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Tuskegee Airmen: Groups
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The Tuskegee Airmen is the name that is generally given to the 332nd Fighter Group during WWII. The 332nd was the only US fighter group in which all pilots, ground crews and support personnel were Negroes. The first flying cadets were inducted into the Army Air Corps in July of 1941. Tuskegee Army Air Field was constructed especially for them adjacent to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, hence the moniker.
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The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of 992 African American pilots who were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field from 1941 through 1946. 450 fighter pilots, members of the 332nd Fight Group, operated in the European Theater from 1943 to 1945, and gained fame during WWII for their heroism escorting American bombers in raids over Germany and Romania.They never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft in over 200 bomber escort missions. Their distinguished service is credited with influencing President Truman to desegregate the U.S. military in 1948.
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Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, a nonprofit organization that teaches underprivileged children to fly, dedicated an airplane to the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first black military combat pilots. Members of local Tuskegee chapters gathered at Compton Woodley Airport to sign the new Cessna 172’s tail, which was painted red to resemble the tails of the P-51 aircraft flown by the group during WWII. Young student pilots, such as 14-year-old four-time world-record holder Jonathan Strickland, flew demo flights with their instructors. For more information, visit www.tamuseum.org or call (310) 618-1155.
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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... 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.
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The Tuskegee Airmen were best known for escorting Allied bombers over Europe. The group is said to never have lost a bomber. But they faced racism and discrimination in a then-segregated military.
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In 2005 seven Tuskegee Airmen including Lt. Col. Herbert Carter flew to Balad, Iraq to speak to active duty airmen. "This group represents the linkage between the 'greatest generation' of airmen and the 'latest generation' of airmen," said Lt. Gen. Walter Buchanan III, commander of the Air Forces command, in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
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