History of the Tuskegee Airmen, Revised
The Redtails’ Legend Sparks New Controversies in 2008
Aug 17, 2008
Deliberation over the achievements of the first all-black 99th (Fighter) Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group has resurfaced after investigations launched in 2007, disagreed with administrative records from 1945. The Redtail Angels were supposedly, the only fighter group who never lost a bomber to enemy fighters. However, according to a March 28, 2007 Air Force report, “…[after] conducting a reassessment of the history of this famed unit …” it was discovered that “…some bombers under 332nd Fighter Group escort protection were shot down.” A furious debate erupted that is still garnering considerable media attention in 2008.
History
A highly controversial program, instituted during World War 2, was the initiation of black men into flying. Not just flying, but highly technical combat flying – the black fighter pilot was born.
Many citizens, living in a racially divided America, were unwilling to accept the “negro” as an equal in the 1940s. Haunted by centuries of inferiority convictions, a few courageous individuals attempted to dispel that sentiment. With the help of President Franklin Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. and many other brave men and women, the Tuskegee Airmen flew into history.
The Legend
By 1944, the all black units had been severely tested in training and on the battle field; yet, stereotypes still flourished and beliefs were nonsensically enforced. The truth was supplanted with ridiculous stupidity and unimaginable conviction.
Reality soon replaced labels and as events unfolded in North Africa and Europe, tales of the vogelmenschen spread throughout the fighting forces. Appeals were substitutes for tags – “We weren't assigned. We were requested,” General Davis told his black birdmen.
The Airmen's Planes
The aircraft flown by the men from Tuskegee changed as the war progressed.
- Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawks were used extensively in North Africa by French and US forces, Oceania by Australia, the British RAF in the Mediterranean, and General Claire Chennault’s Flying Tigers over the “hump” in China, Burma and India.
- Bell’s P-39 Airacobra saw brief combat in Africa. Its fame came in the Soviet Union where pilots had the highest number of kills in WW2 with this American fighter.
- Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt, the Jug, was far superior to the P-40. It was a challenging aircraft to fly but had ample firepower and was comfort for the pilot. With drop tanks it became the first long range escort aircraft used by the US Army Air Corp.
- North American's P-51 Mustang flew well beyond WW2. Extremely fast and maneuverable, the airplane was used on long range bomber escort missions. With the painted red tail, the aircraft became synonymous with the Tuskegee Airmen.
The Controversy
A simple statement that lasted decades, “never having lost a bomber to enemy aircraft,” has been the spark of the recent hullabaloo. On March 24th 1945, the Chicago Defender wrote the headline "332nd Flies Its 200th Mission Without Loss." While the war in Europe raged for another 5 weeks, the headline remained the story for history.
Bill Holton, researcher for the Tuskegee Airman Association, confirmed three bomber losses and Daniel Haulman, a historian at the Air Force Historical Research Agency, confirmed Holton's results. The “Red Tails may have lost up to 25 bombers,” Haulman said in a St Petersburg Times article on 1/26/08.
However, in the Times article, 87 year old Tuskegee Airman Luther Smith said, “I never saw a bomber go down to German fighters during 133 missions.” And Professor Alan Gropman at the National Defense University in Washington said he researched more than 200 Tuskegee Airmen mission reports and found no bombers were lost to enemy fighters.
82 year old Tuskegee Airman Charles Hardy, put it best. "Let's face it…whether [Holton's] right or wrong, we had one hell of a record any way you look at it."
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