FREE ESSAY ON THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

The Tuskegee Airman 
For my term paper I chose the Tuskegee Airman. They 
will alway be the most influential air squadron during WWII. I 
think this because there where a lot racist people that did not 
want them to succeed, but they did more than just succeed. They 
became the first black Airforce pilots. 
It all started when President Roosevelt arranged a meeting 
in September 1940 with three African-American leaders and members 
of the Army and Navy. During the meeting, the leaders emphasized 
three points:(1)equal opportunity for jobs in the defense 
industry, (2)impartial administration of the new draftlaw, and 
(3)an opportunity for qualified blacks to learn to fly in 
desegrated units.*1*
A few days later after the meeting, the War Department
issued a policy directives stating that black men generally would 
be admitted into the armed force in numbers equivalent to their 
percentage in the civilian population.
But it was not until a couple months after the meeting in 
December 1940, that the Army Air Corps submitted a plan for the 
experiment to establish an all-black fighter squadron.
The plan was not official until July 19, 1941 when Major 
General Walter Weaver, commander of the U.S. Army's Southeastern 
Air Corps spoke at the Tuskegee Institute Campus.*2* It was 
then that 13 black men became the first black pilot trainees. 
Most of the trainees were college graduates, including a 
policeman, an army officer, a factory inspector, and several 
young men who were fresh out of college. 
Also, all of the men were trained at Chanute Air Field in 
Ratoul, Illinois at the US Army Air Corps Technical Training 
School. The men of this first squadron were so smart that they 
established a grade point average never equaled before or after 
their training.*3*
A few miles from the Tuskegee Campus, two air fields were 
built for the training of the new cadets. The two air fields were 
Moton Field and the Tuskegee Army Air Field(TAAF). About six 
miles from the fields was the town of Tuskegee. It was very 
hostile toward blacks, especially its sheriff.
At the TAAF base, very diverse entertainment was 
offered. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne, other 
celebrities like Joe Louis and the Camel Caravan Orchestra.
The first trainer plane used by the squadron was the PT-
17.*4*It was a biplane with unretractable landing gear. The 
instructor rode with the cadet during the first practice, whether 
the trainee knew how to fly or not.
Before the cadets could earn their wings, they had to 
complete three phases of the training. These were the 
primary, basic and advanced courses. In the primary and basic, 
the cadets would have ground school classroom courses and flying 
lessons. In the advanced, the cadets would concentrate on 
military flying.
On September 2, 1941, Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr. became 
the first black man to officially solo an aircraft as an officer 
of the Army Air Corps.*5* A few days after Davis's solo flight on 
December 7,1941, in the midst of class 42C's training, the 
Japanese bombed the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That 
next day the United States declared war, joining allies with 
Great Britain, France, and Russia in the fight against the Axis 
powers Germany, Italy and Japan.
It was not until July 3, 1942 that the fourth class of the 
Tuskegee Institute graduated. The men of this class became the 
cadets that would fill the 99th squadron, which became the first 
black squadron of the Army Air Corps.
Joining the pilots in the 99th were 14 other officers who 
provided support services and commanded the 35 enlisted men who 
serviced the planes. In nine months to a year, they had mastered 
skills the Air Force said should require at least five years. The 
99th then perfected their skills in the P-40, the plane they 
would fly in combat. 
After receiving word from their officers, in October 1942, 
the Inspector General of the Third Air Force said the 99th was 
in excellent condition and was ready for immediate departure.*6*
Finally on April 1, 1943, over a year after the graduation 
of the first class, word came "moving out." The next day the 99th 
climbed aboard a train that would take them to New York where 
they would board a troop ship. They did not board the ship until 
April 15,1943, which was bound for North Africa. Then the 99th 
finally reached Moroco on May 1,1943. When getting off the ship, 
they said immediately Arab children swarmed them asking for 
cigarettes and food.*7* 
While at the first camp in Oved, Nija, Josephine Baker, a 
well known black performer, entertained the troops. 
Also, while being at their first camp received their P-40l 
War Hawks and were joined by white pilots who did not care for 
the color of their skin. The first missions using these planes 
were destroying ground targets and escorting bombers. While 
escorting bombers, they were ordered never to pursue an enemy.
But on June 9, 1943, members of the 99th were escorting a 
group of 12 bombers. They were attacked by 4 German Me-109's.*8* 
Eight of the members stayed and escorted the bombers home. The 
other 4 pursued the Germans and almost lost the 99th's status as 
a battle-ready fighter squadron.
Throughout the rest of June and July the 99th participated 
in the bombing of Pantelleria. During this time history was 
made. On July 2, 1943, Lieutenant Charles Hall scored the first 
kill for the 99th, when he downed a FW-190 and damaged an Me-
109.*9* Later that day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was 
commander of American forces in Northern Africa at the time, 
visited the squadron and praised Hall for an excellent job.
A few days after the first kill, Pantelleria, a small island 
they were attacking surrendered. Also the same day Lieutenant 
Colonel Davis received a letter from the area commander, Colonel 
J.R. Hawkins, which congratulated them, and thanked them for 
their performance in the take down of Pantelleria.*10*
Within days of the surrender of Pantelleria, the 99th 
participated in the capture of the islands. The two islands were 
Lampedusa and Linosa. This was the first time in history that air 
power alone had completely destroyed all enemy resistance.
Then after the takedowns of the three islands, Lieutenant 
Colonel Davis was called back to the states to take command of 
the all black 332nd fighter group which consisted of the 100th, 
the 301st, and the 302nd with a technical group.*11*
The next year in the middle of January, the 99th and the 
79th moved to Capodichino Airfield, near Naples on the western 
coast of Italy. From there the squadrons supported the battle of 
Anzio.
During the Battle of Anzio on January 27, 1944 the 99th 
spotted a group of German fighter planes attacking ships near 
the beach of Naples. The 99th attacked the Germans and made five 
kills. Because of this battle, a few months later, in a study 
made by the Army's statistical unit, the 99th was said to be a 
superb tactical fighter unit.
Then finally, the 332nd got its action in the war. It was 
composed of the three groups 100th, 301st, and 302nd. They 
arrived in Italy in about early February of 1944. Their first 
assignment was to patrol Italy's western coast. But when they
encountered Germans, they tried to pursue but their planes were 
too slow to catch up. Then in late May, the 332nd joined other 
fighter groups in General Eaker's 15th Air force at Ramitelli. 
It was not until June 9, 1944, three days after D-day that 
the 332nd got their first important mission. The mission was to 
escort B-17 and B-24 bombers to destroy factories in Munich,*12* 
Germany and was led by Colonel Davis. As they neared Munich, 
Colonel Davis alerted that enemy planes were approaching the 
bombers from the rear. Then he ordered the 302nd to go get the 
enemies. They made five kills and had only one loss. The 
bombers accomplished their mission and told Colonel Davis when 
they got back to base that their formation flying and escort is 
the best they had ever seen. Because of this one mission Colonel 
Davis received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership.
In that same month Lieutenant Gwynne Pierson and 
Captain Wendall Pruitt received the Distinguished Flying Cross 
for their never before seen kills. They sank two enemy destroyers 
with only bullets. Some people did not believe them but when the 
photos from the wing cameras were developed, they had no reason 
not to believe the two pilots.
About a week later, they made more history by becoming the 
first fighter group with four squadrons with the 99th joining the 
332nd. The 99th was soon struck with illness and could not 
perform for a while. So during the July of 1944 the three Red 
Tail squadrons of 332nd flew mostly bomber escorts. The most 
important mission for that month was when they were flying a 
bomber escort mission to railroad yards in France and crossed the 
French coast. The pilots spotted 25 enemy fighter planes moving 
in to attack, but as the enemy planes came closer they saw the 
fighter plane escorting the bombers and turned away but left 
themselves open for attack. Four of their planes were taken down 
by Captain Joseph Elsberry and Lieutenant Harold Sawyer and by 
the end of July the 332nd had 39 aerial kills.
In August, the 33rd continued its bomber escort missions to 
enemy oil fields. The Allies were about to begin a new offensive 
in southern France, and planned to invade the region on August 
15. Now that the war had moved north, the Allies needed southern 
French ports as entry points for troops and supplies. Assisting 
in the effort to reduce resistance to Allied invaders, the 332nd 
escorted bombers sent to attack submarine docks, bridges, 
airfields, and radar stations. Once the invasion force had landed 
the 332nd escorted bomber missions to attack enemy troops, 
bridges, and supply and communication centers.
By September, the pilots of the 332nd had become known as 
skilled bomber escorts. Praise for the Red Tails came in from 
many bomber squadrons. On September 10, 1944, the top brass came 
to pay its respects. In a full dress ceremony with the 15th Air 
Force band and troops passing in the review, four pilots were 
presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross. General Davis 
pinned the medal on his son, honored for his leadership of one of 
the first bomber escort missions to Munich, during which five 
enemy planes were shot down. 
Captain Elsberry and Lieutenant Clarence Lester were honored 
for shooting down three planes each during single missions and 
Lieutenant Jack Holsclaw was cited for achieving two aerial 
victories during one mission.
During most of January 1945, the 332nd was kept in by the 
rain and the snow. The Squadrons only flew 11 missions. The 
weather improved in February which led them to 39 missions. As 
the pilots flew around Germany, all they saw was smoke coming 
from the piles of debris. Also during the February, the squadron 
lost five pilots and planes to the aerial battles.
In early March, Colonel Davis received word that the 302nd 
squadron was being inactivated and disbanded. He did not know why 
but believed it was because the Air Force was having trouble 
supplying black pilots to four black fighter groups.
But it was not until 1948 that President Harry S. Truman 
issued an executive order. This order eventually ended 
segregation in the US military. 
In this paper I have represented my thesis statement with 
good facts and hard evidence that the Tuskegee Airman were and 
always will be the most influential fighter unit during WWII.
Bibliography
Bilbiography
#1.Mckissack, Patricia and Fredrick Red Tail Angles
United States : Walker Publishing Company, 1995.
#2.Harris, Jacqueline The Tuskegee Airman 
New Jersey: Dillon Press,1996.
#3.Hart Philip S. Fly Free Minneapolis,Minnesota:
Lerner Publications Company,1992.
#4.Rose Robert A. Lonely Eagles Los Angelos,CA:
Tuskegee Airman Inc.
#5. "Tuskegee Airman:A Brief History" Tuskegee Airman
November 26,1999 http://www.ebonywings.com/tuskegee
airman.