The Tuskegee Airmen

During WWII, there was a group of African American pilots for the US Army Air Corps, now called the US Air Force, called the Tuskegee Airmen These men were the first black pilots that flew for the US Air Corps. Over the course of the war, they flew over 15,000 missions over Europe and North Africa.

After the accomplishments of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart in the 1920s and 1930s, many young Americans dreamed of once becoming a pilot and exploring the skies. With segregation still very apparent in the US especially in the south, aspiring black pilots faced many obstacles and challenges stemming from the racist idea that blacks were not capable of learning how to fly a plane. However, at the start of WWII, the American Air Corps (AAC) planned to open enlistment to more American civilians.  Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender and the Pittsburg Courier advocated for Black Americans to be included in the AAC. So, in September of 1940, President Roosevelt announced that the AAC would begin to accept black pilots. Tuskegee Alabama was chosen as the training grounds for black pilots.

Their most famous missions during WWII were in Italy where the 99th fighter group, made up of entirely Tuskegee trained pilots. This group along with other black fighter groups, including the 100th, 301st, and 302nd, made up the new 332nd fighter group. Their goal was to escort bombers in and around Europe. Piloting the P-51 Mustang, a personal favorite of mine, the 332nd painted their tails red, giving them the name, Red Tails. One common myth arose with this fighter groups no bombers had ever been lost under the escort of the 332nd. Though this is not true, they still had an impressive average of only 25 bombers lost, with the average fighter escort losing 46 bombers.

One of the most famous Tuskegee Airmen was Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Graduating from West Point in 1936, Davis was one of the first people to graduate from the Tuskegee training program. He was also the son of one of two black officers in the US military, Benjamin O. Davis. In July of 1941, he was named the commander of the 99th pursuit squadron. Under his command, the 99th squadron operation Corkscrew, which focused on dive-bombing the German controlled island of Pantelleria. This group faced racial challenges when General George Marshall suggested that the 99th should be removed from all operations because they had not performed well. Davis was furious with this because the unit had never had any deficiencies. A few days later, the 99th proved to General Marshall, and to the country, that black pilots were just as skilled as whites by shooting down 12 enemy fighters in two days. This was one of the Tuskegee Airmen's most famous feats. Later Davis would command the 332nd fighter squadron in the allied invasion of Italy and the all black 477th  bombardment group.


Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/tuskegee-airmen
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-O-Davis-Jr