List of contributors to general relativity and Tuskegee Airmen: Difference between pages
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
m →N: umlaut |
No edit summary |
||
Line 1:
[[Image:020926-O-9999G-015.jpg|thumb|Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, "Tuskegee Airmen," the elite, all-African American 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli, Italy., from left to right, Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan, Lt. Carroll S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelron, Jr., Capt. Andrew D. Turner and Lt. Clarence P. Lester.]]
The '''Tuskegee Airmen''' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA pronunciation]]: {{IPA|[təˈski.gi]}}<ref>See [http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/Tuskegee Pronunciation of Tuskegee].</ref>) was the popular name of a group of [[African American]] pilots who flew with distinction during [[World War II]] as the [[332nd Fighter Group]] of the [[United States Army Air Forces|US Army Air Corps]].
==
[[Image:P-51C bomber escort.jpg|thumb|right|Aircraft of the 332d Fighter Group; the "redtails" of the Tuskegee Airmen. The nearest aircraft depicted is that of Lt. Lee Archer, the only ace among the Tuskegee Airmen.]]
Prior to the Tuskegee Airmen, no US military [[aviator|pilots]] had been African American. However, a series of legislative moves by the [[United States Congress]] in 1941 forced the Army Air Corps to form an all-black combat unit, much to the War Department's chagrin. In an effort to eliminate the unit before it could begin, the War Department set up a system to accept only those with a level of flight experience or higher education that they expected would be hard to fill. This policy backfired when the Air Corps received numerous applications from men who qualified even under these restrictions.
The US Army Air Corps had established the [[Psychological Research Unit 1]] at [[Maxwell Army Air Field]], [[Alabama]], and other units around the country for aviation cadet training, which included the identification, selection, education, and training of pilots, [[flight officer|navigator]]s and [[bombardier (rank)|bombardier]]s. Psychologists employed in these research studies and training programs used some of the first [[standardized tests]] to quantify [[IQ]], [[dexterity]], and [[leadership]] qualities in order to select and train the right personnel for the right role (bombardier, pilot, navigator). The Air Corps determined that the same existing programs would be used for all units, including all-black units. At Tuskegee, this effort would continue with the selection and training of the Tuskegee Airmen.
==
On [[19 March]] [[1941]], the 99th Pursuit Squadron (Pursuit being the pre-World War II descriptive for "Fighter") was activated at [[Chanute Field]] in [[Rantoul, Illinois]].<ref> Francis 1988, p. 15. Note: It was a lawsuit or the threat of a law suit from a rejected candidate that caused the USAAC to accept black applicants.</ref> Over 250 enlisted men were trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades. This small number of enlisted men was to become the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee and Maxwell fields in Alabama– the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
[[Image:040315-F-9999G-024.jpg|thumb|left|Major James A. Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross of Dayton, Ohio, as he passes down the line during review of the first class of Tuskegee cadets; flight line at US Army Air Corps basic and advanced flying school, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1941 with Vultee BT-13 trainers in the background.]]
In June 1941, the Tuskegee program officially began with formation of the [[99th Fighter Squadron]] at the [[Tuskegee Institute]], a highly regarded university founded by [[Booker T. Washington]] in [[Tuskegee, Alabama]].<ref> Thole 2002, p. 48. Note: The Coffey School of Aeronautics in Chicago was also considered.</ref> The unit consisted of an entire service arm, including ground crew, and not just pilots. After basic training at [[Moton Field]], they were moved to the nearby [[Tuskegee Army Air Field]] about 16 km (ten miles) to the west for conversion training onto operational types. The Airmen were placed under the command of Capt. [[Benjamin O. Davis Jr.]], one of the few African American [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] graduates. His father [[Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.]] was the first black general in the US Army.
During its training, the 99th Fighter Squadron was commanded by white and Puerto Rican officers, beginning with Capt. George "Spanky" Roberts. By 1942, however, it was Col. Frederick Kimble who oversaw operations at the Tuskegee airfield. Kimble proved to be highly unpopular with his subordinates, whom he treated with disdain and disrespect. Later that year, the Air Corps replaced Kimble with Maj. Noel Parrish. Parrish, counter to the prevalent racism of the day, was fair and open-minded, and petitioned Washington to allow the Tuskegee Airmen to serve in combat.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
In response, a hearing was convened before the [[House Armed Services Committee]] to determine whether the Tuskegee Airmen "experiment" should be allowed to continue. The committee accused the Airmen of being incompetent — based on the fact that they had not seen any combat in the entire time the "experiment" had been underway. To bolster the recommendation to scrap the project, a member of the committee commissioned and then submitted into evidence a "scientific" report by the [[University of Texas]] which purported to prove that Negroes were of low intelligence and incapable of handling complex situations (such as air combat). The majority of the Committee, however, decided in the Airmen's favor, and the 99th Pursuit Squadron soon joined two new squadrons out of Tuskegee to form the all-black [[332nd Fighter Group]].
==
[[Image:99th Fighter Squadron patch.jpg|thumb|right|Patch of the 99th Fighter Squadron]]
The 99th was ready for combat duty during some of the Allies' earliest actions in the [[North African campaign]], and was transported to [[Casablanca]], [[Morocco]], on the ''[[USS Mariposa]]''. From there, they travelled by train to [[Oujda]] near [[Fes]], and made their way to [[Tunis]] to operate against the [[Luftwaffe]]. The flyers and ground crew were largely isolated by racial segregation practices, and left with little guidance from battle-experienced pilots. Operating directly under the [[Twelfth Air Force]] and the XII Air Support Command, the 99th FS and the Tuskegee Airmen were bounced around between three groups, the 33rd FG, 324th FG, and 79th FG. The 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small but strategic volcanic island of [[Pantelleria]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] between [[Sicily]] and [[Tunisia]], in preparation for the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] in [[July]] [[1943]]. The 99th moved to Sicily while attached to the [[33rd Fighter Group]],<ref name="duc"/> whose commander, Col. [[William Momyer|William W. Momyer]], fully involved the squadron, and the 99th received a [[Distinguished Unit Citation]] for its performance in Sicily.
[[Image:020903-o-9999b-098.jpg|thumb|left|Tuskegee Airmen in front of a <br />[[Curtiss P-40|P-40]].]]
The Tuskegee Airmen were initially equipped with [[Curtiss P-40|P-40 Warhawk]]s, later with [[P-47 Thunderbolt]]s, and finally with the airplane that they would become most identified with, the [[P-51 Mustang]].
On [[27 January]] and [[28 January]] [[1944]], German [[Fw 190]] fighter-bombers raided [[Anzio Campaign|Anzio]], where the Allies had conducted amphibious landings on [[January 22]]. Attached to the 79th Fighter Group, eleven of the 99th Fighter Squadron's pilots shot down enemy fighters, including Capt. Charles B. Hall, who shot down two, bringing his aerial victory total to three. The eight fighter squadrons defending Anzio together shot down a total of 32 German aircraft, and the 99th had the highest score among them with 13.<ref name="kills">Haulman, Dr. Daniel L. ''Aerial Victory Credits of the Tuskegee Airmen''. AFHRA Maxwell AFB. [http://www.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070207-059.pdf] Access date: [[16 February]] [[2007]].</ref>
The squadron won its second [[Distinguished Unit Citation]] on [[12 May]]-[[14 May]] [[1944]], while attached to the 324th Fighter Group, attacking German positions on Monastery Hill ([[Battle of Monte Cassino|Monte Cassino]]), attacking infantry massing on the hill for a counterattack, and bombing a nearby strong point to force the surrender of the German garrison to [[Moroccan]] [[Goumier]]s.
[[Image:100th Fighter Squadron patch.jpg|thumb|right|Patch of the 100th Fighter Squadron]]
By this point, more graduates were ready for combat, and the all-black [[332nd Fighter Group]] had been sent overseas with three fighter squadrons: the [[100th Flying Training Squadron|100th]], [[301st Fighter Squadron|301st]] and [[302nd Fighter Squadron|302nd]]. Under the command of Col. [[Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.|Benjamin O. Davis]], the squadrons were moved to mainland [[Italy]], where the 99th FS, assigned to the group on [[1 May]], joining them on [[6 June]]. The Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group escorted bombing raids into [[Austria]], [[Hungary]], [[Poland]] and [[Germany]].
Flying escort for heavy bombers, the 332nd racked up an impressive combat record, often entering combat against greater numbers of superior German aircraft and coming out victorious. Reportedly, the Luftwaffe awarded the Airmen the nickname, "Schwarze Vogelmenschen," or "Black Birdmen." The Allies called the Airmen "Redtails" or "Redtail Angels," because of the distinctive crimson paint on the vertical stabilizers of the unit's aircraft. Although bomber groups would request Redtail escort when possible, few bomber crew members knew at the time that the Redtails were black.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
[[Image:tuskegee airmen.jpg|thumb|left|Tuskegee Airmen gathered at a US base after a mission in the Mediterranean theater.]]
While it had long been said that the Redtails were the only fighter group who never lost a bomber to enemy fighters,<ref>[http://www.pingry.k12.nj.us/about/articles/2002-nov-11-tuskegee.html Lt. Col. Thomas E. Highsmith, Jr.; speech at The Pingry School, 8 November 2002]</ref> suggestions to the contrary, combined with Air Force records and eyewitness accounts indicating that at least 25 bombers were lost to enemy fire, resulted in the Air Force conducting a reassessment of the history of this famed unit in the fall of 2006.
The claim that the no bomber escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen had ever been lost to enemy fire first appeared on [[24 March]] [[1945]]. The claim came from an article, published in the [[Chicago Defender]], under the headline "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss." Ironically, this article was published on the very day that, according to the [[28 March]] [[2007]] Air Force report, some bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort protection were shot down.<ref> ''Report: Tuskegee Airmen lost 25 bombers''. The Associated Press, [[1 April]] [[2007]]. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-01-tuskegee-airmen_N.htm] Access date: [[1 April]] [[2007]].</ref><ref>[http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2006/12/11/539246.html Comcast.net news; Access date: [[11 December]] [[2006]] (Article ID:539246)]</ref><ref>''Ex-Pilot Confirms Bomber Loss, Flier Shot down in 1944 was Escorted by Tuskegee Airmen''. Washington Post, [[17 December]] [[2006]], p. A18.</ref><ref>AP Story [[29 March]] [[2007]]</ref> The subsequent report, based on after-mission reports filed by both the bomber units and Tuskegee fighter groups as well as missing air crew records and witness testimony, was released in March 2007 and documented 25 bombers shot down by enemy [[fighter aircraft]] while being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen.<ref>Report: ''Tuskegee Airmen lost 25 bombers''. The Associated Press, [[2 April]] [[2007]]
[http://aimpoints.hq.af.mil/display.cfm?id=17731] Access date: [[10 April]] [[2007]].</ref>
A [[B-25]] bomb group, the [[477th Bombardment Group (Medium)]], was forming in the US but completed its training too late to see action. The 99th Fighter Squadron after its return to the United States became part of the 477th, redesignated the 477th Composite Group.
By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 109 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down,<ref name="kills"/> a patrol boat run aground by machine-gun fire, and destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks and trains. The squadrons of the 332nd FG flew more than 15,000 sorties on 1,500 missions. The unit received recognition through official channels and was awarded a [[Presidential Unit Citation (US)|Distinguished Unit Citation]] for a mission flown [[24 March]] [[1945]], escorting B-17s to bomb the [[Daimler-Benz]] tank factory at [[Berlin, Germany]], an action in which its pilots destroyed three [[Me-262]] jets in aerial combat. The 99th Fighter Squadron in addition received two DUCs, the second after its assignment to the 332nd FG.<ref name="duc"> ''Air Force Historical Study 82''. AFHRA Maxwell AFB. [http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/numbered_studies/916794.pdf] Access date: [[16 February]] [[2007]].</ref> The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded several [[Silver Star Medal|Silver Stars]], 150 [[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]es, 14 [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Stars]] and 744 [[Air Medal]]s.
In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946; about 445 deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in training or combat.<ref>http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1356</ref>
==
[[Image:tuskegee airman poster.jpg|thumb|Color poster of a Tuskegee Airman]]
Far from failing as originally expected, a combination of pre-war experience and the personal drive of those accepted for training had resulted in some of the best pilots in the US Army Air Corps. Nevertheless, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to have to fight [[racism]]. Their combat record did much to quiet those directly involved with the group (notably bomber crews who often requested them for escort), but other units were less than interested and continued to harass the Airmen.
All of these events appear to have simply stiffened the Airmen's resolve to fight for their own rights in the US. After the war, the Tuskegee Airmen once again found themselves isolated. In [[1949]] the 332nd entered the yearly gunnery competition and won. After segregation in the military was ended in [[1948]] by President [[Harry S. Truman]] with [[Executive Order 9981]], the Tuskegee Airmen now found themselves in high demand throughout the newly formed [[United States Air Force]].
Many of the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen annually participate in the Tuskegee Airmen Convention, which is hosted by [[Tuskegee Airmen, Inc]].
In 2005, four Tuskegee Airmen (Lt. Col. Lee Archer, Lt. Col. Robert Ashby, MSgt. James Sheppard, and TechSgt. George Watson) flew to Balad, Iraq, to speak to active duty airmen serving in the current incarnation of the 332nd, reactivated as first the 332d Air Expeditionary Group in 1998 and made part of the [[332d Air Expeditionary Wing]]. "This group represents the linkage between the 'greatest generation' of airmen and the 'latest generation' of airmen," said Lt. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan III, commander of the [[Ninth Air Force]] and US Central Command Air Forces, in an e-mail to the Associated Press.
==Legacy and honors==
[[Image:Tuskegee Airmen + US Congressional Gold Medals, 2007March29.jpg|thumb|President George W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to about 300 Tuskegee Airmen on 29 March 2007 at the US Capitol.]]
On [[29 March]] [[2007]], about 350 Tuskegee Airmen and their widows were collectively awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]]<ref name=THOMAS>Library of Congress. [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:2:./temp/~c110J3sEbQ:: Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to be used on [[29 March]] [[2007]], for a ceremony to award a Congressional... (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate)], [[7 March]] [[2007]]. </ref> at a ceremony in the [[United States Capitol rotunda|US Capitol rotunda]].<ref>Price, Deb. ''Nation to honor Tuskegee Airmen''. The Detroit News, [[29 March]] [[2007]]. [http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070329/NATION/703290308] Access date: [[29 March]] [[2007]].</ref><ref> ''Tuskegee Airmen Gold Medal Bill Signed Into Law''. Office of Congressman Charles B. Rangel. [http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny15_rangel/CBRStatementTuskegeeBillSigned04112006.html] Access date: [[26 October]] [[2006]].</ref><ref>
Evans, Ben. ''Tuskegee Airmen awarded Congressional Gold Medal''. Associated Press, [[30 March]] [[2007]].
[http://thetandd.com/articles/2007/03/30/news/doc460c7d58cd40f058827045.txt]
Access date: [[30 April]] [[2007]].</ref> The medal will go on display at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]; individual honorees will receive bronze replicas.<ref>AP Story [[29 March]] [[2007]]</ref>
The airfield where the airmen trained is now the [[Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site]].<ref>Official NPS website: [http://www.nps.gov/tuai/ Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site]</ref>
In 2006, California Congressman [[Adam Schiff]], and Missouri Congressman [[William Lacy Clay, Jr.]], have led the initiative to create a commemorative postage stamp to honor the Tuskegee Airmen.<ref>[http://schiff.house.gov/HoR/CA29/Newsroom/Press+Releases/2006/Schiff+Votes+to+Honor+Tuskegee+Airmen.htmSchiff Votes to Honor Tuskegee Airmen]</ref>
== Film, media and other facts==
* In 1945, the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Corps produced ''[[Wings for This Man]]'', a "propaganda" short about the unit narrated by [[Ronald Reagan]].
* In 1996, [[HBO]] produced and aired ''[[The Tuskegee Airmen]]'', starring [[Laurence Fishburne]].
* The Tuskegee Airmen are represented in the 1997 [[G.I. Joe]] action figure series.<ref>[http://www.mastercollector.com/neat/gijoe/hasbro/1997joes.html 1997 G.I. Joe Classic Collection]</ref>
* Television host [[Fred Rogers]]' foster brother was an instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen and taught Rogers how to fly.<ref>Garfield, Eugene. ''Mister Rogers on the Roots of Nurturing and the Untapped Role of Men in Professional Childcare''. Current Comments, [[25 September]] [[1989]]. [http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v12p270y1989.pdf#search=%22%22mr.%20rogers%22%20tuskegee%22]
Access date: [[24 September]] [[2006]].</ref>
* In the book ''Wild Blue'', by [[Stephen Ambrose]], the Tuskegee Airmen were mentioned, and honoured.
* The 2004 documentary film ''Silver Wings and Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly'', was the first film to feature the "Freeman Field Mutiny," the struggle of 101 African-American officers arrested for entering a white officer's club. [http://www.fight2fly.com/]
* May 17, 2005, [[George Lucas]] is planning a film about the Tuskegee Airmen called ''Red Tails''. Lucas says, "They were the only escort fighters during the war that never lost a bomber so they were, like, the best."<ref>[http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/newsdetail.asp?NewsID=335 Exclusive: Lucas looks to the future]</ref>
[[Image:Col Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.jpg|thumb|right|Col. [[Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.]], commander of the Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group, in front of his [[P-47 Thunderbolt]] in Sicily.]]
==
{{reflist}}
==
* Bucholtz, Chris and Laurier, Jim. ''332nd Fighter Group - Tuskegee Airmen''. London: Osprey Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1-84603-044-7.
* Cotter, Jarrod. "Red Tail Project." ''Flypast, No, 248, March 2002''.
* Francis, Charles F. ''The Tuskegee Airmen: The Men who Changed a Nation''. Boston: Branden Publishing Company, 1988. ISBN 0-8283-1908-1.
* Hill, Ezra M. Sr. ''The Black Red Tail Angels: A Story of the Tuskegee Airmen''. Columbus, Ohio: SMF Haven of Hope. 2006.
* Leuthner, Stuart and Jensen, Olivier. ''High Honor: Recollections by Men and Women of World War II Aviation''. Washington, DC: [[Smithsonian Institution Press]], 1989. ISBN 0-87474-650-7.
* McKissack, Patricia C. and Fredrick L. ''Red Tail Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II''. New York: Walker Books for Young Readers, 1996. ISBN 0-80278-292-2.
* Ross, Robert A. ''Lonely Eagles: The Story of America's Black Air Force in World War II''. Los Angeles: Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Los Angeles Chapter, 1980. ISBN 0-917612-00-0.
* Sandler, Stanley. ''Segregated Skies: All-Black Combat Squadrons of WWII.'' Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992. ISBN 1-56098-154-7.
* Thole, Lou. "Segregated Skies." ''Flypast, No, 248, March 2002''.
==
{{Commons|Tuskegee Airmen}}
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0802782922 "Red-Tail Angels": The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/international/tuskegee_010814.html Tuskegee reunion: A whopping tale of coincidence]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114745/ The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)]
* [http://www.shoppbs.org/sm-pbs-the-tuskegee-airmen--pi-1402874.html The Tuskegee Airmen] [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] [[Documentary film]]hello
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/tuskegee_airmen.html Reference Room: African American World, Articles, Tuskegee Airmen PBS [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]]
* [http://www.aeromuseum.org/Exhibits/travel.html 99th Pursuit Squadron at Chanute Field]
* [http://www.blackaviation.com/blackhistory.html Articles about the Tuskegee Airmen] from the [[Chicago Defender]] newspaper, 1944, at Black Aviation Enterprises
* [http://tuskegeeairmen.org/ Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. - Official Web Site]
* [http://www.redtail.org/ The Red Tail Project]
* [http://www.army.mil/africanamericans/ African Americans in the U.S. Army]
* [http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=070329&cat=news&st=newsd8o61bb00&src=ap AP Story March 28, 2007]
* [http://www.aaregistry.com/ National Museum of the United States Air Force: Eugene Jacques Bullard]
* [http://www.bahai.us/node/195 Honored Tuskegee Airmen include two Baha’is] Airmen Dempsey W. Morgan, far left in the header picture, and Myron Wilson are members of the [[Bahá'í faith]].
==See also==
* [[United States Colored Troops]]
* [[Buffalo Soldiers]]
* [[U.S. 2d Cavalry Division]]
* [[Freeman Field Mutiny]]
* [[U.S. 366th Infantry Regiment]]
* [[U.S. 761st Tank Battalion|761<sup>st</sup> Tank Battalion (aka Black panthers)]]
* [[Golden Thirteen]]
* [[The Port Chicago 50]]
* [[Bessie Coleman]]
* [[List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients]]
* [[Alfonza W. Davis]]
[[Category:African-American history]]
[[Category:Black history in the United States military]]
[[Category:History of Alabama]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:Tuskegee University]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the United States in World War II]]
[[Category:People from Tuskegee, Alabama]]
| |||