Tuskegee Airmen excelled in Army Air Corps

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amaani Lyle
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  Today’s Air Force family is a mighty quilt that unites military members of all races, religions, nationalities and creeds around the globe.

Our uniforms look alike, but the plurality of those who wear them is rich in culture and history.

This concept made me want to learn a little more about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of determined men who enlisted to become the United States ’ first black military Airmen.

The unwavering resolve of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II arose during an era in which many people found themselves engaged in another “war” on American soil over segregation and racial equality.

Nonetheless the Tuskegee Airmen, hailing from various parts of America , strove to become pilots or master other aspects of aviation.

I wondered how such a group, many of whom still had to drink from “colored” water fountains, got such important and necessary training to promote their social and professional advancement.

Following protest and discord from black leaders and the black press, the U.S. Army Air Corps began a special project to integrate black pilots into the fighter pilot program. The pilots were trained to fly single-engine and multi-engine aircraft at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee , Ala. , and the first aviation cadet class began in July 1941.

The nine-month training began with just 13 Airmen in the first class. One of the graduates was then Capt. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a West Point Academy graduate. Four other students were commissioned second lieutenants, and five students received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings.

Between 1942 and 1946, 992 pilots graduated from TAAF, and received commissions and pilot wings. Black navigators, bombardiers and gunnery crews were trained at other bases in the United States .

Soon, hundreds of black Airmen became college graduates or undergraduates by way of the military, and others qualified through comprehensive entrance examinations.

According to the National Home of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Web site, “no standards were lowered for the pilots or any of the others who trained in operations, meteorology, intelligence, engineering, medicine or any of the other officer fields.”

Enlisted members received training in a spectrum of fields -- aircraft and engine mechanics, armament specialists, radio repairmen, parachute riggers, control tower operators, policemen, administrative clerks and many other specialties necessary for full operability as an Army Air Corp flying squadron or ground support unit.

The Tuskegee Airmen prepared to fight, fought to win and took care of each other in the face of adversity. I am grateful for the service of these Airmen, just as I am grateful for the service of all military men and women who fight for freedom, democracy and equality each day.

For more information about the Tuskegee Airmen, visit www.tuskegeeairmen.org.