and 1947, the company produced a wide range of civilian biplanes....
. 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 did use her position as a trustee of the Julius Rosenwald Fund to arrange a loan of $175,000 to purchase the land for Moton Field.
Formation
On 19 March 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated at Chanute Field in
Rantoul, IllinoisRantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,674 at the 2010 census. The present mayor is Neal Williams, who was re-elected in 2009...
. A cadre of 271 enlisted men were trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades, beginning in July 1941; the trades being taught were so technical in nature that setting up segregated classes was deemed impossible. This small number of enlisted men became the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee and Maxwell Fields in Alabama.
The Tuskegee program began officially in June 1941 with the 99th Pursuit Squadron at the Tuskegee Institute. The unit would consist of 47 officers and 429 enlisted men, and would be backed by an entire service arm. After basic training at Moton Field, they were moved to the nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field about 16 km (10 mi) to the west for conversion training onto operational types. Consequently, Tuskegee became the only Army installation containing all four phases of pilot training at a single location. Initial planning called for 500 personnel in residence at a time. By mid-1942, over six times that many personnel were stationed at Tuskegee, even though only two squadrons were training there.
Tuskegee Army Airfield was a replica of already-existing airfields reserved for training white pilots, such as
Maxwell FieldMaxwell Field was the football stadium located behind the former location of Louisville Male High School, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, Kentucky, 40203 which was bounded by the streets of Brook, Breckinridge, Floyd, and Caldwell streets in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1984 a double murder known locally...
, only 40 miles distant. With African-American contractors McKissack and McKissack, Inc. in charge of the contract, 2,000 workmen from their company, the Alabama
Works Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, 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
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was an American born United States Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen....
, one of only two black line officers then serving.
During training, the 99th Fighter Squadron was commanded by white officers, beginning with 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 PoliceMilitary police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
had police authority over local
CaucasianThe term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
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 instruction at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Major
Noel F. ParrishNoel Francis Parrish was a Brigadier General in the United States Air Force who was commander of a group of black airmen known as the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He was a key factor in the program's success and in their units being assigned to combat duty...
. 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 surgeonA flight surgeon is a military medical officer assigned to duties in the clinical field variously known as aviation medicine, aerospace medicine, or flight medicine...
s to support the operations and training of the Tuskegee Airmen. Before the development of this unit, no U.S. Army flight surgeons were 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. This was one of the earliest racially integrated courses in the U.S. Army. Seventeen flight surgeons served with Tuskegee Airmen from 1941 through 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 Italy. The chief flight surgeon to the Tuskegee Airmen was Vance H. Marchbanks, Jr., M.D., who was a childhood friend of Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
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 left 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 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: "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 the second of April, bound for North Africa, where it would join the 33rd Fighter Group and its commander Colonel William W. Momyer. Given little guidance from battle-experienced pilots, the 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small strategic volcanic island of
PantelleriaPantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...
in the
Mediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, to clear the sea lanes for the
Allied invasion of SicilyThe Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
in July 1943. The air assault on the island began on 30 May 1943. The Italian population of 11,500 surrendered on 11 June: one of the rare instances in history when an enemy's military resistance had been overcome solely by air power.
The assignment to a predominantly ground attack role prevented the 99th from engaging in air-to-air combat. The unit was later criticized for not shooting down enemy aircraft; Congressional hearings were held on this perceived failure, with the aim of disbanding the squadron. However, the 99th moved on to Sicily and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance in combat.
By the spring of 1944 more graduates were ready for combat, and the all-black
332nd Fighter GroupThe 332d Fighter Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the 332d Fighter Wing at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio. It was deactivated on 1 July 1949....
had been sent overseas with three fighter squadrons: The
100thThe 100th Fighter Squadron currently flies the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. It is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 187th Fighter Wing...
,
301stThe 301st Fighter Squadron is part of the 44th Fighter Group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It operates the F-22A Raptor conducting advanced fighter training as a reserve corollary unit to the 49th Fighter Wing.-World War II:...
and
302ndThe 302nd Fighter Squadron is part of the 477th Fighter Group at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor conducting an air superiority mission.-Mission:...
. 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, near
TermoliTermoli is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, and it is a local resort town known for its beaches and old fortifications...
, on the
Adriatic coastThe Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. From Ramitelli, the 332nd Fighter Group escorted
Fifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
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 paint predominantly applied on the tail section of the unit's aircraft.
A B-25 bomb group, the
477th Bombardment GroupThe 477th Fighter Group is the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit. The unit is assigned to Tenth Air Force and is based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.-Overview:...
, 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.
Formation
With African-American fighter pilots being trained successfully, the Army Air Force now came under political pressure from the NAACP and other civil rights organizations to organize a bomber unit. There could be no defensible argument that the quota of 100 pilots in training at one time, for 200 per year total 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 GroupThe 477th Fighter Group is the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit. The unit is assigned to Tenth Air Force and is based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.-Overview:...
. The squadron was activated on 1 July 1943, only to be deactivated 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. 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 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 FieldSelfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens.-Units and organizations:...
, located outside Detroit, however, other bases would be used for various types of training courses. Twin-engine pilot training began at Tuskegee while transition to multi-engine pilot training was at Mather Field, California. Some ground crews trained at Mather before rotating to
Inglewood, CaliforniaInglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
. Gunners learned to shoot at Eglin Field, Florida. Bombers-navigators learned their trades at Hondo Army Air Field and Midland Field, Texas, or at Roswell, New Mexico. Training of the new African-American crewmen also took place at Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Lincoln, Nebraska and
Scott FieldScott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
,
Bellevue, IllinoisBellevue is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,887 at the 2000 census. Bellevue is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. 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. Like his ranking officer, Major General Frank O'Driscoll Hunter from Georgia, he 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 air base facilities. They segregated base facilities so thoroughly they even drew a line in the base theater and ordered separate seating by races. 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 OfficerThe commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
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-martialled for this, and discharged.
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, 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 Commanding Officer of Godman Field. In that capacity, he ceded Godman Field's officer 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, transferred into squadron command in the 477th days later, and left a month later as a
majorIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
. He was replaced by another Caucasian officer. Meanwhile, no Tuskegee Airmen held command.
On 15 March 1945, the 477th was transferred to Freeman Field, on the verge of
Seymour- Places :Antarctica* Seymour Island, an island off the tip of Graham Land on the Antarctic PeninsulaAustralia*Seymour, Victoria*Electoral district of Seymour, an electoral district in VictoriaCanada...
, 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 non-commissioned 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 OfficerA non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s Club, promptly sarcastically dubbed "Uncle Tom's Cabin", became the trainee's 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 clothes, 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 marshalThe Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
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 MutinyThe Freeman Field Mutiny was a series of incidents at Freeman Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forces base near Seymour, Indiana, in 1945 in which African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club. The mutiny resulted in 162 separate...
.
In the wake of the Freeman Field Mutiny, the 616th and 619th were disbanded and the returned 99th Fighter Squadron assigned to the 477th on 22 June 1945; it was renamed the 477th Composite Wing 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, Sr.Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. was an American general and the father of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. He was the first African-American general officer in the United States Army....
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.
Accomplishments
In all, 996 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946, approximately 445 were deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat. The casualty toll included 66 pilots killed in action or accidents, and 32 fallen into captivity as prisoners of war.
The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments:
- 15,533 combat sorties, 1578 missions
- One hundred and twelve German aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground
- Nine hundred and fifty railcars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed
- One destroyer sunk by P-47 machine gun fire
- A good record of protecting U.S. bombers, losing only 25 on hundreds of missions.
Awards and decorations awarded for valor and performance included:
- Three Distinguished Unit Citations
- 99th Pursuit Squadron: 30 May–11 June 1943 for the capture of Pantelleria
Pantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...
, Italy
- 99th Fighter Squadron: 12–14 May 1944: for successful air strikes against Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
, Italy
- 332d Fighter Group: 24 March 1945: for the longest bomber escort mission of World War II
- At least one Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
- An estimated one hundred and fifty Distinguished Flying Cross
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
es
- Fourteen Bronze Stars
- Seven hundred and forty-four Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
s
- Eight Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
s
Controversy over escort record
On 24 March 1945, during the war, the
Chicago DefenderThe Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
said that no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been lost to enemy fire, under the headline: "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss"; the article was based on information supplied by the 15th Air Force.
This statement was repeated for many years, and not publicly challenged because of the esteem of the Tuskegee Airmen, until 2004 when long-time Tuskegee admirer William Holton conducted research into wartime action reports. Alan Gropman, a professor at the
National Defense UniversityThe National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
, 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. The Air Force conducted a reassessment of the history of the unit in late 2006. The subsequent report, based on after-mission reports filed by both the bomber units and Tuskegee fighter groups, as well as missing air crew records and witness testimony, documented 25 bombers shot down by enemy fighter aircraft while being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen.
One mission report states that on 26 July 1944: "1 B-24 seen spiraling out of formation in T/A (target area) after attack by E/A (enemy aircraft). No chutes seen to open." A second report, dated 31 August 1944, praises group commander Colonel Davis by saying, 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 Holloman, of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., a group of surviving Tuskegee pilots and their supporters, a Tuskegee airman who taught Black Studies at the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, and who chaired the Airmen's history committee, was reported by the
Times as saying his review of records confirmed bombers had been lost. 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.
Postwar
Contrary to negative predictions from some quarters, a combination of pre-war experience and the personal drive of those accepted for training, far from failing, had resulted in some of the best pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Nevertheless, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to have to fight
racismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Their combat record did much to quiet those directly involved with the group, notably bomber crews who often requested them for escort, but other units continued to harass these airmen.
In 1949, the 332nd entered the annual All Air Force Gunnery Meet in Las Vegas, Nevada. The competition included shooting aerial targets, shooting targets on the ground and dropping bombs on targets. They took first place in the conventional fighter class and received congratulations from the Governor of Ohio, and Air Force commanders across the nation. Some claim that after tallying up the score, the organizers announced the third and second place winners and claimed that the first place squadron was unknown. It has also been claimed that years later the Airmen fought for the recognition for winning the competition, and succeeded.
After segregation in the military was ended in 1948 by President
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
with
Executive Order 9981Executive Order 9981 is an executive order issued on July 26, 1948 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. It expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins."In 1947, Randolph, along...
, the veteran Tuskegee Airmen now found themselves in high demand throughout the newly formed
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Some taught in civilian flight schools, such as the black-owned
Columbia Air CenterThe 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...
in Maryland.
Tuskegee Airmen were instrumental in postwar developments in aviation. Edward A. Gibbs was a civilian flight instructor in the U.S. Aviation Cadet Program at Tuskegee during its inception. He 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, later a fighter pilot in Europe and in 1975, became the first African American to reach the rank of
four-star general.
In 2005, seven Tuskegee Airmen, including Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Carter, Colonel
Charles McGeeCharles E. McGee was one of the Tuskegee Airmen and a career officer in the United States Air Force for 30 years. He holds an Air Force record of 409 fighter combat missions flown in World War II, Korea and Vietnam....
, 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 first the 332nd Air Expeditionary Group in 1998 and made part of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. "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 ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
and
US Central Command Air ForcesUnited States Air Forces Central is a unit of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina...
.
No one knows how many are still alive from the original crew member number of 996 pilots and about 15,000 ground personnel. Many of the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen participate annually in the Tuskegee Airmen Convention, which is hosted by
Tuskegee Airmen, IncTuskegee Airmen, Inc. is a non-profit organization with 50 chapters nation-wide dedicated to:* Honoring the accomplishments and perpetuating the history of African-Americans who participated in air crew, ground crew and operations support training in the Army Air Corps during WWII.* Introducing...
.
Legacy and honors
On 29 March 2007, approximately 300 Tuskegee Airmen (or their widows) received the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the
U.S. Capitol rotundaThe United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...
. The medal is currently on display at the
Smithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
The airfield where the airmen trained is now the
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic SiteTuskegee 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 Tuskegee Airmen. It was constructed in 1941 as a new...
.
In 2006, California Congressman
Adam SchiffAdam Bennett Schiff is the U.S. Representative for . He has served in Congress since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
and Missouri Congressman
William Lacy Clay, Jr.William Lacy Clay, Jr., usually known as Lacy Clay is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, led the initiative to create a commemorative postage stamp to honor the Tuskegee Airmen.
The
99th Flying Training SquadronThe 99th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 12th Flying Training Wing based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. It operates T-1 Jayhawk aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron was formed during World War II as the first flying unit for African Americans. Known as the Tuskegee Airmen...
flies T-1A Jayhawks and, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, they are in the process of painting the tops of the tails of their aircraft red.
On 1 August 2008, the City of
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, officially renamed a portion of
State Route 6State Route 6 State Route 6 State Route 6 (also known as Camp Creek Parkway and honorarily as Tuskegee Airmen Parkway in Fulton County, Thornton Road in Douglas County, C.H...
, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen. The road is a highway that serves as the main artery into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
On 9 December 2008, the Tuskegee Airmen were invited to attend the
inauguration of Barack ObamaThe inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe...
, the first African-American elected as President. Retired Lt. William Broadwater, 82, of Upper Marlboro, a Tuskegee Airman, summed up the feeling. "The culmination of our efforts and others' was this great prize we were given on Nov. 4. Now we feel like we've completed our mission." More than 180 airmen attended the 20 January 2009 inauguration.
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 ParadeThe Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
, the city of
West Covina, CaliforniaWest Covina is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. Located some east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is a mostly middle class suburb of Los Angeles...
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 planes 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.
Notable appearances in popular culture
- Wings for This Man
Wings for this Man is a propaganda film produced in 1945 by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of African-American pilots in the US military....
(1945), a propaganda short about the Tuskegee Airmen, was produced by the First Motion Picture UnitThe First Motion Picture Unit was the first unit of the United States Military to be made up entirely of motion picture personnel. It was also the title of a 1943 documentary about the unit.-Organization:...
of the Army Air Forces. The film was narrated by Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
- The Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Force, that fought in World War II.-Plot:...
(1996), a film starring Laurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, was produced and aired by HBO.
- "The Tuskegee Airmen", an episode of the documentary TV series Dogfights
Dogfights is a military aviation themed TV series depicting historical re-enactments of air-to-air combat that took place in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as smaller conflicts such as the Gulf War and the Six-Day War...
, was originally aired on the History Channel on December 6, 2007.
- The Tuskegee Airmen (1997) are represented in the G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
action figure series
- The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s over Germany (2001), a book by Stephen Ambrose
Stephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a long time professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many best selling volumes of American popular history...
, describes the Tuskegee Airmen in a tribute to their achievements.
- Hart's War
Hart's War is a 2002 film about a World War II prisoner of war based on the novel by John Katzenbach starring Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard and Marcel Iureş...
is a 2002 film about a Tuskegee Airman accused of murdering another American serviceman in a German POW Camp
- In Aaron McGruder's
Aaron McGruder is an American cartoonist best known for writing and drawing The Boondocks, a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip about two young African American brothers from inner-city Chicago now living with their grandfather in a sedate suburb, as well as being the creator and executive...
television series, The BoondocksThe Boondocks is an American animated series created by Aaron McGruder on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, based on McGruder's comic strip of the same name...
, a main character and his friend being former Tuskegee Airmen is central to the plot of the episode Wingmen"Wingmen" is the thirteenth episode of the Adult Swim animated series, The Boondocks. It originally aired on March 5, 2006.-Plot:The episode begins with Riley relaying a telephone call to Granddad:...
.
- Silver Wings & Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly (2004) is documentary that was the first film to feature information regarding the "Freeman Field Mutiny
The Freeman Field Mutiny was a series of incidents at Freeman Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forces base near Seymour, Indiana, in 1945 in which African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club. The mutiny resulted in 162 separate...
", the struggle of 101 African-American officers arrested for entering a white officer's club.
- Red Tail Reborn
Red Tail Reborn is a 2007 historical documentary film by Adam White about the Commemorative Air Force's Red Tail Project. The project involves the restoration, exhibition and maintenance of a World War II P-51 Mustang flown by the United States Air Force 332d Fighter Group. The exhibition of this...
is a documentary film about the restoration of an airplane that was flown by the Tuskegee Airmen and its use as a flying memorial to them.
- Red Tails
Red Tails is an upcoming 2012 action drama film directed by Anthony Hemingway, from a screenplay by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder. The story, written by Ridley, is inspired by true events. George Lucas serves as the executive producer for the project...
is a film about the Tuskegee Airmen by George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
for release in 2012. The film was written by John RidleyJohn Ridley is an American film director, actor, and writer.Ridley got his start as a stand-up comedian. He eventually was hired as a writer for sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin...
and Aaron MacGruder and directed by Anthony HemingwayAnthony Hemingway is an American film and television director. He has directed episodes of The Wire, CSI: NY, and Treme. Before becoming a director he worked extensively as an assistant director in television and film....
.
- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
(2009) prominently features the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the Airmen, played by Keith PowellKeith Powell is an American television actor who is best known for his role as James "Toofer" Spurlock on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.-Career:Powell was the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company, a summer theater in Wilmington, Delaware...
, narrates the group's activities in a stentorian voice ("The Tuskegee Airmen are on the runway once again!"). Another one of the Airmen (Craig Robinson) says to Amelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
(Amy AdamsAmy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
), "A lot of people didn't think we could fly, either ... thanks for clearing the runway for us."
See also
- 92nd Infantry Division
- 93rd Infantry Division
- 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion "Triple Nickle"
- 761st Tank Battalion
- Aerial warfare
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...
- Bessie Coleman
Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was an American civil aviator. She was the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license.-Early life:...
- List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
- Military history of African Americans
The military history of African Americans spans from the arrival of the first black slaves during the colonial history of the United States to the present day...
- Red Ball Express
The Red Ball Express was an enormous truck convoy system created by Allied forces to supply their forward-area combat units moving through Europe following the breakout from the D-Day beaches in Normandy. The term "Red Ball" was a railroad phrase referring to express shipping...
- Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
- The Port Chicago 50
- United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
External links