This Day in History - 1942

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The Red Tails...

This Day in History - 1942 - The 100th Pursuit Squadron (later redesignated 100th FS) was activated on February 19 at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. -Debra

Prior to 1941, it was the policy of the U. S. War Department to maintain segregated military units in the Armed Forces. The few black infantry, cavalry, and artillery units that existed at that time in the army were commanded at the top ranks by white officers, with black officers relegated to the lower ranks. This system remained in force throughout World War I and World War II with few exceptions.

However, in early 1941, the Army Air Corps was directed by President Roosevelt to train Black military personnel as airplane pilots and technicians to staff an all-black Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron, commanded by all-black officers and enlisted men, in preparation for combat. The budding flight program at Tuskegee received a publicity boost when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt inspected it in March 1941, and took a half-hour flight in a Waco biplane with African-American chief civilian instructor C. Alfred 'Chief' Anderson. Afterward, Mrs. Roosevelt used her position as a trustee of the Julius Rosenwald Fund to arrange a loan of $175,000 to help finance the building of Moton Field, where primary training began for the pilots.

After primary training, pilots were moved to the nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field for conversion training onto operational types. Consequently, Tuskegee Army Air Field became the only Army installation performing three phases of pilot training -- basic, advanced, and transition -- at a single location. Initial planning called for 500 personnel in residence at a time. By mid-1942, over six times that many were stationed at Tuskegee.

The 99th Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron was activated, and trained there. In late 1942, three more squadrons were activated. They were the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, of the newly formed 332nd Fighter Group. However, the only air units that saw combat during WWII were the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group.

Tuskegee Airmen were some of the best pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps due to a combination of pre-war experience and the personal drive of those accepted for training. In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946 and flew 1578 combat missions; 355 were deployed overseas.

The cost for such combat included 68 pilots killed in action or accidents, 12 killed in training and non-combat missions and 32 captured as prisoners of war. The airmen received 3 Distinguished Unit Citations, 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, at least 1 Gold Star, 14 Bronze Stars, 744 Air Medals and 8 Purple Hearts.

Tuskegee Airmen were invited to attend the first inauguration of Barack Obama. More than 180 airmen attended. Retired Lt. William Broadwater, 82, a Tuskegee Airman, summed up the feeling. "The culmination of our efforts and others was this great prize we were given on Nov. 4. Now we feel like we've completed our mission."

http://www.bjmjr.net/ww2/black_airmen.htm