| Tuskegee Airmen (unofficial) | |
|---|---|
  Emblems of wing | |
| Active | 1940–1948 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter escort (332nd)/ Bomber (447th) |
| Part of | Graduates assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group (99th Fighter Squadron, 100th Fighter Squadron, 301st Fighter Squadron, 302d Fighter Squadron), 477th Medium Bombardment Group (616th Bombardment Squadron, 617th Bombardment Squadron, 618th Bombardment Squadron, 619th Bombardment Squadron) |
| Nickname(s) | Red Tails Red-Tail Angels |
| Motto(s) | Spit Fire |
| Engagements | World War II |
The Tuskegee Airmen /tʌsˈkiːɡiː/[1] was a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The Tuskegee airmen received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting American bombers from enemy fighters. The group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.
All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Griel Field, Kennedy Field, Moton Field, Shorter Field, and the Tuskegee Army Air Fields.[2] They were educated at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), located near Tuskegee, Alabama. Of the 922 pilots, five were Haitians from the Haitian Air Force and one pilot was from Trinidad.[3] It also included an airman born in the Dominican Republic and one born in Jamaica.[4][5]
The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and other parts of Italy). The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. It deployed to Italy in early 1944. Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat. In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions and, in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons.
The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter-bomber aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944) and finally with 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-47s red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red empennage; the P-51B, C and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws[N 1] and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside of the army.
- ^ See "Pronunciation of Tuskegee"] "Tuskegee". Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), thefreedictionary.com; retrieved 3 October 2010. - ^ Haulman, Daniel L. (June 2014). "The Tuskegee Airmen Airfields". Air Force Magazine: 63.
- ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Listing" Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, tuskegee.edu; retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ Juleyka Lantigua-Williams; National Journal (5 November 2015). "An Unknown Latino Tuskegee Airman Has Been Discovered". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "7 Things to Know about the Jamaican-born Tuskegee Airman Lt. Victor Terrelonge". Archived from the original on 22 February 2024.
- ^ Woodward & McFeely 2001, p. 6.
Cite error: There are <ref group=N> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=N}} template (see the help page).