Tuskegee Airmen By: Duncan

The Beginning  The work of Civil rights organizations helped form an African- American squadron know as the Tuskegee airmen.

Tuskegee Experiment  To train the African Americans the Army Air Corps created a program teaching them:  How to fly  How to maintain combat aircraft

The Men  They were dedicated and determined young African Americans.  Most were victims of racism.  Became the first black military airmen.  They lived in cities all over the USA.  Large numbers came from these cities:  New York  Washington  Los Angeles  Chicago  Philadelphia  Detroit

Set Backs  Many thought black men lacked:  Intelligence  Skill  Courage  Patriotism  Qualifications for combat duty

Set Backs  They were constantly denied military leadership roles and skilled training due to the reasons mentioned on slide 5.  They were banned from flying for the U.S. military. This ban was lifted when the first batch of trainees passed

The Program  The program was made up of:  Pilots  Navigators  Bombardiers  Maintenance  Support staff  Instructors  Personnel who kept the planes in the air

Tuskegee Institute  The Tuskegee Institute was selected by the military to train the African American pilots.  It is located in Montgomery, Alabama.

Tuskegee institute Was known for:  Its commitment to aeronautical training  The facilities  Engineering  Technical instructors  A climate for year round flying

Tuskegee Institute  Over time the program expanded and became the center for African-American aviation for the duration of World War II.

Aviation Class  The 1 st aviation cadet class began in July,  9 months later, 5 men successfully completed the training.  They received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings  They were the first black americans ever to become pilots

Graduating  The black airmen became:  Single-engine pilots  Multi-engine pilots  Navigators  Bombardiers  Gunnery crews  Mechanics

Post Graduation   Nine hundred and ninety-four pilots graduated at TAAF  Receiving commissions and pilot wings.

Post Graduation  Four hundred and fifty of the pilots served overseas in the:  99th Pursuit Squadron  332nd Fighter Group  477th Composite Group  100 th Fighter Squadron  302 nd Fighter Squadron

Freeman Field Mutiny The freeman field mutiny was an incident in 1945 in which black members of the 477 th bombardament group tried to get into an all white officers club in freeman field. This resulted the the arrest of 162 black officers. This was seen as an important step forward in the desegregation of the US armed forces.

99 th Pursuit Squadron  Combat in North Africa.  Trained in and flew P-40 War hawk aircraft.  Combat in Sicily and Italy April 1943.

Capture If the black pilots were captured by the enemy they faced a huge risk of being shot on the spot. 3 men died like this with just 1 being taken prisoner.

Combat Record  Over 15,000 combat sorties  111 German airplanes destroyed in the air  150 German aircraft destroyed on the ground  950 railcars, trucks, and other motor vehicles destroyed  1 destroyer sunk by P-47 machine gun fire  Sixty-six pilots killed in action or accidents

Losses  Thirty-two pilots downed and captured, POWs  25 Bombers were lost to Enemy Aircraft while being escorted  150 Distinguished Flying Crosses earned  744 Air Medals  8 Purple Hearts Stars  14 Bronze

Conclusion  They became one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.  They proved to others they could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft.  Their accomplishments became the catalysts for full integration of African Americans in the U.S. military.

The End

Websites  gee_Airmen  es/tusk.html