Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen was the popular name of a group of African American pilots who flew with distinction for the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.

Combat

The 99th was ready for combat duty during the USA's first actions and was transported to Casablanca, Morocco on the USS Mariposa. From there, they travelled by train to Oujda near Fes. From here, they made their way to Tunis to operate against the Luftwaffe. The flyers and ground crew were largely isolated by the segregation policies of the military, and left with little guidance from battle-experienced pilots. The 99th's first mission was to take the island of Pantelleria. For a time they were attached to the 33rd Fighter Group, whose commander left them out of most missions. Things changed when they were moved to Sicily and attached to the 79th Fighter Group, whose commander involved them fully. The Airmen were initially equipped with P-39 Airacobras, later with P-47 Thunderbolts, and finally with the airplane that would become their signature, the P-51 Mustang. The squadron took bomber escort duty, helping make the Anzio Campaign a success. Here they quickly racked up an impressive combat record, often entering combat against greater numbers of superior planes, and coming out victorious. The Luftwaffe soon awarded them the nickname, "Schwarze Vogelmenschen," or Black Birdmen, and started to avoid them when possible. The Allies called the Airmen "Redtails" or "Redtail Angels" because of the distinctive crimson paint jobs on their aircrafts' vertical stabilizers. Although bomber groups would request Redtail escort when possible, most bomber crewmen never knew at the time that the Redtails were black. The Redtails were the only fighter group who never lost a bomber to enemy fighters.

Related Topics:
Casablanca - Morocco - Oujda - Fes - Tunis - Luftwaffe - Pantelleria - 33rd Fighter Group - Sicily - 79th Fighter Group - P-39 Airacobra - P-47 Thunderbolt - P-51 Mustang - Anzio Campaign

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By this point more graduates were ready for combat, and the all-black 332nd Fighter Group had been created from three new squadrons, the 100th, 301st and 302nd. Under the command of Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, these were moved to mainland Italy, where they were eventually joined by the 99th. The Airmen eventually served on bombing raids into Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Germany. The 477th, a bomber group, was also forming in the US, but completed training too late to see action.

Related Topics:
332nd Fighter Group - Benjamin O. Davis - Italy - Austria - Hungary - Poland - Germany

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By the end of the war the 332nd had claimed over 400 Luftwaffe aircraft, a destroyer sunk only by machine gun fire, and numerous fuel dumps, trucks and trains. They flew more than 15,000 sorties and 1500 missions. The unit received recognition through official channels, and won two Presidential Unit Citations, 744 Air Medals, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, fourteen Bronze Stars and several Silver Stars.

Related Topics:
Presidential Unit Citation - Air Medal - Distinguished Flying Cross - Bronze Stars - Silver Stars

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