Tuskegee Airmen African-Americans Who Led the Way African-Americans fought many battles in World War II, on land, sea & air. The Tuskegee Airmen fought for the right to fly and fight for their country. But where did they come from? And how did they become aviators, despite the racism of the time? The Tuskegee Institute and its formation, is what ultimately gave birth to the Tuskegee Airmen. What was the Tuskegee Institute? The Tuskegee Institute started as an educational facility for blacks, who were banned from almost all colleges. The institute began to specialize in aviation and this led to training black aviators. During the commencement exercises of 1934 the first airplane landed on the ground in an oat field, flown by John C. Robinson, Chicago aviator. This marked Tuskegee's first attempt to enter the air age. In 1939, the establishment of an aviation course at Tuskegee was added. The aviation course was a direct result of blacks crusade to be included into the nation's military component. One goal of the crusade was admitting blacks into the Air Corps. The aviation course was meant to train black pilots. After their flight training, there were a select few that made a major impact in the war through their excellent piloting skills. These men are known today as the Tuskegee Airmen. The Air Corps drew its strength from three important sources; black America's high regard for military service, the increase in enthusiasm for blacks in aviation and the emergence of civil rights as a national issue during the 1930's. In March 1942, 5 men received the silver wings of Army Air Force pilots: George S. Roberts, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Charles H. BeBow, Jr., Mac Ross, and Lemuel R. Custis. These men completed standard Army flight classroom instruction and many hours of flying time. This marked a milestone in US military Aviation they were the first African-Americans to qualify as military pilots in any branch of the armed forces. Before these five men entered the program, blacks were continiously excluded from aviation training programs in the military. It's impressive what the Tuskegee Airmen were able to accomplish under less than ideal conditions. Initially flying the somewhat less capable P-40s and P-39s, and always striving to overcome the ill-conceived prejudices against their fighting ability, they persevered and made history in the process. The War Years Here are some of the major victories and battles they engaged in. In June of 1943, they first engaged the Luftwaffe over the island of Pantelleria. The Tuskegee Airmen gave a good accounting of themselves, with individuals like Lt. Col. Chuck Dryden leading the way. In early 1944, the 99th Fighter Squadron came into its own, with Maj. "Spanky" Roberts in command, and gallant aviators such as Spann Watson eagerly engaging the enemy over the Mediterranean. Spann was in the original Tuskegee Airmen class. While providing close air support to the allied forces at Anzio on January 27, 15 Tuskegee Airmen engaged a larger number of the far superior German FW-190s, and they shot down six while damaging four others. That same afternoon, the Tuskegee Airmen destroyed three more enemy aircraft. On the 28th of January, pilots from the 99th shot down four aircraft, and then they added four more by February 10th. These victories quickly began to prove to people with unbiased eyes that the Tuskegee Airmen could fly and fight with the best of them. During this period, then Col. Benny Davis (Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, USAF ret.) established the 332nd Fighter Group in southern Italy. In the summer of 1944, the 99th joined the 332nd while it was transitioning into the P-47 Jug (Thunderbolt), and then the top-of-the-line P-51 Mustang. It looks frail, yet it was lethal in the hands of well trained, motivated and dedicated people such as the Tuskegee Airmen. When they were equipped with that P-51, they began to focus on this bomber escort mission. In June of 1944, the Tuskegee Airmen scored kills while flying the first of a series of 200 bomber escort missions over which they became known as the Red Tail Devils. On the initial mission, Colonel Davis led 39 airmen in escorting B-24s to Munich, Germany. They were attacked en route by more than 100 German fighters, and despite fighting outnumbered, the Red Tails destroyed five Me-109s and damaged a sixth. On the 25th of June in 1944, Capt. Joe Elsbury led the Tuskegee Airmen in the sinking of a German destroyer in the Gulf of Venice, sinking it with machine gun fire -- a rare feat. A well-armed ship can cause far better damage than it can take. It took a great amount of courage for them to press the attack in the face of all that. Later, Joe Elsbury would shoot down three German fighters on a single mission. On the 18th of July 1944, Capt. Lee Rayford led 66 P-51s on a bomber escort mission to southern Germany. He loitered at the rendezvous point waiting for the late bombers, knowing full well that if the Tuskegee Airmen departed and returned to base, they could expect that the bombers would suffer high losses if they attacked without their fighter escort. Though outnumbered, the Red Tails downed 11 German fighters that day with no losses. Lt. Clarence "Lucky" Lester shot down three on his own. On the 24th of July, Colonel Davis again led 53 P-51s in escorting bombers into southern Germany. Again, they flew outnumbered, but the Airmen destroyed four enemy aircraft without losing a plane. While returning to base, Davis led the 332nd in strafing ground targets. Three days later, Lee Rayford led 52 P-51s from across the group to fly cover for B-24s. Despite being outnumbered by attacking German fighters, the Tuskegee Airmen shot down eight enemy aircraft. For the rest of the war, the 332nd flew bomber escort and ground attack missions, scoring kills and mounting an effective defense of American bombers. On March 24, 1945, Colonel Davis led 54 aviators escorting a bomber mission all the way to Berlin. The 332nd was the first Italian-based fighter outfit to fly this demanding mission which covered a total of 1600 miles. When not relieved as planned by another fighter outfit at the end of their leg of the escort, the Tuskegee Airmen pressed on to the target with the B-17s, despite the fact that the airmen were low on fuel and low on ammo. These black airmen fought off waves of German fighters, and by the end of the day had made history by shooting down three German jet fighters while losing only one friendly fighter. No bombers were lost! In the end, the 332nd Fighter Group was awarded the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for this Berlin mission because, to quote from the citation, "of their conspicuous gallantry, professional skill, and devotion to duty." On March 31, 1945, the Red Tails shot down 13 German fighters in their best day ever. On April 26, 1945, the Tuskegee Airmen downed the last four enemy aircraft destroyed in combat in the Mediterranean theater. It was a great record. They are true American heroes. By the end of WWII, almost 1,000 African-Americans had won their wings at Tuskegee Army Air Field. Not until 1948 did the first Black American received the gold wings of a Navy pilot. Racial exclusion in the Navy continued on many years after the first black men graduated from Tuskegee Approximately half of the black men that graduated from Tuskegee fought in the European and Mediterranean wars as combat mission fighter pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen have a respectable record in combat: they flew more than 15,000 sorties, destroyed over 1,000 German aircraft, received hundreds of Air Medals and more then 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Sixty-six fellow pilots were killed in action, and 32 were captured and became prisoners of war. But their sacrifices were not in vain because they defeated a barbarous regime and created the conditions that eventually allowed democracy and economic freedom to flourish in that part of the world. After the War After fighting in World War II, Col. Chuck McGee went on to fly and fight in Korea and in Vietnam. He racked up the highest three-war total of fighter missions of any Air Force aviator -- 409 missions. He is an American hero and an Air Force legend. Col. Benny Davis pursued a highly successful Air Force career. He retired as a three star general and served as the Secretary of Transportation in the mid-1970s. Many of the Tuskegee Airmen went on to have successful careers in the military, aviation and business. Americans stand in awe of the professionalism, the tenacity and the courage that the Tuskegee Airmen demonstrated in fighting on two fronts in World War II. They fought against the Axis powers in Europe and against racism at home. Their tremendous accomplishments spoke louder than words and provided compelling evidence that led to the integration of our nation's armed forces.

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