Tuskegee Airmen

African-American military pilots during World War II

Tuskegee Airmen (unofficial)

File:Shield of the 332nd Fighter Group.svg
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Insignia

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| Trained for aerial combat
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

Military unit

The Tuskegee Airmen /tʌsˈkiːɡiː/[1] were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d 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 a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the Dominican Republic.[4]

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.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Origins
* 1.1.1 Background
* 1.1.2 Testing
* 1.1.3 First Lady's flight
* 1.2 Formation
* 1.3 Combat assignment
* 1.3.1 Active air units
* 1.4 Tuskegee Airmen bomber units
* 1.4.1 Formation
* 1.4.2 Command difficulties
* 1.5 War accomplishments
* 1.5.1 Controversy over escort record
* 1.6 Postwar
* 2 Legacy and honors
* 3 Artistic depictions
* 4 In popular culture
* 5 Squadron images
* 6 See also
* 7 Explanatory notes
* 8 References
* 8.1 Citations
* 8.2 General and cited references
* 9 External links

## History[edit | edit source]

### Origins[edit | edit source]

See also: Civilian Pilot Training Program

#### Background[edit | edit source]

File:P51 Mustang Red Tail.jpg

The P-51C Mustang flown by the Commemorative Air Force in the markings of the 302nd Fighter Squadron as a tribute to Lieutenant Colonel Lee Archer.

File:Tuskegee Airman P-51 Mustang taken at Airventure.JPG

Tuskegee Airman P-51 Mustang taken at Airventure. This particular P-51C is part of the Red Tail Project

File:Spirit of Tuskegee plane.jpg

The Stearman Kaydet training aircraft used by the Tuskegee Airmen, bearing the name Spirit of Tuskegee

File:Tuskegee airman2.jpg

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

Before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African-American had been a U.S. military pilot. In 1917, African-American men had tried to become aerial observers but were rejected.[6] African-American Eugene Bullard served in the French air service during World War I because he was not allowed to serve in an American unit. Instead, Bullard returned to infantry duty with the French.[7]

The racially motivated rejections of World War I African-American recruits sparked more than two decades of advocacy by African-Americans who wished to enlist and train as military aviators. The effort was led by such prominent civil rights leaders as Walter White of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, labor union leader A. Philip Randolph and Judge William H. Hastie. Finally, on 3 April 1939, Appropriations Bill Public Law 18 was passed by Congress containing an amendment by Senator Harry H. Schwartz designating funds for training African-American pilots. The War Department managed to put the money into funds of civilian flight schools willing to train black Americans.[6]

War Department tradition and policy mandated the segregation of African-Americans into separate military units staffed by white officers, as had been done previously with the 9th Cavalry, 10th Cavalry, 24th Infantry Regiment and 25th Infantry Regiment. When the appropriation of funds for aviation training created opportunities for pilot cadets, their numbers diminished the rosters of these older units.[8] In 1941, the War Department and the Army Air Corps, under pressure — three months before its transformation into the USAAF — constituted the first all-black flying unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron.[9]

Because of the restrictive nature of selection policies, the situation did not seem promising for African-Americans, since in 1940 the U.S. Census Bureau reported there were only 124 African-American pilots in the nation.[10] The exclusionary policies failed dramatically when the Air Corps received an abundance of applications from men who qualified, even under the restrictive requirements. Many of the applicants had already participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, unveiled in late December 1938 (CPTP). Tuskegee University had participated since 1939.[11]

#### Testing[edit | edit source]

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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 existing programs would be used for all units, including all-black units. At Tuskegee, this effort continued with the selection and training of the Tuskegee Airmen. The War Department set up a system to accept only those with a level of flight experience or higher education which ensured that only the ablest and most intelligent African-American applicants were able to join.[citation needed]

Airman Coleman Young, later the first African-American mayor of Detroit, told journalist Studs Terkel about the process:

> They made the standards so high, we actually became an elite group. We were screened and super-screened. We were unquestionably the brightest and most physically fit young blacks in the country. We were super-better because of the irrational laws of Jim Crow. You can't bring that many intelligent young people together and train 'em as fighting men and expect them to supinely roll over when you try to fuck over 'em, right? (Laughs.)[12]

#### First Lady's flight[edit | edit source]

The budding flight program at Tuskegee received a publicity boost when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt inspected it on 29 March 1941, and flew with African-American chief civilian instructor C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson. Anderson, who had been flying since 1929 and was responsible for training thousands of rookie pilots, took his prestigious passenger on a half-hour flight in a Piper J-3 Cub.[13][14] After landing, she cheerfully announced, "Well, you can fly all right."[15]

The subsequent brouhaha over the First Lady's flight had such an impact it is often mistakenly cited as the start of the CPTP at Tuskegee, even though the program was already five months old. Eleanor Roosevelt used her position as a trustee of the Julius Rosenwald Fund to arrange a loan of $175,000 to help finance the building of Moton Field.[15]

### Formation[edit | edit source]

File:First Tuskeegee Class.jpg

Major James A. Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross, as he reviews 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 22 March 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron[N 2] was activated without pilots at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois.[16][17][N 3][18]

A cadre of 14 black non-commissioned officers from the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments were sent to Chanute Field to help in the administration and supervision of the trainees. A white officer, Army Captain Harold R. Maddux, was assigned as the first commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron.[18][19]

A group of 271 enlisted men began training in aircraft ground support trades at Chanute Field in March 1941 until they were transferred to bases in Alabama in July 1941.[20] The skills being taught were so technical that setting up segregated classes was deemed impossible. This small number of enlisted men became the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee Fields in Alabama.[21][22]

While the enlisted men were in training, five black youths were admitted to the Officers Training School (OTS) at Chanute Field as aviation cadets. Specifically, Elmer D. Jones, Dudley Stevenson, and James Johnson of Washington, DC; Nelson Brooks of Illinois, and William R. Thompson of Pittsburgh, PA successfully completed OTS and were commissioned as the first Black Army Air Corps Officers.[18]

In June 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was transferred to Tuskegee, Alabama, and remained the only black flying unit in the country, but did not yet have pilots.[19] The famous airmen were actually trained at five airfields surrounding Tuskegee University (formerly Tuskegee Institute)--Griel, Kennedy, Moton, Shorter, and Tuskegee Army Air Fields.[2] The flying unit consisted of 47 officers and 429 enlisted men[23] and was backed by an entire service arm. On 19 July 1941, thirteen individuals made up the first class of aviation cadets (42-C) when they entered preflight training at Tuskegee Institute.[19] After primary training at Moton Field, they were moved to the nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field, about 10 miles (16 km) to the west for conversion training onto operational types. Consequently, Tuskegee Army Air Field became the only Army installation performing three phases of pilot training (basic, advanced, and transition) at a single location. Initial planning called for 500 personnel in residence at a time.[24]

By mid-1942, over six times that many were stationed at Tuskegee, even though only two squadrons were training there.[25]

File:Tuskegee airman poster.jpg

War Bonds poster featuring a Tuskegee Airman

Tuskegee Army Airfield was similar to already-existing airfields reserved for training white pilots, such as Maxwell Field, only 40 miles (64 km) distant.[26] African-American contractor McKissack and McKissack, Inc. was in charge of the contract. The company's 2,000 workmen, the Alabama Works Progress Administration, and the U.S. Army built the airfield in only six months. The construction was budgeted at $1,663,057.[27] The airmen were placed under the command of Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., one of only two black line officers then serving.[28]

During training, Tuskegee Army Air Field was commanded first by Major James Ellison. Ellison made great progress in organizing the construction of the facilities needed for the military program at Tuskegee. However, he was transferred on 12 January 1942, reputedly because of his insistence that his African-American sentries and Military Police had police authority over local Caucasian civilians.[29][30]

His successor, Colonel Frederick von Kimble, then oversaw operations at the Tuskegee airfield.[31] Contrary to new Army regulations, Kimble maintained segregation on the field in deference to local customs in the state of Alabama, a policy that was resented by the airmen.[26] Later that year, the Air Corps replaced Kimble. His replacement had been the director of training at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Major Noel F. Parrish.[32] 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.[33][34]

File:Airglasspilotcert-NPS.jpg

Instrument certificate for Tuskegee Airman Robert M. Glass, signed by Parrish

The strict racial segregation the U.S. Army required gave way in the face of the requirements for complex training in technical vocations. Typical of the process was the development of separate African-American flight surgeons to support the operations and training of the Tuskegee Airmen.[35] Before the development of this unit, no U.S. Army flight surgeons had been 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 the Tuskegee Airmen from 1941 to 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 other parts of Italy. The chief flight surgeon to the Tuskegee Airmen was Vance H. Marchbanks Jr., MD, a childhood friend of Benjamin Davis.[35]

The accumulation of washed-out cadets at Tuskegee and the propensity of other commands to "dump" African-American personnel on the post exacerbated the difficulties of administering Tuskegee. A shortage of jobs for them made these enlisted men a drag on Tuskegee's housing and culinary departments.[36]

Trained officers were also left idle as the plan to shift African-American officers into command slots stalled, and white officers not only continued to hold command but were joined by additional white officers assigned to the post. One rationale behind the non-assignment of trained African-American officers was stated by the commanding officer of the Army Air Forces, General Henry "Hap" Arnold: "Negro pilots cannot be used in our present Air Corps units since this would result in Negro officers serving over white enlisted men creating an impossible social situation."[37]

### Combat assignment[edit | edit source]

File:Tuskegee Airmen - Circa May 1942 to Aug 1943.jpg

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

The 99th was finally considered ready for combat duty by April 1943. It shipped out of Tuskegee on 2 April, bound for North Africa, where it would join the 33rd Fighter Group and its commander, Colonel William W. Momyer. Given little guidance from battle-experienced pilots, the 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small strategic volcanic island of Pantelleria, code name Operation Corkscrew, in the Mediterranean Sea to clear the sea lanes for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. The air assault on the island began 30 May 1943. The 99th flew its first combat mission on 2 June.[38] The surrender of the garrison of 11,121 Italians and 78 Germans[39] due to air attack was the first of its kind.[40]

The 99th then moved on to Sicily and received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its performance in combat.[41]

File:Col Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.jpg

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

File:James DanielChappie.jpg

Tuskegee airman Instructor Daniel "Chappie" James

File:Alix Pasquet.jpg

Tuskegee airman Alix Pasquet, date unknown.

By the end of February 1944, the all-black 332nd Fighter Group had been sent overseas with three fighter squadrons: The 100th, 301st and 302nd.[42]

Under the command of Colonel Davis, the squadrons were moved to mainland Italy, where the 99th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the group on 1 May 1944, joined them on 6 June at Ramitelli Airfield, nine kilometers south-southeast of the small city of Campomarino, on the Adriatic coast. From Ramitelli, the 332nd Fighter Group escorted Fifteenth Air Force heavy strategic bombing raids into Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Germany.[43]

Flying escort for heavy bombers, the 332nd earned an impressive combat record. The Allies called these airmen "Red Tails" or "Red-Tail Angels," because of the distinctive crimson unit identification marking predominantly applied on the tail section of the unit's aircraft.[44]

A B-25 bomb group, the 477th Bombardment Group, was forming in the U.S. but was not able to complete its training in time to see action. The 99th Fighter Squadron after its return to the United States became part of the 477th, redesignated the 477th Composite Group.[44]

#### Active air units[edit | edit source]

File:Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group.jpg

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

The only black air units that saw combat during the war were the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. The dive-bombing and strafing missions under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. were considered to be highly successful.[45][46]

In May 1942, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was renamed the 99th Fighter Squadron. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) during World War II. The DUCs were for operations over Sicily from 30 May – 11 June 1943, Monastery Hill near Cassino from 12 to 14 May 1944, and for successfully fighting off German jet aircraft on 24 March 1945. The mission was the longest bomber escort mission of the Fifteenth Air Force throughout the war.[41][47] The 332nd flew missions in Sicily, Anzio, Normandy, the Rhineland, the Po Valley and Rome-Arno and others. Pilots of the 99th once set a record for destroying five enemy aircraft in under four minutes.[45]

The Tuskegee Airmen shot down three German jets in a single day.[48] On 24 March 1945, 43 P-51 Mustangs led by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis escorted B-17 bombers over 1,600 miles (2,600 km) into Germany and back. The bombers' target, a massive Daimler-Benz tank factory in Berlin, was heavily defended by Luftwaffe aircraft, including propeller-driven Fw 190s, Me 163 "Komet" rocket-powered fighters, and 25 of the much more formidable Me 262s, history's first operational jet fighter. Pilots Charles Brantley, Earl Lane and Roscoe Brown all shot down German jets over Berlin that day.[citation needed] For the mission, the 332nd Fighter Group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation.[43]

Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group earned 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Their missions took them over Italy and enemy-occupied parts of central and southern Europe. Their operational aircraft were, in succession: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Bell P-39 Airacobra, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft.[45]

### Tuskegee Airmen bomber units[edit | edit source]

#### Formation[edit | edit source]

With African-American fighter pilots being trained successfully, the Army Air Force now came under political pressure from the NAACP and other civil rights organizations to organize a bomber unit. There could be no defensible argument that the quota of 100 African-American pilots in training at one time,[49] or 200 per year out of a total of 60,000 American aviation cadets in annual training,[50] represented the service potential of 13 million African-Americans.[N 4]

On 13 May 1943, the 616th Bombardment Squadron was established as the initial subordinate squadron of the 477th Bombardment Group, an all-white group. The squadron was activated on 1 July 1943, only to be inactivated on 15 August 1943.[36][51][52][53] By September 1943, the number of washed-out cadets on base had surged to 286, with few of them working. In January 1944, the 477th Bombardment Group was reactivated—an all-Black group.[51][52][53] At the time, the usual training cycle for a bombardment group took three to four months.[54]

The 477th would eventually contain four medium bomber squadrons. Slated to comprise 1,200 officers and enlisted men, the unit would operate 60 North American B-25 Mitchell bombers.[N 5] The 477th would go on to encompass three more bomber squadrons–the 617th Bombardment Squadron, the 618th Bombardment Squadron, and the 619th Bombardment Squadron.[56] The 477th was anticipated to be ready for action in November 1944.[57]

The home field for the 477th was Selfridge Field, located outside Detroit, with forays to Oscoda Army Air Field in Oscoda, Michigan.[N 6] However, other bases would be used for various types of training courses. Twin-engine pilot training began at Tuskegee while the transition to multi-engine pilot training was at Mather Field, California. Some ground crews trained at Mather before rotating to Inglewood. Gunners learned to shoot at Eglin Field, Florida. Bombers-navigators learned their trades at Hondo Army Air Field and Midland Air Field, Texas or at Roswell, New Mexico. Training of the new African-American crewmen also took place at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Scott Field, Belleville, Illinois. Once trained, the air and ground crews would be spliced into a working unit at Selfridge.[59][60]

#### Command difficulties[edit | edit source]

The new group's first commanding officer was Colonel Robert Selway, who had also commanded the 332nd Fighter Group before it deployed for combat overseas.[61] Like his ranking officer, Major General Frank O'Driscoll Hunter from Georgia, Selway was a racial segregationist. Hunter was blunt about it, saying such things as "...racial friction will occur if colored and white pilots are trained together."[62] He backed Selway's violations of Army Regulation 210–10, which forbade segregation of airbase facilities. They segregated base facilities so thoroughly that they even drew a line in the base theater and ordered separate seating by race. When the audience sat in random patterns as part of "Operation Checkerboard," the movie was halted to make men return to segregated seating.[63] African-American officers petitioned base Commanding Officer William Boyd for access to the only officer's club on base.[64][65] Lieutenant Milton Henry entered the club and personally demanded his club rights; he was court-martialed for this.[66]

Subsequently, Colonel Boyd denied club rights to African-Americans, although General Hunter stepped in and promised a separate but equal club would be built for black airmen.[67] The 477th was transferred to Godman Field, Kentucky before the club was built. They had spent five months at Selfridge but found themselves on a base a fraction of Selfridge's size, with no air-to-ground gunnery range and deteriorating runways that were too short for B-25 landings. Colonel Selway took on the second role of the commanding officer of Godman Field. In that capacity, he ceded Godman Field's officers club to African-American airmen. Caucasian officers used the whites-only clubs at nearby Fort Knox, much to the displeasure of African-American officers.[68]

Another irritant was a professional one for African-American officers. They observed a steady flow of white officers through the command positions of the group and squadrons; these officers stayed just long enough to be "promotable" before transferring out at their new rank. This seemed to take about four months. In an extreme example, 22-year-old Robert Mattern was promoted to captain, transferred into squadron command in the 477th days later, and left a month later as a major. He was replaced by another Caucasian officer. Meanwhile, no Tuskegee Airmen held command.[69]

On 15 March 1945,[70] the 477th was transferred to Freeman Field, near Seymour, Indiana. The white population of Freeman Field was 250 officers and 600 enlisted men. Superimposed on it were 400 African-American officers and 2,500 enlisted men of the 477th and its associated units. Freeman Field had a firing range, usable runways, and other amenities useful for training. African-American airmen would work in proximity with white ones; both would live in a public housing project adjacent to the base.[71][62]

Colonel Selway turned the noncommissioned officers out of their club and turned it into a second officers' club. He then classified all white personnel as cadre and all African-Americans as trainees. One officers' club became the cadre's club. The old Non-Commissioned Officers Club, promptly sarcastically dubbed "Uncle Tom's Cabin", became the trainees' officers club. At least four of the trainees had flown combat in Europe as fighter pilots and had about four years in service. Four others had completed training as pilots, bombardiers and navigators and may have been the only triply qualified officers in the entire Air Corps. Several of the Tuskegee Airmen had logged over 900 flight hours by this time. Nevertheless, by Colonel Selway's fiat, they were trainees.[70][72]

Off base was no better; many businesses in Seymour would not serve African-Americans. A local laundry would not wash their and yet willingly laundered those of captured German soldiers.[70]

In early April 1945, the 118th Base Unit transferred in from Godman Field; its African-American personnel held orders that specified they were base cadre, not trainees. On 5 April, officers of the 477th peaceably tried to enter the whites-only officer's club. Selway had been tipped off by a phone call and had the assistant provost marshal and base billeting manager stationed at the door to refuse the 477th officers' entry. The latter, a major, ordered them to leave and took their names as a means of arresting them when they refused. It was the beginning of the Freeman Field Mutiny.[73]

In the wake of the Freeman Field Mutiny, the 616th and 619th were disbanded and the returned 99th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the 477th on 22 June 1945; it was redesignated the 477th Composite Group as a result. On 1 July 1945, Colonel Robert Selway was relieved of the Group's command; he was replaced by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. A complete sweep of Selway's white staff followed, with all vacated jobs filled by African-American officers. The war ended before the 477th Composite Group could get into action. The 618th Bombardment Squadron was disbanded on 8 October 1945. On 13 March 1946, the two-squadron group, supported by the 602nd Engineer Squadron (later renamed 602nd Air Engineer Squadron), the 118th Base Unit, and a band, moved to its final station, Lockbourne Field. The 617th Bombardment Squadron and the 99th Fighter Squadron disbanded on 1 July 1947, ending the 477th Composite Group. It would be reorganized as the 332nd Fighter Wing.[74][75]

### War accomplishments[edit | edit source]

File:"GOOD HUNTING, SON,- YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN NOW^^" \- NARA - 535667.jpg

Office of War Information poster

In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946. 355 were deployed overseas, and 84 lost their lives.[76] The toll included 68 pilots killed in action or accidents, 12 killed in training and non-combat missions[77] and 32 captured as prisoners of war.[78][79]

The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments:

* 1578 combat missions,[80] 1267 for the Twelfth Air Force; 311 for the Fifteenth Air Force[81]
* 179 bomber escort missions,[48] with a good record of protection,[78] losing bombers on only seven missions and a total of only 27, compared to an average of 46 among other 15th Air Force P-51 groups[82]
* 112 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground[48] and 148 damaged. This included three Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters shot down
* 950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed (over 600 rail cars[48])
* One torpedo boat put out of action. TA22 was an Italian World War I-era warship (Giuseppe Missori), that had been seized by the Germans and put into service. It was attacked on 25 June 1944, and damaged so severely she was never repaired. She was decommissioned on 8 November 1944, and finally scuttled on 5 February 1945.[83][84]
* 40 boats and barges destroyed[48]

Awards and decorations included:

* Three Distinguished Unit Citations
* 99th Pursuit Squadron: 30 May – 11 June 1943, for actions over Sicily[citation needed][85]
* 99th Fighter Squadron: 12–14 May 1944: for successful airstrikes against Monte Cassino, Italy. The first two Distinguished Unit Citations received by the 99th Fighter Squadron were awarded to the groups to which the squadron was attached. At the time, when a group received the honor, it was shared with the squadrons the were assigned or attached to the group.[citation needed]
* 332nd Fighter Group (and its 99th, 100th, and 301st Fighter Squadrons): 24 March 1945: for a bomber escort mission to Berlin, during which pilots of the 100th FS shot down three enemy Me 262 jets. The 302nd Fighter Squadron did not receive this award as it had been disbanded on 6 March 1945.[citation needed]
* At least one Silver Star[citation needed]
* 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses to 95 Airmen; Captain William A. Campbell was awarded two.[86][87]
* 14 Bronze Stars[citation needed]
* 744 Air Medals[citation needed]
* 8 Purple Hearts[78][88]

#### Controversy over escort record[edit | edit source]

File:Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group pilots ppmsca13245u.jpg

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

On 24 March 1945, during the war, the Chicago Defender said that no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been lost to enemy fire, under the headline: "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss";[89] the article was based on information supplied by the 15th Air Force.[90][91]

This statement was repeated for many years, and not publicly challenged, partly because the mission reports were classified for a number of years after the war. In 2004, William Holton, who was serving as the historian of the Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated, conducted research into wartime action reports.[89]

Alan Gropman, a professor at the National Defense University, disputed the initial refutations of the no-loss myth and said he researched more than 200 Tuskegee Airmen mission reports and found no bombers were lost to enemy fighters.[89] Dr. Daniel Haulman of the Air Force Historical Research Agency conducted a reassessment of the history of the unit in 2006 and early 2007. His 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, documented 25 bombers shot down by enemy fighter aircraft while being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen.[90]

File:Tuskegee airmen 2.jpg

Several Tuskegee Airmen at Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945

In a subsequent article, "The Tuskegee Airmen and the Never Lost a Bomber Myth," published in the Alabama Review and also by NewSouth Books as an e-book, and included in a more comprehensive study regarding misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen released by AFHRA in July 2013, Haulman documented 27 bombers shot down by enemy aircraft while those bombers were being escorted by the 332nd Fighter Group. This total included 15 B-17s of the 483rd Bombardment Group shot down during a particularly savage air battle with an estimated 300 German fighters on 18 July 1944, that also resulted in nine kill credits and the award of five Distinguished Flying Crosses to members of the 332nd.[92]

Of the 179 bomber escort missions the 332nd Fighter Group flew for the Fifteenth Air Force, the group encountered enemy aircraft on 35 of those missions and lost bombers to enemy aircraft on only seven, and the total number of bombers lost was 27. By comparison, the average number of bombers lost by the other P-51 fighter groups of the Fifteenth Air Force during the same period was 46.[82]

File:Tuskegee airmen (archive photo).jpg

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

The historical record shows several examples of the fighter group's losses. A mission report states that on 26 July 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." The Distinguished Flying Cross citation awarded to Colonel Benjamin O. Davis for the mission on 9 June 1944, noted that he "so skillfully disposed his squadrons that in spite of the large number of enemy fighters, the bomber formation suffered only a few losses."[93]

William H. Holloman was reported by the Times as saying his review of records confirmed bombers had been lost. Holloman was a member of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., a group of surviving Tuskegee pilots and their supporters, who also taught Black Studies at the University of Washington and chaired the Airmen's history committee.[89] According to the 28 March 2007 Air Force report, some bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort protection were even shot down on the day the Chicago Defender article was published.[90] The mission reports, however, do credit the group for not losing a bomber on an escort mission for a six-month period between September 1944 and March 1945, albeit when Luftwaffe contacts were far fewer than earlier.[94]

### Postwar[edit | edit source]

File:Alfonso Harris and Tuskegee Airmen - Flickr - San Diego Air ^ Space Museum Archives.jpg

Various Tuskegee Airmen by a P-51 Mustang at Luke Field, circa Jan-Feb 1946

Contrary to negative predictions from some quarters, Tuskegee Airmen were some of the best pilots in the U.S. Army Air Forces due to a combination of pre-war experience and the personal drive of those accepted for training. Nevertheless, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to have to fight racism. Their combat record did much to quiet those directly involved with the group, but other units continued to harass these airmen.[95]

In 1949, the 332nd entered the annual U. S. Continental Gunnery Meet in Las Vegas, Nevada. The competition included shooting aerial targets, shooting targets on the ground and dropping bombs on targets. Flying the long-range Republic P-47N Thunderbolt (built for the long-range escort mission in the Pacific theatre of World War II), the 332nd Fighter Wing took first place in the conventional fighter class. The pilots were Captain Alva Temple, Lts. Harry Stewart, Jr., James H. Harvey III and Halbert Alexander. Staff Sergeant Buford A. Johnson (30 August 1927 – 15 April 2017) served as the pilots' aircraft crew chief.[96] Lt. Harvey said, "We had a perfect score. Three missions, two bombs per plane. We didn't guess at anything, we were good."[97] They received congratulations from the Governor of Ohio, and Air Force commanders across the nation.[98]

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.[99] On 11 May 1949, Air Force Letter 35.3 was published, which mandated that black Airmen be screened for reassignment to formerly all-white units according to qualifications.[100]

Tuskegee Airmen were instrumental in postwar developments in aviation. Edward A. Gibbs was a civilian flight instructor in the U.S. Aviation Cadet Program at Tuskegee during its inception.[101] He later became the founder of Negro Airmen International, an association joined by many airmen. USAF General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. (then Lt.) was an instructor of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, later a fighter pilot in Europe. In 1975, he became the first African-American to reach the rank of four-star general.[102] Post-war commander of the 99th Squadron Marion Rodgers went on to work in communications for NORAD and as a program developer for the Apollo 13 project.[103]

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 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.[104]

As of 2008[update] no one knew how many of the original 996 pilots and about 16,000 ground personnel were still alive.[105] In August 2019, 14 documented original surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen participated at the annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention, which is hosted by Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.[106][107]

Willie Rogers, one of the last surviving members of the original Tuskegee Airmen, died at the age of 101 on 18 November 2016 in St. Petersburg, Florida following a stroke. Rogers was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was part of the 100th Air Engineer Squad. Rogers also served with the Red Tail Angels. He was wounded in action, shot in the stomach and leg by German soldiers, during a mission in Italy in January 1943.[108] In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the 300 surviving Tuskegee Airmen, but Rogers was not present. He was given a medal in 2013 after he revealed his previously undisclosed involvement. His pastor, Rev. Irby, said Rogers was a "passionate oral historian."

Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, 24, had gone missing while flying a P-51 Mustang, 28 May 1944 – 4 May 1945 fighter, escorting a reconnaissance flight to Prague from Italy, on 23 December 1944. He was on his 68th mission and had previously been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 27 July 2018, his remains, which had been recovered in Austria a year earlier, were conclusively identified and confirmed to his daughter – included with them was a ring inscribed from her mother to her father and dated 1943. The day prior to the announcement, his wingman, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Martin, had died at 99, in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Dickson's wife Phyllis died on 28 December 2017. The bodies of 26 other Tuskegee Airmen who disappeared in WWII remain unrecovered.[109][110]

In 2019, Lt. Col. Robert J. Friend, one of twelve remaining Tuskegee Airmen at the time, died on 21 June in Long Beach at the age of 99.[111] He had flown 142 combat missions in World War II as part of the elite group of fighter pilots trained at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute. A public viewing and memorial was held at the Palm Springs Air Museum on 6 July.[112] He had spoken about his experiences in many different events prior to his death, such as in John Murdy Elementary School's "The Gratitude Project" in Garden Grove.[113]

On January 16, 2022, Brigadier General Charles McGee died in his sleep at the age of 102.[114] His military career lasted 30 years in which he flew 409 combat missions in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam War.

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

* The Congressional Gold Medal was collectively presented to approximately 300 Tuskegee Airmen or their widows, at the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. by President George W. Bush on March 29, 2007.

* Brigadier General Charles McGee being honored by President Donald Trump at the 2020 State of the Union Address, with his great-grandson Iain Lanphier to the left and Second Lady Karen Pence to the right

## Legacy and honors[edit | edit source]

File:A P-51 tail signed by surviving Tuskegee Airmen.jpg

A tail signed by surviving Tuskegee Airmen located at the Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs, California.

File:Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.JPG

The Hangar One Museum at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field, Tuskegee, Alabama.

File:Tuskegee Airman Tech. Sgt. (Ret.) George Watson Sr. is presented the Purple Heart medal by Congressman Christopher Smith and Col. Gina M. Grosso, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst commander.jpg

Congressman Christopher Smith presented the Purple Heart Medal to Tuskegee Airman Tech. Sgt. (Ret.) George Watson Sr. with then Col. Gina M. Grosso, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst commander in 2010

File:P-51C-18.jpg

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

File:F-16B Fighting Falcon.png.jpg

A General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (an F-16B, specifically) on display at the Aviation Challenge campus of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama; note its acknowledgement to the Tuskegee Airmen on its dorsal fin.

File:Tuskegee Airmen.png

The new redesigned Tuskegee Airmen Depot sticker.

On 29 March 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded a Congressional Gold Medal[115] at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.[116] The medal is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution.[90] The airfield where the airmen trained is now the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.[117]

Thurgood Marshall, the future Supreme Court justice, got his start defending Tuskegee bomber trainees. The 477th Bombardment Group was formed in 1944 to extend the so-called "Tuskegee experiment" by allowing black aviators to serve on bomber crews. The aim was to send pilots—many of them veterans of the original Tuskegee fighter group—back to the States for training on B-25 bombers. While in Indiana, some of the African-American officers were arrested and charged with mutiny after entering an all-white officers' club. Marshall, then a young lawyer, represented the 100 black officers who had landed in jail as a result of the confrontation. The men were soon released (although one was later convicted of violent conduct and fined).[118]

Robert W. Williams Jr, a navigator/bombardier in the 477th Bombardment Group, became a judge in the First Judicial District, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 1979, he was elected to the Commonwealth Court, an appellate court, and the first African American to serve on that court. In 1985, he resigned from the court to run for the District Attorney of Philadelphia County. He was the first African American to successfully become a city-wide candidate for that office.[119]

Other members of the Tuskegee Airmen have made contributions in the world of business. Eugene Winslow founded Afro-Am Publishing in Chicago, Illinois, which published Great Negroes Past and Present in 1963.[120]

Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. started his career in the early 1940s at Tuskegee, joining the Army Air Corps in July 1943. After the war ended, James stayed in what became the Air Force and flew missions in both Korea and Vietnam. In 1969, James was put in command of Wheelus Air Base outside of Tripoli.[118]

Four Tuskegee airmen went on to become generals. For keeping his cool in the face of Qaddafi's troops, James was appointed a brigadier general by President Nixon. However, he was not the only Tuskegee graduate to make flag rank. James followed in the footsteps of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the original commander of the 332nd Fighter Group and the first black general in the U.S. Air Force. Another Tuskegee aviator, Lucius Theus, retired a major general after dedicating most of his 36-year career in the Air Force to improving the military's bureaucracy, helping to implement a direct deposit system for service members.[118] In 2019, at 100 years old, Colonel Charles McGee was promoted to honorary Brigadier General.[121]

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.[122]

The 99th Flying Training Squadron flies T-1A Jayhawks and, in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, painted the tops of the tails of their aircraft red. On 1 August 2008, Camp Creek Parkway, a portion of State Route 6 in south Fulton County and in the City of East Point near Atlanta, Georgia, was officially renamed in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen. The road is a highway that serves as the main artery into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.[123]

The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh presented an award to several Western Pennsylvania Tuskegee veterans, as well as suburban Sewickley, Pennsylvania dedicated a memorial to the seven from that municipality.[124] An exhibit was established at Pittsburgh International Airport in Concourse A.[125]

On 9 December 2008, the 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, Maryland, a Tuskegee Airman, summed up the feeling. "The culmination of our efforts and others was this great prize we were given on 4 Nov.. Now we feel like we've completed our mission."[126][127] More than 180 airmen attended 20 January 2009 inauguration.[128]

In July 2009, 15-year-old Kimberly Anyadike became the youngest female African-American pilot to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States. She cited the Tuskegee Airmen as one of her biggest inspirations, and was accompanied on her trip by 87-year-old former Tuskegee Airman Levi Thornhill.[129]

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 World War II.[citation needed] 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 aircraft 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.[citation needed]

In June 1998, the Ohio Army and Air National Guard opened a jointly operated dining hall. They dedicated the new dining facility called the "Red Tail Dining Facility" to the Tuskegee Airmen. The facility is operated at the Rickenbacker ANG base outside of Columbus Ohio.[citation needed]

In 2008, the Tuskegee Airmen were inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.[130]

In January 2012, MTA Regional Bus Operations officially changed the name of its 100th Street depot in New York City to the Tuskegee Airmen Depot. In 2012, George Lucas produced Red Tails, a film based on the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen.[131]

In 2012, Aldine Independent School District in Harris County, Texas named Benjamin O. Davis High School in honor of Benjamin O. Davis Jr.[132]

On 16 September 2019, the USAF officially named the winning T-X program aircraft the "T-7A Red Hawk" as a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, who painted their airplanes' tails red, and to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, one of the aircraft flown by the Tuskegee Airmen.[133][134]

On 2 February 2020, McGee brought out the commemorative coin for the Super Bowl coin flip.[121][135]

In 2021 the U.S. Mint issued an America the Beautiful quarter commemorating the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. The coin depicts a Tuskegee Airman suiting up with two P-51 Mustangs flying overhead and the motto "They fought two wars".[136]

On 25 April 2021, NASCAR Cup Series driver, Erik Jones honored the Airmen with a paint scheme at Talladega Superspeedway similar to the design of the P-51 Mustang they flew in World War II. Jones led 7 laps in the race, but crashed while running fourth on the final lap, and had to settle for a 27th-place finish.[137]

## Artistic depictions[edit | edit source]

* Red Tails Escorting the B17s, a watercolor by Kay Smith is in the collections of the Pritzker Military Library.[138]

There is a mural depicting the Tuskegee Airmen and their contributions at 39th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[139]

* Tuskegee Airmen, a watercolor mural by Andrew J. Woodstock is currently on display at the Air Zoo Aerospace and Aviation Museum in Portage, Michigan.[140]

## In popular culture[edit | edit source]

File:Wings for this Man.ogv

Tuskegee Airmen were featured in Wings for This Man (1945)

* The Homestead Grays (1978), a wartime novel by James Wylie, loosely based on the combat exploits of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group.
* 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.
* "Graveyard", an episode of Twelve O'Clock High (1966), starring Ossie Davis, Jon Voight, Lloyd Haynes.[141]
* The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), a film starring Laurence Fishburne, was produced and aired by HBO.
* "The Tuskegee Airmen", an episode of the documentary TV series Dogfights, was originally aired on the History Channel on 6 December 2007.
* The Tuskegee Airmen (1997) are represented in the G.I. Joe action figure series.[142]
* 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.[143]
* Silver Wings & Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly (2004) is a 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.[144]
* Red Tail Reborn is a documentary film about the restoration of an aircraft 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 produced by Lucasfilm and released in January 2012. The film was written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder, and directed by Anthony Hemingway.
* Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) 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 march once again!"). Another one of the Airmen (Craig Robinson) says to Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), "A lot of people didn't think we could fly, either ... thanks for clearing the runway for us."[citation needed]
* Black Angels Over Tuskegee (2015), an Off-Broadway play about the Airmen written and directed by Layon Gray, currently performs in New York City.

## Squadron images[edit | edit source]

* 99th Fighter Squadron patch.jpg

Patch of the 99th Fighter Squadron

* 100th Fighter Squadron patch.jpg

Patch of the 100th Fighter Squadron

* 301st Fighter Squadron - AETC - Emblem.png

Patch of the 301st Fighter Squadron

* 302d Fighter Squadron.jpg

Patch of the 302d Fighter Squadron

## See also[edit | edit source]

* 92nd Infantry Division
* 93rd Infantry Division
* 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion "Triple Nickle"
* 761st Tank Battalion
* Bessie Coleman – first African-American civil aviator
* Fly (2009 play about the Tuskegee Airmen)
* List of African-American Medal of Honor recipients
* List of Tuskegee Airmen
* List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes, 1942–1946, listing graduating Cadet Pilots by Class, Year and Class Type
* Military history of African-Americans
* Racial discrimination against African-Americans in the U.S. Military
* Red Ball Express
* Strategic bombing during World War II
* Port Chicago disaster
* Walterboro Army Airfield training site and memorial
* Willa Brown

## Explanatory notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ U.S. state and local laws enacted between 1876 and 1965 that mandated de jure racial segregation in all public activities were collectively known as the "Jim Crow laws"; the name derivation from a contemporary pejorative for Black Americans.[5]
2. ^ "Pursuit" being the U.S. term for "fighter" to May 1942.
3. ^ It may have been a lawsuit from a rejected candidate, that caused the USAAC to accept black applicants. Yancey Williams, an African American otherwise qualified for military pilot's training, filed suit in the District Court in Washington, DC for admittance to training. He was backed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
4. ^ The physical requirements that made it possible to fit in a fighter's cockpit with a height less than 70 inches, weight under 170 pounds, precluded many larger African-American men from eligibility.[49]
5. ^ Each B-25 bomber cost $175,000. The overall cost of the entire group was estimated at $20,000,000.[55]
6. ^ 15 of these aviators died while training in Michigan. Among them was 2nd Lieutenant Frank Moody, whose P-39 Airacobra emitted black smoke and cartwheeled into Lake Huron on 11 April 1944. His body was recovered shortly thereafter in the Saint Clair River. His aircraft was discovered by divers 70 years to the day after the accident.[58] Per the Alcona County Review:"The first African American pilots training by the United States Army Air Corps earned their wings at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama during World War II. Beginning in the spring of1943, fighter pilots from Tuskegee received advanced training in Michigan. "The relative safety of Midwestern America, along with weather in geographical conditions that approximated what aviators could expect to encounter in Europe, encouraged the military to use airfields at Selfridge northeast of Detroit, and at Oscoda on the shores of Lake Huron."[58]

## References[edit | edit source]

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91. ^ Moye 2010, p. 122.
92. ^ Haulman 2016, p. 29.
93. ^ Banerji, Shilpa. "Historians Question Record of Tuskegee Airmen" Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Diverse education, 19 June 2008; retrieved 20 March 2010.
94. ^ Haulman 2016, p. 55.
95. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen History" Archived 30 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Tuskegee airmen; retrieved 11 October 2010.
96. ^ "Buford Alvin Johnson". CAF RISE ABOVE. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
97. ^ Aviation History Magazine, March 2012.
98. ^ Francis & Caso 1997, pp. 402–4.
99. ^ Zieminski, Andy. "County's first black-owned airport becomes training ground." Archived 8 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Gazette.net: Maryland Community Newspapers Online, 7 February 2008; retrieved 20 March 2010.
100. ^ "Study Guide for Testing to Technical Sergeant" (PDF). p. 32.
101. ^ Gubert, Sawyer & Fannine 2002, p. 130.
102. ^ "General Daniel James Jr." United States Air Force (1978); retrieved 20 November 2015.
103. ^ Jeremy Bloom. "Wishes for Our Warriors". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
104. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen suit up, head to Iraq." USA Today, 22 October 2005; retrieved 20 March 2010.
105. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. "Inauguration Is a Culmination for Black Airmen." The New York Times via nytimes.com, 12 October 2008; retrieved 20 March 2010.
106. ^ "Latest Tuskegee Airmen News", tuskegeeairmen.org; retrieved 20 March 2010.
107. ^ President's Post Convention Letter to Members Archived 3 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine, tuskegeeairmen.org; 12 November 2019; retrieved 4 February 2020
108. ^ "Willie Rogers, Tuskegee Airman, dies at 101 after stroke". Air Force Times. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016. (conflicting info in source) - This entry requires additional research--no record showing Willie Rogers was a Red Tail pilot. In addition, no record exists showing any Tuskegee Airmen ground support personnel assigned in Italy was shot by German soldiers. See also Fox News webpage 21 November 2016. It is unclear if the veteran was vetted by the Harry A. Sheppard Research Committee of Tuskegee Airmen
109. ^ Pentagon identifies Tuskegee Airman missing from World War II, Washington Post, 27 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
110. ^ Ruane, Michael E. (11 August 2018). "Tuskegee airman's daughter gets a golden ring found at his wartime crash site". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
111. ^ "Tuskegee Airman Who Flew 142 WWII Combat Missions Dies at 99". NBC New York. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
112. ^ "One of last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Lt. Col. Robert Friend, has died". New York Daily News. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
113. ^ "Murdy Elementary School's Gratitude Project Honors Real Life Heroes". GGUSD. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
114. ^ Cook, Gina (16 January 2022). "Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee Dies at 102". WRC-TV. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
115. ^ S.Con.Res.15: A concurrent resolution authorizing the Rotunda of the Capitol to be used on 29 March 2007, for a ceremony to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen
116. ^ Evans, Ben. "Tuskegee Airmen awarded Congressional Gold Medal.", thetandd.com, 30 March 2007; retrieved 30 April 2007.
117. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site", nps.gov; retrieved 20 March 2010.
118. ^ a b c "History in the Headlines: The Tuskegee Airmen: 5 Fascinating Facts", History.com, 20 January 2012; retrieved 9 July 2012.
119. ^ "Subsequent Commissioned Judge Biographies - Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Historical Society". pacchs.org. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
120. ^ "Eugene Winslow, 81: Tuskegee Airman, Pioneering Designer", Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2001.
121. ^ a b Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles McGee Presents Coin In Super Bowl LIV Coin Toss,Baltimore Sun, 2 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
122. ^ Oblack, Sean. "Schiff Votes to Honor Tuskegee Airmen" Archived 26 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine , schiff.house.gov;, retrieved 20 March 2010.
123. ^ "Georgia General Assembly (2008) House Resolution 1023 Act 745" (pdf). Georgia General Assembly Legislation. Georgia General Assembly. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
124. ^ Majors, Dan. "Real Tuskegee airman approves of new film about their service in WW II: One good tale", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 21 January 2012; retrieved 5 February 2012.
125. ^ Ove, Torsten. "Tuskegee Airmen exhibit opens at airport", post-gazette.com, 13 September 2013; accessed 5 January 2017.
126. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. "Tuskegee Airmen Invited to Obama Inauguration." The New York Times, 9 December 2008; retrieved 20 March 2010.
127. ^ We've Completed Our Mission. Washington Post, 13 December 2008, p. B01.
128. ^ Longoria, R. Michael (20 January 2009). "Inauguration Brings Tuskegee Airmen to Bolling", U.S. Air Force website; retrieved 5 April 2016.
129. ^ "15-yr.-old becomes youngest black pilot to fly cross-country". NY Daily News. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
130. ^ Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.
131. ^ della Cava, Marco R. "George Lucas' 'Red Tails' salutes Tuskegee Airmen", USA Today, 5 January 2012.
132. ^ "First day comes with grade-school glitches". Houston Chronicle. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
133. ^ "Air Force announces newest Red Tail: 'T-7A Red Hawk'". AF.mil. Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019. "'The name Red Hawk honors the legacy of Tuskegee Airmen and pays homage to their signature red-tailed aircraft from World War II,' Donovan said. 'The name is also a tribute to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, an American fighter aircraft that first flew in 1938 and was flown by the 99th Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Army Air Forces' first African American fighter squadron.'"
134. ^ "This is the name of the Air Force's new training jet". Defense News. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
135. ^ "Tuskegee Airman brings out coin for Super Bowl coin flip". al.com. Advance Local. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020. "'Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, 100, brought out the commemorative coin for the Super Bowl coin flip and handed it to NFL referee Bill Vinovich.'"
136. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Quarter". U.S. Mint. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
137. ^ "Air Force Recruiting unveils Tuskegee Airmen paint scheme for Indy 500 and NASCAR races". Joint Base San Antonio. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
138. ^ Pritzker Military Library Dedicates Oral History Room With Painting Unveiling and Program About the Tuskegee Airmen, prweb.com; accessed 5 January 2017.
139. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen: They Met the Challenge". Mural Arts Philadelphia. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
140. ^ ArtPrize Grand Rapids, artprize.org; accessed 10 January 2020.
141. ^ ""12 O'Clock High" Graveyard (TV Episode 1966)". IMDb.
142. ^ "1997 G.I. Joe Classic Collection" Archived 17 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, mastercollector.com; retrieved 20 March 2010.
143. ^ Ambrose 2001, p. 27.
144. ^ Silver Wings & Civil Rights: The Flight to Fly Archived 20 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine, fight2fly.com; retrieved 20 March 2010.

### General and cited references[edit | edit source]

* Ambrose, Stephen E. (2001). The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany. New York City: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-74320339-9.
* Benton, Jeffrey C. (1999). They Served Here: Thirty-Three Maxwell Men. Maxwell AFB, Montgomery AL: Air University Press. ISBN 978-1585660742.
* Berry, Ben. Tuskegee Airmen: To the Moon, Mars and Beyond (Secrets Revealed). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011; ISBN 1460931076 OCLC 827831542
* Broadnax, Samuel L. Blue Skies, Black Wings: African-American Pioneers of Aviation. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2007; ISBN 0-275-99195-4.
* Bucholtz, Chris and Jim Laurier. 332nd Fighter Group – Tuskegee Airmen. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2007; ISBN 1-84603-044-7.
* Caldwell, Donald L.; Muller, Richard R. (2007). The Luftwaffe over Germany: Defense of the Reich. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1853677120.
* Caver, Joseph, Jerome Ennels, and Daniel Haulman. The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939–1949. Montgomery, Alabama: New South Books, 2011; ISBN 1-58838-244-3/ISBN 978-1-58838-244-3.
* Cotter, Jarrod. "Red Tail Project", Flypast No. 248, March 2002.
* Francis, Charles E.; Caso, Adolph (1997). The Tuskegee Airmen: The Men Who Changed a Nation. Boston: Branden Books. ISBN 0-82832029-2.
* Gubert, Betty Kaplan; Sawyer, Miriam; Fannine, Caroline M. (2002). Distinguished African-Americans in Aviation and Space Science. Westport CT: Greenwood. ISBN 978-1573562461.
* Haulman, Daniel L. "The Tuskegee Airmen and the Never Lost a Bomber Myth", The Alabama Review, Vol. 64, No. 1, January 2011.
* Haulman, Daniel L. (2012). Eleven Myths About the Tuskegee Airmen. Montgomery AL: New South Books. ISBN 978-1603061476.
* Haulman, Daniel L. (24 July 2013). "Misconceptions About the Tuskegee Airmen" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency (USAF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013.
* Haulman, Daniel L. (26 February 2016). "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology" (PDF). Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
* Hill, Ezra M. Sr. The Black Red Tail Angels: A Story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Columbus, Ohio: SMF Haven of Hope, 2006.
* Holway, John B. Red Tail, Black Wings: The Men of America's Black Air Force. Las Cruces, New Mexico: Yuca Tree Press, 1997; ISBN 1-881325-21-0.
* Homan, Lynn M.; Reilly, Thomas (2001). Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Gretna LA: Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-1565548282.
* Leuthner, Stuart and Olivier Jensen. High Honor: Recollections by Men and Women of World War II Aviation. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989; ISBN 0-87474-650-7.
* Lloyd, Craig (2000). Eugene Bullard, Black Expatriate in Jazz-Age Paris. Athens GA: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0820321929.
* McKissack, Patricia C. and Fredrick L. Red Tail Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. New York: Walker Books for Young Readers, 1996; ISBN 0-8027-8292-2.
* Moye, J. Todd (2010). Freedom Flyers: The Tuskeegee Airmen of World War II. New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-538655-4.
* Percy, William A. "Jim Crow and Uncle Sam: The Tuskegee Flying Units and the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II", The Journal of Military History, 67, July 2003.
* Ross, Robert A. Lonely Eagles: The Story of America's Black Air Force in World War II. Los Angeles: Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Los Angeles Chapter, 1980; ISBN 0-917612-00-0.
* Sandler, Stanley. Segregated Skies: All-Black Combat Squadrons of WWII. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992; ISBN 1-56098-154-7.
* Tillman, Barrett (2012). "Tales of the Red Tails; Inside the Tuskegee Legend: The men, the machines, the missions". Flight Journal (February 2012).
* Thole, Lou. "Segregated Skies." Flypast No, 248, March 2002.
* Tucker, Phillip Thomas. Father of the Tuskegee airmen, John C. Robinson. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, Inc., 2012; ISBN 1597974870, e-book ISBN 1597976067 OCLC 752678328
* Woodward, C. Vann; McFeely, William S. (2001). The Strange Career of Jim Crow. New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514690-5.

## External links[edit | edit source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tuskegee Airmen.

* Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
* Tuskegee Airmen Museum
* Double V: Civil Rights Struggle of the Tuskegee Airmen, an illustrated history book of the "Red Tails" by veteran Tuskegee Airmen (Lawrence P. Scott, William M. Womack) from Michigan, with photos from personal collections.
* Images of Tuskegee airmen, photos, paintings etc.
* "Red-Tail Angels": The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. ISBN 0802782922
* The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
* Funeral Program for Tuskegee Airman Cassius Harris
* African American Funeral Programs from the East Central Georgia Regional Library
* The Tuskegee Airmen at the 2012 BET Honors Awards
* Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. – Official Web Site
* The Red Tail Project
* African Americans in the U.S. Army
* The Negro Pilot Training Program
* "Tuskegee Airmen: Brett Gadsden Interviews J. Todd Moye", Southern Spaces 30 September 2010.
* Interview with historian Todd Moye regarding the Tuskegee Airmen on "New Books in History"
* Contemporary newsreel about "Negro Pilots" – YouTube
* The short film "Henry Browne, Farmer (1942)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive.
* The short film "Negro Pilots (1943)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive.
* The short film "The Negro Soldier (1943)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive.
* The short film "Tuskegee Airman Tribute (1990)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive.
* The short film "African Americans in World War II: Legacy of Patriotism and Valor (1997)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive.
* Works by or about United States Army Air Forces Fighter Group, 332nd in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
* Works by or about United States Army Air Forces Composite Group, 477th in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
* Tuskegee Airmen collected news and commentary at The New York Times
* Official Tuskegee Airmen painting created with the Tuskegee Airmen Association
* Photographs and information about the Tuskegee Airmen from World Digital Library
* Interview with three Tuskegee Airmen: Robert Martin, Dr. Quentin P. Smith, and Shelby Westbrook at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library in October 2008
* Citizen Soldier episode on Tuskegee Airmen recorded at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on 12 September 2013
* Tuskegee Airmen Collections University of California, Riverside
* Mr. Local History Project: Robert Terry from Basking Ridge and Tuskegee Airmen from New Jersey
* "Airmen and Adversity" WTVI, 1998-02-06, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
* U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit. Wings for This Man (1945) Tuskegee Airmen Documentary Video via YouTube. See Wings for This Man The short film "Wings for This Man (1945)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive.

* v
* t
* e

Tuskegee Airmen

Units|

* 99th Fighter Squadron
* 100th Fighter Squadron
* 301st Fighter Squadron
* 302nd Fighter Squadron
* 332d Fighter Group
* 477th Bomber Group

Shield of the 332nd Fighter Group

Air fields|

* Chanute Field
* Mather Field
* Moton Army Air Field
* Oscoda Army Air Field
* Selfridge Air Field
* Tuskegee Army Air Field

Pilots
and crew|

* Paul Adams
* Rutherford H. Adkins
* Halbert Alexander
* William N. Alsbrooka
* William Armstrong
* Lee Archer
* Robert Ashby
* Willie Ashley
* Charles P. Bailey
* William Bartley
* Howard Baugh
* Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler
* George R. Bolling
* Herbert V. Clark
* Granville C. Coggs
* Woodrow Crockett
* Harold Brown
* George L. Brown
* Roscoe Brown
* William A. Campbell
* Herbert Carter
* Eugene Calvin Cheatham Jr.
* Milton Crenchaw
* Lemuel R. Custis
* Clarence Dart
* Alfonza W. Davis
* Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (C/O)
* Charles DeBow
* Robert W. Deiz
* Gene Derricotte
* Lawrence Dickson
* Elwood T. Driver
* Charles W. Dryden
* Wilson V. Eagleson
* John Ellis Edwards
* Joseph Elsberry
* Raymond Cassagnol
* James Clayton Flowers
* Julius Freeman
* Robert Friend
* Willie H. Fuller
* Edward C. Gleed
* Joseph Gomer
* Alfred Gorham
* Oliver Goodall
* Charles B. Hall
* Vernon V. Haywood
* George Hardy
* Raymond V. Haysbert
* Percy Heath
* Mitchell Higginbotham
* Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.
* Clarence C. Jamison
* Alexander Jefferson
* Carl C. Johnson
* James H. Harvey
* William Lee Hill
* Lincoln Hudson
* William H. Holloman
* George J. Iles
* James Johnson Kelly
* James B. Knighten
* George L. Knox II
* Herman A. Lawson
* Walter I. Lawson
* Clarence D. Lester
* Wilmore B. Leonard
* John Lyle
* Hiram Mann
* Walter Manning
* Robert Martin
* Armour G. McDaniel
* Charles McGee
* Walter L. McCreary
* John Mosley
* Fitzroy Newsum
* James O. Plinton Jr.
* Wendell O. Pruitt
* Louis R. Purnell Sr.
* Price D. Rice
* Lawrence E. Roberts
* George S. Roberts
* Curtis C. Robinson
* Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.
* John W. Rogers Sr.
* Mac Ross
* Robert Searcy
* David Showell
* Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
* Graham Smith (pilot)
* Eugene Smith
* Calvin J. Spann
* Vernon Sport
* Lowell Steward
* Harry Stewart, Jr.
* Charles "Chuck" Stone Jr.
* Percy Sutton
* Alva Temple
* Roger Terry
* Lucius Theus
* Edward L. Toppins
* Robert B. Tresville
* Andrew D. Turner
* James A. Walker
* Spann Watson
* Luke J. Weathers
* Sherman W. White
* James T. Wiley
* Malvin "Mal" Whitfield
* Oscar Lawton Wilkerson
* Yancey Williams
* Romeo M. Williams
* Henry Wise Jr.
* Coleman Young

Incidents|

Freeman Field mutiny

Aircraft|

* Bell P-39 Airacobra
* Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
* North American B-25 Mitchell
* North American P-51 Mustang
* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Media|

| Fictional films|

* The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
* Hart's War (2002)
* Red Tails (2012)

|

Documentaries|

* Flight of the Red Tail (2009)
* Red Tail Reborn (2007)
* Wings for This Man

Other|

* Fly (play)
* Henry Browne, Farmer
* "Wingmen"

Legacy|

* Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk
* Red Tail Squadron
* Tuskegee University
* Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Other|

* Leslie Edwards Jr.
* Wilfred DeFour
* Maycie Herrington
* Buford A. Johnson
* Thomas Ellis
* Theodore Johnson
* Noel F. Parrish
* Wallace P. Reed
* Willie Rogers
* Thomas Franklin Vaughns

Related|

* African American military history
* Buffalo Soldier
* Golden Thirteen
* 366th Infantry Regiment
* U.S. Army Black Panthers
* United States Colored Troops

* Category

File:Us army air corps shield.svg USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in World War II

Stations|

| Tunisia|

* Bizerte
* Depienne
* Enfidaville
* Massicault
* Oudna
* Pont du Fahs
* Sainte Marie du Zit
* Soliman

|

Italy|

* Amendola
* Bari
* Castelltuccio
* Cattolica
* Celone
* Cerignola
* Fano
* Foggia
* Gioia del Colle
* Grottaglie
* Giulia
* Lesina
* Lucera
* Madna
* Manduria
* Marcianise
* Mondolfo
* Pantanella
* Piagiolino
* Pisa
* Rimini
* Salsosa
* San Giovanni
* San Pancrazio
* San Severo
* Spinazzola
* Sterparone
* Tortorella
* Torremaggiore
* Torretto
* Triolo
* Venosa
* Vincenzo

File:Fifteenth Air Force - Emblem (World War II).svg

Units|

| Wings|

* 5th Bombardment
* 47th Bombardment
* 49th Bombardment
* 55th Bombardment
* 304th Bombardment
* 305th Fighter (P)
* 306th Fighter

|

Groups|

| Bombardment|

* 2d Bombardment
* 97th Bombardment
* 98th Bombardment
* 99th Bombardment
* 301st Bombardment
* 376th Bombardment
* 449th Bombardment
* 450th Bombardment
* 451st Bombardment
* 454th Bombardment
* 455th Bombardment
* 456th Bombardment
* 459th Bombardment
* 460th Bombardment
* 461st Bombardment
* 463d Bombardment
* 464th Bombardment
* 465th Bombardment
* 483d Bombardment
* 484th Bombardment
* 485th Bombardment

|

Fighter|

* 1st Fighter
* 14th Fighter
* 31st Fighter
* 52d Fighter
* 82d Fighter
* 325th Fighter
* 332d Fighter

* United States Army Air Forces

* First
* Second
* Third
* Fourth
* Fifth
* Sixth
* Seventh
* Eighth
* Ninth
* Tenth
* Eleventh
* Twelfth
* Thirteenth
* Fourteenth
* Fifteenth
* Twentieth

* v
* t
* e

United States in World War II

Home front|

* American music during World War II
* United States aircraft production during World War II
* Arizona during World War II
* Nevada during World War II
* New Mexico during World War II
* G.I. Generation
* Schools at War

| American women|

* Women Airforce Service Pilots
* Women's Army Corps
* Woman's Land Army of America
* Rosie the Riveter

|

Minorities|

* Hispanic Americans in World War II
* Native Americans and World War II
* Puerto Ricans in World War II

File:US Navy 081110-N-5549O-080 The U.S. national flag waves graciously from the Iwo Jima memorial during a wreath laying ceremony in honor of the 233rd Marine Corps birthday at the Marine Corps War Memorial.jpg

Military participation|

* Army (Uniforms)
* Army Air Force
* Marine Corps
* Navy
* Service medals (Medal of Honor recipients)

| Events|

* List of battles
* Attack on Pearl Harbor
* Normandy landings
* Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

|

Minorities|

* African Americans (Tuskegee Airmen)
* Asian Americans
* Chinese Americans
* Japanese Americans
* Jewish Americans

Diplomatic participation|

* Lend-Lease
* Destroyers for Bases Agreement
* Project Hula

* v
* t
* e

Tuskegee University

Located in: Tuskegee, Alabama

Academics|

* Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences
* Arts and Sciences
* Business and Information Science
* Engineering
* Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health

Athletics|

* Tuskegee Golden Tigers
* Football
* Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium
* Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Campus|

* The George Washington Carver Museum
* Alabama Cooperative Extension System (History)

History|

* Booker T. Washington
* George Washington Carver
* Lewis Adams
* Tuskegee Airmen
* Tuskegee Institute Silver Anniversary Lecture
* Tuskegee Syphilis Study

* Founded: 1881

* v
* t
* e

Eleanor Roosevelt

* Chairwoman, Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (1961–1962)
* 34th First Lady of the United States (1933–1945)

United Nations|

* United States delegate, United Nations General Assembly (1946–1952)
* United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1947–1953, Chairperson 1946–1951)
* Universal Declaration of Human Rights
* Drafting committee
* Human Rights Day

First Lady of
the United States|

* "My Day" daily newspaper column, 1935–1962
* Co-Chair, Office of Civilian Defense
* Marian Anderson Lincoln Memorial Concert
* Tuskegee Airmen flight
* Arthurdale and Eleanor, West Virginia
* American Youth Congress
* National Youth Administration
* Black Cabinet
* 1940 Democratic National Convention speech
* Women in Defense
* Freedom House

Other events|

* First Lady of New York
* Presidential Commission on the Status of Women
* National Organization for Women
* Encampment for Citizenship

Life and homes|

* Val-Kill National Historic Site
* Val-Kill Industries
* Campobello home
* Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness
* Hyde Park home and gravesite

Legacy|

* Roosevelt Institute
* Roosevelt Institute Campus Network
* Roosevelt Study Center
* Eleanor Roosevelt Monument
* Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights
* Statue at the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial
* Eleanor Roosevelt College
* USS Roosevelt
* Marian Anderson: the Lincoln Memorial Concert (1939 film)
* Sunrise at Campobello (1958 play, 1960 film)
* The Eleanor Roosevelt Story (1965 film)
* Eleanor and Franklin (1971 biography)
* Eleanor: The Years Alone (1972 biography)
* Eleanor and Franklin (1976 film)
* Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977 film)
* Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries)
* The Roosevelts (2014 documentary)
* The First Lady (2022 TV series)

Related|

* United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights
* International Bill of Human Rights
* International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
* International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
* Morgenthau Plan
* Lorena Hickok

Roosevelt family|

* Franklin D. Roosevelt (husband
* presidency 1933–1941
* presidency 1941–1945)
* Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (daughter)
* James Roosevelt II (son)
* Elliott Roosevelt (son)
* Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (son)
* John Roosevelt II (son)
* Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves (granddaughter)
* Curtis Roosevelt (grandson)
* Sara Delano Roosevelt (granddaughter)
* Franklin Delano Roosevelt III (grandson)
* John Roosevelt Boettiger (grandson)
* James Roosevelt III (grandson)
* Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt (father)
* Anna Hall Roosevelt (mother)
* Hall Roosevelt (brother)
* Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (grandfather)
* Martha Stewart Bulloch (grandmother)
* Theodore Roosevelt (uncle
* presidency)
* Bamie Roosevelt (aunt)
* Fala (family dog)

* v
* t
* e

North American P-51 Mustang family

Military|

* P-51/F-51 Mustang
* A-36
* Mustang Mk.X
* CA-17/CA-18/CA-21
* PA-48 Enforcer

Civilian|

* Cavalier Mustang
* P-51R
* P-51XR

Notable aircraft|

* Dago Red
* Miss Ashley II
* Precious Metal
* Red Baron
* The Galloping Ghost
* Voodoo
* Worry Bird

Derivatives|

* P-82/F-82
* FJ-1
* T-28

Replicas|

* Bonsall DB-1
* Cameron P-51G
* FK-Lightplanes FK51
* Historical P-51
* Jurca Gnatsum
* Linn Mini Mustang
* Loehle 5151
* ScaleWings SW51
* Stewart S-51D
* Thunder Mustang
* Titan T-51
* W.A.R. P-51

Topics|

* Accidents and incidents
* Gorman dogfight
* Mantell UFO incident
* 2011 Reno Air Races crash
* Survivors
* Variants

Notable people/groups|

* Edgar Schmued
* Tuskegee Airmen

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*[e]: Edit this template