Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen (unofficial)
Emblems of wing
Active	1940–1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force
Role	Fighter unit
Part of	332d Fighter Group/Air Expeditionary Wing
Nickname	The Red Tails
Motto	Spit Fire
Engagements	World War II

The Tuskegee Airmen (pronounced /tʌˈskiːɡiː/)^[1] is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

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 Jim Crow laws. The American military was racially segregated, 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 flew with distinction. They were particularly successful in their missions as bomber escorts in Europe.

Origins

Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no U.S. military pilots had been African American. A series of legislative moves by the United States Congress in 1941 forced the Army Air Corps to form an all-black combat unit, despite the War Department's reluctance. In an effort to eliminate the unit before it could begin, the War Department set up a system to accept only those with a level of flight experience or higher education that was expected would be hard to fill. This policy failed dramatically when the Air Corps received an abundance of applications from men who qualified—even under these restrictive specifications—many of whom already had participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, in which the historically black Tuskegee Institute had participated since 1939.^[2] It is even possible that the attempts to derail the unit by setting high entry requirements, ensuring that only the most able and intelligent were able to join, may actually have contributed to its ultimate success, as they were only picking those most likely to succeed.

Portrait of Tuskegee airman, Edward M. Thomas, by photographer, Toni Frissell, March 1945

The U.S. Army Air Corps had established the Psychological Research Unit 1 at Maxwell Army Air Field, Montgomery, Alabama, 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 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 same existing programs would be used for all units, including all-black units. At Tuskegee, this effort would continue with the selection and training of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Strict racial segregation in the U.S. Army required the development of separate African American flight surgeons to support the operations and training of the Tuskegee Airmen.^[3] 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 boyhood friend of Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who would become the commander of the fighter group.

Training

Major James A. Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross of Dayton, Ohio, as he passes down the line during review of the first class of Tuskegee cadets; flight line at U.S. Army Air Corps basic and advanced flying school, with Vultee BT-13 trainers in the background, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1941

On March 19, 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron ("pursuit" being the pre-World War II term for "fighter") was activated at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois.^[4] Over 250 enlisted men were trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades. This small number of enlisted men became the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee and Maxwell Fields in Alabama.

In June 1941, the Tuskegee program began officially with the formation of the 99th Fighter Squadron at the Tuskegee Institute.^[5] The unit consisted of an entire service arm, including ground crew.

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. The airmen were placed under the command of Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., then one of the few black graduates of West Point.

War poster featuring a Tuskegee Airman

During its training, the 99th Fighter Squadron was commanded by white and Puerto Rican officers, beginning with Major James Ellison.

By 1942, Colonel Frederick Kimble oversaw operations at the Tuskegee airfield. Contrary to new practices, Kimble maintained segregation on the field in deference to local customs in the state of Alabama, a policy that was resented by the airmen.^[6]

Later that year, the Air Corps replaced Kimble. His replacement had been the director of instruction 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.^[7]

Edward A. Gibbs was a civilian flight instructor in the U.S. Aviation Cadet Program at the airfield during this time.^[8] He later became the founder of Negro Airmen International, an association joined by many airmen. General Daniel James, Jr. (then Lt.) was an Instructor of the 99th Pursuit Squadron.

Combat

Considered ready for combat duty, the 99th was transported to Casablanca, Morocco, on the USS Mariposa and participated in the North African campaign. From Morocco they traveled by train to Oujda then to Tunis, the location from which they operated against the Luftwaffe. Flyers and ground crew alike largely were isolated by the racial segregation practices of their initial command, the white 33rd Fighter Group and its commander Colonel William W. Momyer. The flight crews were handicapped by being left with little guidance from battle-experienced pilots except for a week spent with Colonel Phillip Cochran. The 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small, but strategic, volcanic island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean Sea, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. The 99th moved to Sicily where it received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance in combat.

Eight Tuskegee Airmen in front of a
P-40 fighter aircraft

Colonel Momyer, however, told media sources in the U.S. that the 99th was a failure and its pilots cowardly, incompetent, or worse, resulting in a critical article in TIME. In response, the House Armed Services Committee convened a hearing to determine whether the Tuskegee Airmen experiment should be allowed to continue. Momyer characterized the 99th pilots of being incompetent because they had seen little air-to-air combat. To bolster the recommendation to scrap the project, a member of the committee commissioned and then submitted into evidence, a "scientific" report by the University of Texas that purported to prove that African Americans were of low intelligence and incapable of handling complex situations (such as air combat).

Colonel Davis forcefully denied the claims by committee members, but only the intervention of Colonel Emmett "Rosie" O'Donnell prevented a recommendation for disbandment of the squadron from being sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. General Hap Arnold ordered an evaluation of all Mediterranean Theater P-40 units be undertaken to determine the true merits of the 99th; the results showed the 99th Fighter Squadron to be at least equal to other units operating the fighter.

Shortly after the hearing, three new squadrons, fresh out of training at Tuskegee, embarked for Africa. After several months operating separately, all four squadrons were combined to form the all-black 332nd Fighter Group. The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with P-40 Warhawks, briefly with P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly identified, the P-51 Mustang (July 1944).

On January 27 and 28, 1944, Luftwaffe Fw 190 fighter-bombers raided Anzio, where the Allies had conducted amphibious landings on January 22. Attached to the 79th Fighter Group, eleven of the 99th Fighter Squadron's pilots shot down enemy fighters, including Captain Charles B. Hall, who claimed two shot down, bringing his aerial victory total to three. The eight fighter squadrons defending Anzio together, claimed 32 German aircraft shot down, while the 99th claimed the highest score among them with 13.^[9]

Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group, in front of his P-47 Thunderbolt in Sicily

The squadron won its second Distinguished Unit Citation on May 12–14, 1944, while attached to the 324th Fighter Group, attacking German positions on Monastery Hill (Monte Cassino), attacking infantry massing on the hill for a counterattack, and bombing a nearby strong point to force the surrender of the German garrison to Moroccan Goumiers.

By the spring of 1944, more graduates were ready for combat and 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 May 1, joined them on June 6 at Ramitelli Airfield, near Termoli on the Adriatic coast. From Ramitelli, the Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group escorted Fifteenth 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. Reportedly, the Luftwaffe awarded these airmen the nickname, "Schwarze Vogelmenschen," or "Black Birdmen." The Allies called these airmen "Redtails" or "Redtail Angels," because of the distinctive crimson paint applied on the vertical stabilizers of the unit's aircraft.

Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, "Tuskegee Airmen" at Ramitelli Airfield, Italy; from left to right, Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan, Lt. Carroll S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelron, Jr., Captain Andrew D. Turner, and Lt. Clarence P. Lester

A B-25 bomb group, the 477th Bombardment Group, was forming in the U.S., but completed its training too late to see action. The 99th Fighter Squadron after its return to the United States became part of the 477th, redesignated the 477th Composite Group.

By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 112 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down,^[9] the German-operated Italian destroyer TA-23 sunk by machine-gun fire, and destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks, and trains. The squadrons of the 332nd FG flew more than 15,000 sorties on 1,500 missions. The unit received recognition through official channels and was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for a mission flown March 24, 1945, escorting B-17s to bomb the Daimler-Benz tank factory at Berlin, Germany. During the action its pilots were credited with destroying three Me-262 jets of the Luftwaffe's all-jet Jagdgeschwader 7 in aerial combat that day, despite the American unit initially claiming 11 Me 262s on that particular mission.^[10] Upon examination of German records, JG 7 records, just four Me 262s were lost and all of the pilots survived.^[10] In return the 463rd Bomb Group, one of the many B-17 groups the 332nd were escorting, lost two bombers,^[10] and the 332nd lost three P-51s during the mission.^[10] The bombers also made substantial claims, making it impossible to tell which units were responsible for those individual four kills. The 99th Fighter Squadron in addition received two DUCs, the second after its assignment to the 332nd FG.^[11] The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded several Silver Stars, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 8 Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars, and 744 Air Medals.

In all, 994 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946, approximately 445 were deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat.^[12]

Controversy over escort record

Tuskegee Airmen gathered at a U.S. base after a mission in the Mediterranean theater

Men of the 332nd Fighter Group attend a briefing in Italy during 1945

While it long had been said that the Redtail group was the only fighter group that never lost a bomber to enemy fighters,^[13] suggestions to the contrary, combined with Air Force records and eyewitness accounts indicating that at least 25 bombers were lost to enemy fire,^[14] resulted in the Air Force conducting a reassessment of the history of the unit in late 2006.

The statement that no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been lost to enemy fire first appeared on March 24, 1945, in the Chicago Defender, under the headline "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss." According to the March 28, 2007, Air Force report, some bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort protection were shot down, however, on the day the Chicago Defender article was published.^{[15][15][16][17]} 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, was released in March 2007 and documented 25 bombers shot down by enemy fighter aircraft while being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen.^[18]

The St. Petersburg Times, in 2008, quoted a historian at the Air Force Historical Research Agency as confirming the loss of up to 25 bombers throughout WWII where other units were often losing more than 25 bombers in a single mission. Disputing this, a professor at the National Defense University said he researched more than 200 Tuskegee Airmen mission reports and found no bombers were lost to enemy fighters. Bill Holloman, a Tuskegee airman who taught black studies at the University of Washington and now chairs the Airmen's history committee, was reported by the Times as saying his review of records did confirm lost bombers, but "the Tuskegee story is about pilots who rose above adversity and discrimination and opened a door once closed to black America—not about whether their record is perfect."^[14]

One mission report states that on July 26, 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 August 31, 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."^[19]

Accomplishments

• Over 15,000 combat sorties (including 6000+ for the 99th prior to July '44)
• 112 German airplanes destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground
• 950 railcars, trucks, and other motor vehicles destroyed
• 1 destroyer sunk by P-47 machine gun fire (Lt. Pierson's flight)
• Sixty-six pilots killed in action or accidents
• Thirty-two pilots downed and captured, POWs
• A nearly perfect record of not losing U.S. bombers, a unique achievement
• 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses earned
• 744 Air Medals
• 8 Purple Hearts
• 14 Bronze Stars

Postwar

Several Tuskegee Airmen at Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945

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 racism. 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, and won. After segregation in the military was ended in 1948 by President Harry S. Truman with Executive Order 9981, the veteran Tuskegee Airmen now found themselves in high demand throughout the newly formed United States Air Force. Some taught in civilian flight schools, such as the black-owned Columbia Air Center in Maryland.^[20]

Many of the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen participate annually in the Tuskegee Airmen Convention, which is hosted by Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.^[21]

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 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 Force and US Central Command Air Forces.^[22]

Approximately 119 pilots and 211 ground personnel still are alive from the original crew member number of 994 pilots and about 15,000 ground personnel.^[23]

Legacy and honors

The Congressional Gold Medal was presented to approximately 350 Tuskegee Airmen or their widows, at the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. by President George W. Bush on March 29, 2007.

On March 29, 2007, approximately 350 Tuskegee Airmen (or their widows) received the Congressional Gold Medal^[24] at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.^[25][26][27] The medal will go on display at the Smithsonian Institution; individual honorees will receive bronze replicas.^[15]

The airfield where the airmen trained is now the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.^[28]

In 2006, California Congressman Adam Schiff and Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay, Jr., led the initiative to create a commemorative postage stamp to honor the Tuskegee Airmen.^[29]

"Red Tails" continue to fly in the 99th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph Air Force Base in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen

The 99th Flying Training Squadron 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 August 1, 2008, the City of Atlanta, Georgia, officially renamed a portion of State Route 6, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen. The road is a highway that serves as the main artery into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

On December 9, 2008, the remaining 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, 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."^[30][31] More than 180 airmen attended the January 20, 2009, inauguration.^[32]

The restored P-51 Mustang associated with the Tuskegee Airmen, now flown by Red Tail Project as described in Red Tail Reborn

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 the World War II.

In the 2010 Rose Parade, the city of West Covina, California 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.

Popular culture

• 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^[33]
• The Tuskegee Airmen (1996), a film starring Laurence Fishburne, was produced and aired by HBO ^[34]
• "The Tuskegee Airmen", an episode of the documentary TV series Dogfights, was originally aired on the History Channel on December 6, 2007.
• The Tuskegee Airmen (1997) are represented in the G.I. Joe action figure series ^[35]
• 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 ^[36]
• Hart's War is a 2002 film about a Tuskegee Airman accused of murdering another American serviceman in a German POW Camp
• In Aaron McGruder's television series, The Boondocks, a main character and his friend being former Tuskegee Airmen is central to the plot of the episode Wingmen
• 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 struggle of 101 African-American officers arrested for entering a white officer's club ^[37][38]
• Red Tail Reborn 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 is a film about the Tuskegee Airmen being developed by George Lucas for release in 2010
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) prominently 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 runway once again!"). Another says to Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), "A lot of people didn't think we could fly, either ... thanks for clearing the runway for us."

Images

Patch of the 99th Fighter Squadron

Patch of the 100th Fighter Squadron

Patch of the 302d Fighter Squadron

See also

• 92nd Infantry Division
• 93rd Infantry Division
• 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion "Triple Nickle"
• 761st Tank Battalion
• Aerial warfare
• Bessie Coleman
• Executive Order 9981
• List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
• Military history of African Americans
• Red Ball Express
• Strategic bombing during World War II
• The Port Chicago 50
• United States Army Air Forces

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Tuskegee Airmen Locations Chanute Field • Moton Army Air Field • Tuskegee Army Air Field Aircraft Curtiss P-40 Warhawk • Bell P-39 Airacobra • Republic P-47 Thunderbolt • North American P-51 Mustang Units 99th Fighter Squadron • 100th Fighter Squadron • 301st Fighter Squadron • 302d Fighter Squadron • 332d Fighter Group • 477th Fighter Group Pilots Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (Leader)  • Lee Archer • Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler • Edgar Bolden • George L. Brown • Roscoe C. Brown • Eugene Calvin Cheatham, Jr. • Alfonza W. Davis • Gene Derricotte • Charles Dryden • Oliver Goodall • Percy L. Heath, Jr. • Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. • Alexander Jefferson • John W. Mosley • Wendell O. Pruitt • Lawrence E. Roberts • Isaiah Edward Robinson, Jr. • Wilmeth W. Sidat-Singh • Roger Terry • Spann Watson • Henry A. Wise Jr. • Incidents Freeman Field Mutiny Films Henry Browne, Farmer • Wings for This Man • The Tuskegee Airmen • Black Eagle (Wild Card character) • Hart's War • Silver Wings and Civil Rights:The Fight to Fly • Red Tail Reborn • Flight of the Red Tail • Red Tails Legacy Tuskegee Airmen, Inc • Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site • Red Tail Project See also Golden Thirteen • Buffalo Soldier • U.S. Army Black Panthers • 366th Infantry Regiment • United States Colored Troops • African American military history

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