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Transcript

1942

1940

1941

1948

1945

1938

Start

2021-

1944

Tuskegee Airmen timeline

The Tuskegee Airmen were known for a myth which was that they supposedly never lost a bomber in over 200 escort missions they participated in. Years later, it was found that they had only lost 25 bombers, which is still exceptional and very good performance compared to the average 46 lost bombers from other escort groups that escorted the 15th Air Force.

These were the planes that the Tuskegee Airmen flew.

Doubt & Discrimination Before the Tuskegee Airmen were established, many young African-Americans longed to join the war but were thought to not have the skill, knowledge, and intellect to both operate the plane and learn how to fly them. To make matters worse, racial segregation was immense in the Armed Forces, and throughout the country in general. They believed that Black soldiers were inferior to White soldiers and that they would perform poorly in the war. After President, Franklin D. Roosevelt made plans to expand civilian pilot training programs in 1938, and the AAC ramped up their training, Black newspapers such as Chicago Defender and Pittsburgh Courier became allies with NAACP and other civil rights groups, fighting and arguing that African-Americans should be included in the new training programs.

This is a poster of an illustrated member of the Tuskegee Airmen promoting War Bonds during World War 2

The Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black airmen in the AAC (U.S. Army Air Corps), which is a precursor to the United States Army Air Forces. They were trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. They flew more than 15,00 sorties during WW2 in Europe and North Africa. Through their success and performance in the War, they had earned themselves over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. This helped convince the future integration of the U.S. armed forces. Though they had many successes, they were subject to discrimination due to the Jim Crow laws both outside and within the military.

Training For Black Men In response to all the criticism and advocacy from the newspapers and civil rights groups, in September 1940, President Roosevelt announced that the AAC would start training Black pilots. Even though Black people could now train to become pilots, NAACP and other black newspapers did not agree with the segregation that occurred. The Tuskegee Army Air Field was chosen by the War Department to construct a training site, although it was segregated. In that same place, Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute, a black university. The people who participated in the program were mainly college graduates or undergraduates coming from various places around the states. 1,000 pilots were trained as well as over 14,000 navigators, bombardiers, instructors, aircraft and engine mechanics, control tower operators and other jobs in that line as well as other supporting staff members.

Notable Members There were some notable members of the Tuskegee Airmen when they first started later in 1941. Benjamin O. Davis Jr was a member of the first-class aviation cadets and a graduate from West Point. He also happened to be the son of Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis. His father was the first Black general in the U.S. Army, and he would later become the first Black general in the U.S. Air Force. They would both gain heavily acclaimed accolades later in their careers. Benjamin Jr would become the squadron commander once it was to be created.

Fame & Prominence By April of 1941, the acceptance of the Tuskegee Airmen was gaining a little bit more prominence. Elanor Roosevelt, the First Lady, visited the training site and Charles “Chief” Anderson (Also known as the father of Black Aviation), the chief flight instructor, gave her an aerial tour. The photos and video from the tour helped publicize the program.

The tip of the plane has the signature red paint associated with the Tuskegee Airmen hence the name "Red Tails".

First Deployment April of 1942 was when the Tuskegee Airmen were first deployed. They were called the 99th Pursuit Squadron and were first deployed to North Africa. They kept flying missions but with second-hand P-40 planes which were significantly worse than the German planes. That’s an example of the discrimination they faced because they were black. The U.S. military did in fact have better grade resources and planes available. Benjamin Davis Jr defended the Tuskegee Airmen when he approached the War Department committee after members of the fighter group were complaining about their performance due to the lack of better planes and resources.

332nd Fighter Group As a result, they were deployed to Italy, where they served amongst white soldiers in the 79th fighter group. In early 1944 the pilots of the 99th Squadron shot down 12 German fighters with others going out of their way to do so showing their resilience and persistence to prove themselves in combat, even if they didn’t have to. This statistic showed very good performance from the Tuskegee Airmen. In February of that same year, the 100th, 301st, and 302nd fighter squadrons were relocated to Italy creating the 332nd squadron with the 99th Squadron (AKA Tuskegee Airmen).

Red Tails & Progress After the change happened, the Tuskegee Airmen were finally given what they had deserved, fair, and adequate equipment. Once they joined with the white squadrons the military provided them with P-51 Mustangs (which were high-quality planes at the time). They were given these planes so that they could escort the 15th Air Force bombers during raids into enemy terrain. Because of this, the tails of the planes were painted red for identification which created the nickname, “Red Tails,” which is one of their nicknames other than just the “Tuskegee Airmen”. They would later also serve the 477th Bombardment Group once it was formed in 1944.

Success and Performance in Combat The Tuskegee Airmen were very skillful and remarkable in their performance in the war. With over 15,000 sorties flown in 2 years of combat from the first deployment of the squadron to the last on April 26, 1945, the airmen destroyed or damaged 36 german planes in the air while destroying or damaging 237 on the ground, 1,000 rail cars, transport vehicles and a German destroyer. Sadly, 66 of their aviators were killed in action in the Second World War, while 32 others were captured and taken as prisoners of war. Nevertheless, the Tuskegee Airmen were very successful and resilient regardless of the discrimination they faced.

Racial Integration in the Military After the war ended, even with their great performance and courageous service, the Tuskegee Airmen went back home to more discrimination and systemic racism. Their service eventually helped pave the way for representation and advocacy in terms of racial integration in the U.S. military. What they did helped lead up to President Harry Truman issuing an executive order on July 26, 1948, which desegregated the U.S. armed forces and called for equal opportunity and treatment. Because of this new executive order, many Tuskegee Airmen became notable members of the military such as Benjamin Davis Jr from earlier. George S. “Spanky” Roberts became the first commander of a racially segregated Air Force unit before he eventually retired as a colonel. Daniel “Chappie'' James Jr would also become the first Black four-star general in the U.S. in 1975, which is quite an achievement. More than 300 Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal from George W. Bush in 2007 as a gift and some appreciation for their service.

Conclusion Overall, the resilience and bravery of the Tuskegee Airmen show forth, when exploring their story. It’s inspiring everything they did, in a time of so much racial and systemic discrimination and racism. It’s important to learn about what they did, and the reason they were so important. After all, they paved the way for racial integration and helped integrate Black people into the U.S. Air Force. Thank you for your service, Tuskegee Airmen.

We chose the Tuskegee Airmen because it's a prime example of description and systemic racism, but the case of black Americans proving all the doubters wrong, performing just as good, if not better than their White counterparts. Yes, there are 2 movies of the Tuskegee Airmen such as "Red Tails" and the "Tuskegee Airmen" but this infographic portrays the missing perspectives with explicit explanations of the discrimination they faced. Learning about them should not just be annual, but integrated into the education system so that we can learn about the work they did. and what they overcame to help shape integration into the U.S. Military.