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Tuskegee Airmen
Segregated Army Air Corps units in World War II that broke barriers in the U.S. military and fought successfully as fighter pilots in Europe.Africans Americans fought in every American war in racially segregated units, and with the generally unrealized expectation that patriotism and courage would demonstrate their right to first-class citizenship at home. As planes and flying developed following World War I, blacks pressured for admission to the air force, but a 1925 study commissioned by the Army War College claimed scientific proof that Negroes were innately unable to operate aircraft because of their limited cranial capacity. Not until April 3, 1939, as Europe prepared for war, did Congress pass Public Law Eighteen that called for a major expansion of American air forces. The bill provided for the establishment of training programs for Negroes, but for support services only, at several black colleges.One program was authorized to train black pilots. The 66th Air Force Flying School was to be established at Tuskegee, Alabama, site of Tuskegee Institute, partly because the weather permitted year-round training, partly because the South was already heavily segregated. Under considerable pressure from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the black press, the War Department authorized the creation of an all-black flying unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, later called the 99th Fighter Squadron. African Americans wanted to be eligible for the regular air force, but most white civilians and military personnel did not want them in the service at all. The compromise was a segregated unit.Nearly 500 black soldiers, all male, entered the Tuskegee program, which was run by white officers. Since those in charge both expected and wanted African Americans to fail, the black trainees were expelled for the slightest reason, resulting in a high drop-out rate from the program. The first class preparing to be pilots began their training on August 25, 1941. The class consisted of thirteen men, five of whom graduated in June 1942. The class included Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who later rose to become the country's first black three-star general. Because the officers at Tuskegee considered the African American pilots unfit for combat and thus insisted on prolonging their practice time, the Tuskegee pilots emerged from the program especially well trained. The men who survived the rigorous training programs were an elite group, largely college educated, and highly motivated.Eventually, nearly 1,000 men won their wings as trained pilots, and another 1,000 graduated from the program with various support skills. When finally allowed to fight, some 450 pilots flew combat missions. The segregated black 332nd Fighter Group was formed which comprised four fighter squadrons, the 99th, the 100th, 301st, and 302nd. Assigned largely to Italy, their record was impressive. Their fighter planes escorted bombers on their way to Europe and in 1,578 missions and 15,552 sorties, never lost a bomber. They destroyed or damaged 409 enemy planes. In Trieste harbor they actually sank a German destroyer, the first time a ship of that size and offensive capability had ever been sunk simply by machine gun fire. By war's end, the Fighter Group had lost sixty-six men, and been awarded 100 Distinguished Flying Crosses.
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Colin Powell on the Tuskegee Airmen Colin Powell discusses the famed WWII black fighter squadron, known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
