Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | History of the Tuskegee Airmen | History 130 Term Paper |

8/24/2015 |

Abstract During the course of World War II members of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, later changed to 99th Fighter Squadron, fought bravely for a nation that didn’t respect them. The Red Tails became one of the finest groups of aviators in American aviation history. They were an effective and efficient group and earned 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, and 8 Purple Hearts. They also received 3 Distinguished Unit Citations, 2 for the 99th and 1 for the entire fighter group (Martin, 2014, p. 78). They accomplished all this with less training, inadequate facilities, and less rest than their white counterparts. Their bomber escort missions proved they were willing to sacrifice their own personal glory for the safety of others and the completion of the mission. The Red Tails of the 332nd were true American heroes and valued aviators!

The story of the Tuskegee Airman is one that has helped shape America’s perception of not only aviation but the role that the black community could play in this country’s development. The idea that a black man could fly a plane as well as the whites was very controversial and thus not even considered. Due to the racism of this period in America blacks had to put up with bigotry everywhere they turned. The Tuskegee Airman changed a lot of people’s minds on how blacks in America were perceived. In May 1939 Chauncey E. Spencer and Dale L. White flew from Chicago to Washington D.C. to plead their case for black aviators in the war. The National Airmen’s Association and the Chicago Defender sponsored this long and historic 3,000-mile round trip (Tucker, 2011, p. 222). By absolute chance these two brave and determined men ran into Senator Truman from Missouri. During their talks with Senator Truman they were able to discuss their historic flight from Chicago as well as show off their aircraft. Senator Truman was receptive to the idea of black aviators entering the CPTP (Civilian Pilots Training Program) and ended up playing a critical role in convincing Franklin Roosevelt, his wife Eleanor, as well as other top government officials to accept black aviators into the CPTP (Tucker, 2011, p. 222). The civilian pilot training act was officially approved in June 1939. It was this act that allowed black pilots who were already trained to enter the Army Air Corps (Tucker, 2011, p. 223). However, even with this act being approved, black aviators still had their share of people against them. One name in particular was General Henry “Hap” Arnold, but despite his objections the government was more concerned about boosting its aviator numbers than they were about racism. This was the first large turning point in America as it finally allowed blacks to be on the same level as the whites. With the federal government on board to allow black aviators, it was John C. Robinson who was the first to volunteer his services to the Tuskegee Institute. However, it wasn’t until March 22, 1939 when President Patterson of the Tuskegee Institute offered his facilities to the federal government in order to begin the training of train black pilots and mechanics in the field of aviation (Tucker, 2011, p. 223). Thus, the Tuskegee Army Airfield was born. Tuskegee Army Airfield began construction in the early months of 1941 in Macon County. At this point the Army Air Corps began creating a training program for the pilots and ground crew of what would become the 99th Fighter Squadron and America’s first all-black unit (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 43-45). In June, the government awarded Tuskegee a contract for primary flight training which allowed them to expand its aviation program. In 1943, Moton Field named after Tuskegee’s second President Robert Russa Moton was completed. Due to the fact that the 99th was to be an all-black unit a full group of ground support personnel had to be trained as well. Training for the Tuskegee pilots happened in two phases. Phase 1 or the primary phase took place at Moton field; yet, phase 2 which was the more intense training took place at TAAF (Tuskegee Army Airfield) (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 43-45). The first group of pilots transferred from Moton field to TAAF in November of 1941. Only one month later the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took place which propelled the United States into World War II. Knowing how important aviation would be in this war the War Department announced plans to establish a second segregated aviation unit, the 100th Fighter Squadron. Because of all these events the pace and training had to expand, and by the end of 1942 there were two additional segregated units which were the 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons. The first class finally graduated the TAAF on March 7, 1942 (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 43-45). This first class is what would become the 99th Fighter Squadron and the very first all-black flying unit. Now with the 99th stood up, there was a great deal more adversities that they had to deal with. Not only would they have to deal with the hardships of war they were also dealing with segregation and racism at home. During this period the policy “separate but equal” became a very popular slogan for the whites. It was considered the most efficient way to run the Army. It provided that as long as the training and facilities were equal the segregation of the blacks was not discriminatory. However, the facilities and training were not equal. Typically the black pilots’ and maintainers’ aircraft were not as up-to-date as the white pilots. Their crew quarters were also what most would consider below the standards of the whites. Sadly, the War Department stated that they could not integrate blacks into the white community since most of the whites deemed blacks inferior. The white pilots expressed that they simply functioned better being segregated and that abolishing that would make them less combat effective (Osur, 1977, pp. 39-51). The black flying units like the 99th also dealt with this segregation at the officers’ clubs where they were not welcomed or even allowed to enter. Even when the War Department tried to send the black flying units into a combat area, they were met with heavy opposition such as General Henry Arnold. His argument was that since the black flying units was only an experiment there was no need to waste valuable resources in order to facilitate this transition (Osur, 1977, pp. 39-51). The 99th Pursuit Squadron finally gets their chance at combat operations when they are sent to North Africa. Their first combat mission on June 2, 1943 was against the island of Pantelleria. On June 9, 1943, six pilots from the 99th became the first black pilots to engage in aerial combat (Sherman, "The Tuskegee Airmen"). Granted while neither side lost an aircraft on this day it was a huge step forward for the black pilots. Shortly after, the Italian garrison on Pantelleria surrendered in large part because of the massive air attacks. Upon completion of this mission the 99th joined up with the 324th in El Haouria on June 29th (Sherman, "The Tuskegee Airmen"). Within just a few days of arriving Lieutenant Charles B. Hall downed the first German aircraft for the black pilots, a FW-190. However, it was shortly after this that the 99th moved over to Licata (Sherman, "The Tuskegee Airmen"). Granted despite all this there were still those who considered the black flying units inferior and not worth the time and resources being spent on them. So far during their time in theater most of their missions had consisted of strafing and bombing with the occasional air-to-air engagement. This was largely due to the fact that the upper chain didn’t think black pilots to be good enough to engage the Germans in the skies. Thus, they were to clean up in the areas abandoned by German fighters. While they did earn a Distinguished Flying Cross for their missions in Pantelleria, it was not what they were hoping for or expecting. The reality was that the entire time the 99th was in theater they were under constant scrutiny by those who wanted and expected to see them fail as well as those who were hoping for success (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 49-71). The 99th was later joined by the 100th, 301st and 302nd to complete the first all-black fighter group. At this point Lieutenant Colonel Davis left his command of the 99th to head back to the United States to take command of the 302nd. This is when one of the major opponents of the black pilots Colonel Momyer decided to strike (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 49-71). Colonel Momyer submitted a report designed to discredit the “experiment” that was the black flying units. This report started off by praising the black pilots stating “they had excellent discipline and the ability to accomplish and execute orders promptly” (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 49-71). However, they also seemed to disintegrate when attacked and showed a lack of aggressive spirit”. Momyer’s idea was to turn the 99th, 100th, 301st and 302nd into noncombat units and give their aircraft to white pilots. Upon hearing of this report Lieutenant Colonel Davis defended the men of the 99th saying “they had less training than the white pilots before being sent into theatre” and “that their abilities have been consistently improving and that they should be allowed to remain a front-line combat unit” (Stentiford, 2012, pp. 49-71). His testimony was good enough that the War Department saw no reason to remove them from combat, but they did remove them from Colonel Momyer’s fighter group. This was the single closest moment that the black flying units came to not being allowed to fly in combat again. Now with this issue behind them the 99th met up with the 79th Fighter Group for their first real test. The 99th flew air cover in Operation Shingle. This mission gave the pilots of the 99th more opportunities to engage German aircraft and to earn some recognition for themselves (Moye, 2010, pp. 104-122). The black American fighter pilots of the 99th Fighter Squadron shot down 12 German aircraft over a two day period in January of 1944. Finally the black pilots and the so called “experiment” had proven themselves. General Arnold who was one of the biggest opponents to the black pilots even had to congratulate them on their performance. However, with the increased opportunities came increasingly more difficult missions. Now not only did these black pilots have to deal with the Luftwaffe (German Air Forces), but now they would also have to deal with massive anti-aircraft installations (Moye, 2010, pp. 104-122). Lieutenant Samuel Bruce died while attempting to crash-land his severely damaged P-40. He was the third pilot to die in combat operations in the Mediterranean Theater (Moye, 2010, pp. 104-122). Finally receiving some real combat experience and the respect of some of their fellow white pilots, members of the 99th began to rotate back to the United States to provide combat training for some of the new pilots. Granted, their homecoming was not without hardships. The war overseas in many ways followed them home. Between race riots in Michigan and still the segregation from whites it didn’t seem like anything had changed for them. In May 1944 the 332nd was transferred to the 306th Wing and this would start the missions that the Redtails would be most known for. Even though this campaign would start out much like their original missions with more bombing and strafing of ground targets, it would eventually grow into some of their more memorable accomplishments. At this point Colonel Davis’s pilots were flying the P-47 Thunderbolt, one of America’s top-rated fighter aircraft of the time. Their first few missions were mundane with point patrols and very few sightings of enemy aircraft. However, on June 7th during an Allied invasion of Europe the 332nd saw its first aerial combat action (Homan, 2001, pp. 121-123). As American B-17 and B-24 bombers headed towards Munich, the 99th and 332nd flew cover. With heavy incoming attacks from German aircraft General Arnold ordered the fighters to go on the offensive. During their next mission on June 9th pilots from the 301st and 302nd flew escort. They met up with the bombers and due to mechanical issues had to spread out as not all the bombers were together. On approach to Udine area the bombers were met with opposition forces (Homan, 2001, pp. 121-123). Pilots from the 301st and 302nd quickly jumped into action to protect the slow-flying bombers, and because of their quick reactions and excellent combat efficiency no bombers were lost and the mission was successful. Only one American pilot lost their life, Lieutenant Rogers. Upon completion of this mission the fighter group received a short message from one of the white bomber pilots stating “your formation flying and escort is the best we have ever seen” (Homan, 2001, pp. 121-123). Col. Davis received the Distinguished Flying Cross for leading this mission. By June 1944, pilots from the 99th had flown more than 298 missions and a total of 3,277 sorties (Homan, 2001, pp. 129-136). The 99th and 332nd finally were transitioning to the new P-51 Mustang, arguably the best American warplane made. Mechanics from the 332nd quickly painted the tails of the aircraft red for easier identification by the bombers they were escorting and thus the Red Tails were born. After several more successful escort missions the white bomber pilots began to refer to the Red Tails as the “Red Tailed Angels”. July 12, 1944 ended up being a day that most of the 332nd will never forget. While flying escort for the B-24 bombers they were attacked by a large number of enemy aircraft. This combat sequence was quick but vicious. Captain Joseph Elsberry shot down three enemy aircraft and became the first black pilot to score 3 kills in one day (Homan, 2001, pp. 129-136). As the war raged on, the experience and confidence of the 332nd grew exponentially while the exact opposite was true of the German pilots. With so many devastating losses the German forces were turning out pilots as quickly as possible. Due to this the experience levels just were not the same as they were at the start of the war. This was a major turning point in World War II. The end of the war was finally in sight. By the end of World War II the Red Tails had been credited with exploding one Italian Destroyer turned German Torpedo ship (in the Adriatic Sea, near Trieste); shooting-down 109 planes in the air (including the three ME-262 jets); and destroying more than 140 German and Italian planes on the ground ("RED TAIL ESCORTS"). With only 66 pilots killed in action and a little more than 30 that had been captured as a result of bailing out over enemy territory the Red Tails served as a dominant force. The Red Tails had fought the Axis powers and the racial tensions that dominated this period of American history and came out as heroes. These brave men fought, died, and maintained a high level of integrity during the course of a brutal war.

Reference Page
Tucker, P. (2011). Aviations Visions Burn Brightly. In Father of the Tuskegee airmen, John C. Robinson (p. 222). Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books.

Stentiford, B. (2012). The Experiment. In Tuskegee airmen (pp. 43 - 45). Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood.

Osur, A. (1977). The Army Air Forces: Blacl Officers and Flying Units. In Blacks in the Army Air Forces during World War II: The problem of race relations (pp. 39-51). Washington D.C., Washington D.C.: Office of Air Force History :.

Sherman, S. (2000, February 1). The Tuskegee Airmen. Retrieved August 13, 2015, from http://acepilots.com/usaaf_tusk.html

Stentiford, B. (2012). Deployment. In Tuskegee airmen (pp. 49-71). Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood.

Moye, J. (2010). Combat on Several Fronts. In Freedom flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II (pp. 104-122). New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Homan, L., & Reilly, T. (2001). In the Skies Over Europe. In Black Knights: The story of the Tuskegee airmen (pp. 119-127). Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Pub.

RED TAIL ESCORTS. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2015, from https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/RED-TAIL-ESCORTS-Red-Tails

Martin, J. (2014). African American war heroes (p. 78). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, LLC.