...BACKGROUND PAPER ON THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN 1. This background paper will examine the Tuskegee Airmen. It will cover their flying training program, combat record, and the overall historical significance. 2. First, the flying training program will be covered. In 1939, the United States (U.S.) government supported the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT) Act which ultimately sponsored African-American flight training and would spawn the Tuskegee Airmen.1 This Act authorized a limited number of schools to provide CPT. These included Tuskegee Institute, Howard University, Hampton Institute, and the Coffey School of Aeronautics.2 Tuskegee cadets received numerous ground school classes in meteorology, navigation, and instruments. Upon completing the ground requirements, they received 60 hours of flight training which included a solo cross-country flight.3 After completing the primary training, they moved to secondary training at Tuskegee Army Air Field where they would receive training on more complex aircraft.4 During the period of this program, 1941 to 1945, over 1,000 black aviators were trained at Tuskegee.5...
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...1. This background paper covers a brief history of the Tuskegee Airmen. The main points include the aircraft the Tuskegee Airmen flew, their combat record, and their overall historical significance. 2. The Tuskegee Airmen flew a variety of aircraft throughout World War II. During their time as part of the 12th Air Force, they flew patrol and attack missions aboard the P-39 and P-40.1 The P-39 was a unique airplane in that the engine was located behind the cockpit. The P-39 was equipped with a 37 millimeter cannon, four .50-caliber machine guns, and up to 500 pounds of bombs externally.2 The P-40 was a single engine, single seat, fighter aircraft that proved to be a versatile and successful aircraft during the war.3 When the Tuskegee Airmen were reassigned to the 332nd Fighter Group of the 15th Air Force, they flew the P-47 and P-51 airplanes.4 The P-47 was a single engine, single seat airplane with eight .50-caliber machine guns and up to 2,500 pounds of bombs or rockets.5 The P-51 “Mustang” was a...
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...September 11, 2013 By Timothy Hale, U.S. Army Reserve Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 Phyllis J. Wilson, the U.S. Army Reserve command chief warrant officer, shared what she sees as the top five qualities: strong character, strong leadership skills, technical savvy, across the board competence, and the capacity to be a counselor, adviser and mentor. "We want some of the best NCOs to come into the Army warrant officer corps," Wilson said. "You've got to be extremely good at your skill set: being a strong leader and knowing your technical skills so you can advise -- the same things that the rest of the Army leadership talks about." She said the competence a warrant officer must have is not only the technical aspect of their MOS, but also tactical competence. "Character -- that's not exchangeable for anything else," Wilson said. The path to becoming a warrant officer is not unlike the enlisted or officer career track. Once recruited, warrant officer candidates attend the five-week Warrant Officer Candidate School, known as WOCS, at Fort Rucker, Ala. "It's a very vigorous course of training," Peak said. "The course is designed for the cadre to evaluate the candidates' skills, qualities, and traits to ensure they are commensurate to what the Army expects of a warrant officer one." He said that individual skills and leadership capabilities are tested along with transition training from being enlisted to officer. * Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc...
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...Language Arts / Social Studies 23 February, 2015 The Tuskegee Airmen You’re flying through the sky in a P-47 during WWII, patrolling an island for enemy activity. It is a peaceful day until a fighter squadron of twelve attacks your squadron of six. Your squadron fights off the enemy and returns to base camp only to be treated like a second-class citizen. This is the life the Tuskegee Airmen chose by becoming aviators in a time of segregation in the military. It started when Japan attacked the naval ships at Pearl Harbor. The president called on every American to help fight in the war including African Americans. The most that African Americans could do at the beginning of the war is join and become foot...
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...simultaneously fought two wars. This book really talked about how they had to fight Hitler and segregation. Hitler ruled the skies in Europe and Jim Crow ruled the skies in the US. Young black men came to Tuskegee, Alabama in the early 1940s, when the US Army opened pilot training to African Americans. Tuskegee was chosen as the place for the first black military pilot training because Tuskegee Institute had already been training black civilian pilots, Tuskegee Institute lobbied for the contract to operate a primary flight school for pilots, the region had more days of good flying weather than many other...
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...The Tuskegee Airmen were the group of black pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black pilots in the United States Air force. They overcame many racial barriers in their training and during their time in the air force. The careers of the Tuskegee airmen were great strides in the civil rights movement because they showed that African Americans were capable of the same things as whites. The Tuskegee Airmen had great training, they had to go through many racial challenges, and on top of that they were some of the most successful pilots in World War 2. Training The Tuskegee airmen were trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee institute was an all African-American Institute founded by Booker T. Washington. The Tuskegee Institute received a contract from the military and provided training to African Americans while the military built a segregated base. The Tuskegee Institute provided training in meteorology, navigation and instruments. All of the cadets that did very well in these classes were moved to the Tuskegee Army Air Field. The Air Corps provided aircraft, textbooks, flying clothes, parachutes and...
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...The Tuskegee airmen helped the US come to a victory. Tuskegee airmen were a popular name of a group of African-American military pilots (fighter and bomber) who fought in World War II. Formally, they formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. Tuskegee Airmen- The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African Americans to serve as military advisors in the US armed forces, distinctly for flying during World War. The African Airmen were selected from what the army referred to as “an experiment”; the forming of the segregated 99th Fighter Squadron. This squadron swiftly dubbed the Tuskegee Airmen. At the start, the public didn't have the respectful for the airmen and had absolutely no gratefulness...
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...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...
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...The airmen were the first military aviators to be African American in the U.S. Army Air Corps. They were trained in Alabama at the Tuskegee Army Air Field. The Airmen flew in Europe and North Africa during World War II. Their flying earned them many flying crosses and this lead to the integration of the armed forces. During the earlier years many African Americans wanted to pursue the dream of becoming a pilot. Although, obstacles were always in the way of that dream. There was a racist widespread belief that African Americans could not learn to operate or fly an advanced aircraft. However, in 1939 the government decided to establish flights schools at college, but refused to do so at black colleges. An African American student soon lodged...
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...The Tuskegee Airmen were essential to the complete integration of the United States armed forces. Although the Tuskegee Airmen were not the first black service members to distinguishably serve their country, they were able to do so during a time of progression in the black community and turmoil in the world. The Tuskegee Airmen represented the diverse and deeply patriotic African American population on an international front. After World War I, several studies were conducted, in reference to the role that African Americans played in the military. The results were biases and based in prejudice and stereotypes of the past. “The study concluded that black men were cowards, poor technicians and fighters, lacking initiative and resourcefulness. The study also stated that the Negro was a subspecies of the human population.” The study also reported that the average brain of a black man only weighed thirty-five ounces compared to the forty-five ounces of an average white man. These test results provided more than enough evidence for military leaders that the military need to continue its practice of segregation. With World War II quickly advancing on the heels of America, the War College was commissioned to do another study into the role of blacks in the military. This study did not differ very much from the previous report, but it did suggest that more blacks be allowed to join the Army. Despite the need for more soldiers, this did not change the positions that blacks were given...
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...(Americans) move forward while incorporating past experiences to overcome this ever pressing issue that has plagued the U.S. for so long? The answers might very well be a combination of understanding our past, while educating and changing the mentality of our nation. In this paper, I will focus on the racial discrimination and segregation the African American population suffered from, and fought to abolish throughout our history to the present day. I will cover events dating back to 1865, such as the “Black Codes”, and the “Colfax Massacre”, leading into events such as the Chicago Race Riots, to more current events that dated around the mid to late 1900’s such as the “Harlem Renaissance”, “The Freedom Flyers”, otherwise known as the Tuskegee Airmen of the 1940’s, and the “Civil Rights Act”. The chain of events that took place that helped shape the society that we live in today, was not always pleasant. Throughout the years from 1865 to 1895, African-Americans that lived in this period went through arguably the most horrific chain of events in African American history. Many blacks in the south were met with prejudice, bondage, and slavery. In 1864, after the Union Army occupied the state of Louisiana, only a small population of African-Americans were allowed to vote in the state, based on their service in the Union...
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...The Tuskegee Airmen were given their name primarily because of the African American flyers and maintenance crews. The crew were resistance to their presence in a former all-white Army Air Cops., but the men in the fleet were also the best- Tuskegee Airmen that fought alongside white groups. Their great achievements led them to be the 332nd purist group in the fighter squadrons. Making them the first black bomber group that was also part of the Tuskegee Airmen. Pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance, and support staff, and instructors all played a major role in assisting them. The Tuskegee Airmen were a fleet of P-51 mustangs that were led by a man named Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, the commander of the fleet at the time. The fleet were crew mates that would fly during World War II, bombing the heart of Germany and then flying back in one piece. The Air craft was better than the airplanes of its making at the time. During their time flying to Germany and over Berlin the fleet shot down three German jets that day, earning them the all-black 332nd Fighter Group a Distinguished Unit Citation....
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...The Tuskegee airmen are one of the most famous fighter groups of WW2. They are all African American pilots. In 200 escort missions they didn't lose a single bomber. They were the first black servicemen. The tuskegee airmen were an important part of WWII. their commanding officer, their experience in the army air corps, and their training at tuskegee institute are all significant parts of these aviators life. The commanding officer of the Tuskegee airmen was Benjamin O Davis jr. davis was the son of an army general. he was the founder and leader of the tuskegee airmen. He was inducted into the national aviation hall of fame. Davis was a graduate of west point in 1936, he was a member of the first class of five cadets from tuskegee to earn...
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...publication: “The Tuskegee Airman Planes Last Flight” is the topic of this reader’s response. The story is about air force captain Matt Quy and his PT-13D airplane. In the story Cpt. Quy and his wife bought the plane, and with the help of friends fully restored it. While researching the plane they found out it was used in Tuskegee training, which led to the Quy family donating the plane to the National Museum of African American History. Edwards’s publication was suitable for the Smithsonian Magazine because it’s a story that should be significant in African American history. It’s a historical event that should be in the biggest museum and research complex magazine. Almost everybody that’s a fan of history or as a hobby reads The Smithsonian. Owen Edwards’s purpose for narrating this event was to honor the Tuskegee airmen, and to also highlight the generosity of the Quy family. Edwards recalled events that took place like the airshows plus the mechanical work for the plane. The Quy family dedicated a lot of time and money to the restoration of the old airplane. Edwards’s attitude made him seem proud to witness the last flight of the plane. To see the plane go from wrecked to fully operational had to be astonishing. He even said something on the likes of that the final landing was very quiet while people in the attendance were aww struck. Even in a hangar full of faster and bigger planes the PT-13D stood out the most. Once finding out the plane was used at Tuskegee training they...
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...1. The purpose of this paper is to cover the Tuskegee Airmen (TA). Topics covered are the aircraft the TA flew, impact on United States Air Force desegregation, and the overall historical significance. 2. Over the course of World War II (WWII) the TA flew several different airframes. When the 99th Fighter Squadron first deployed to North Africa in 1943, they flew Curtiss P-40 fighter aircraft while performing patrol and other tactical missions. When the 332nd Fighter Group was deployed to Italy, where the 99th already was stationed, they began flying Bell P-39’s attacking ground targets. After a mission shift to bomber escort, the TA shifted to flying Republic P-47 aircraft. The final and most notable airframe flown by the TA was the North American P-51 Mustang that the TA started flying in 1944.1...
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