The Tuskegee Airmen Essay Research Paper The

The Tuskegee Airmen Essay, Research Paper

The Tuskegee Airman

For my term paper I chose the Tuskegee Airman. They

will alway be the most influential air squadron during WWII. I

think this because there where a lot racist people that did not

want them to succeed, but they did more than just succeed. They

became the first black Airforce pilots.

It all started when President Roosevelt arranged a meeting

in September 1940 with three African-American leaders and members

of the Army and Navy. During the meeting, the leaders emphasized

three points:(1)equal opportunity for jobs in the defense

industry, (2)impartial administration of the new draftlaw, and

(3)an opportunity for qualified blacks to learn to fly in

desegrated units.*1*

A few days later after the meeting, the War Department

issued a policy directives stating that black men generally would

be admitted into the armed force in numbers equivalent to their

percentage in the civilian population.

But it was not until a couple months after the meeting in

December 1940, that the Army Air Corps submitted a plan for the

experiment to establish an all-black fighter squadron.

The plan was not official until July 19, 1941 when Major

General Walter Weaver, commander of the U.S. Army?s Southeastern

Air Corps spoke at the Tuskegee Institute Campus.*2* It was

then that 13 black men became the first black pilot trainees.

Most of the trainees were college graduates, including a

policeman, an army officer, a factory inspector, and several

young men who were fresh out of college.

Also, all of the men were trained at Chanute Air Field in

Ratoul, Illinois at the US Army Air Corps Technical Training

School. The men of this first squadron were so smart that they

established a grade point average never equaled before or after

their training.*3*

A few miles from the Tuskegee Campus, two air fields were

built for the training of the new cadets. The two air fields were

Moton Field and the Tuskegee Army Air Field(TAAF). About six

miles from the fields was the town of Tuskegee. It was very

hostile toward blacks, especially its sheriff.

At the TAAF base, very diverse entertainment was

offered. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne, other

celebrities like Joe Louis and the Camel Caravan Orchestra.

The first trainer plane used by the squadron was the PT-

17.*4*It was a biplane with unretractable landing gear. The

instructor rode with the cadet during the first practice, whether

the trainee knew how to fly or not.

Before the cadets could earn their wings, they had to

complete three phases of the training. These were the

primary, basic and advanced courses. In the primary and basic,

the cadets would have ground school classroom courses and flying

lessons. In the advanced, the cadets would concentrate on

military flying.

On September 2, 1941, Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr. became

the first black man to officially solo an aircraft as an officer

of the Army Air Corps.*5* A few days after Davis?s solo flight on

December 7,1941, in the midst of class 42C?s training, the

Japanese bombed the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That

next day the United States declared war, joining allies with

Great Britain, France, and Russia in the fight against the Axis

powers Germany, Italy and Japan.

It was not until July 3, 1942 that the fourth class of the

Tuskegee Institute graduated. The men of this class became the

cadets that would fill the 99th squadron, which became the first

black squadron of the Army Air Corps.

Joining the pilots in the 99th were 14 other officers who

provided support services and commanded the 35 enlisted men who

serviced the planes. In nine months to a year, they had mastered

skills the Air Force said should require at least five years. The

99th then perfected their skills in the P-40, the plane they

would fly in combat.

After receiving word from their officers, in October 1942,

the Inspector General of the Third Air Force said the 99th was

in excellent condition and was ready for immediate departure.*6*

Finally on April 1, 1943, over a year after the graduation

of the first class, word came ?moving out.? The next day the 99th

climbed aboard a train that would take them to New York where

they would board a troop ship. They did not board the ship until

April 15,1943, which was bound for North Africa. Then the 99th

finally reached Moroco on May 1,1943. When getting off the ship,

they said immediately Arab children swarmed them asking for

cigarettes and food.*7*

While at the first camp in Oved, Nija, Josephine Baker, a

well known black performer, entertained the troops.

Also, while being at their first camp received their P-40l

War Hawks and were joined by white pilots who did not care for

the color of their skin. The first missions using these planes

were destroying ground targets and escorting bombers. While

escorting bombers, they were ordered never to pursue an enemy.

But on June 9, 1943, members of the 99th were escorting a

group of 12 bombers. They were attacked by 4 German Me-109?s.*8*

Eight of the members stayed and escorted the bombers home. The

other 4 pursued the Germans and almost lost the 99th?s status as

a battle-ready fighter squadron.

Throughout the rest of June and July the 99th participated

in the bombing of Pantelleria. During this time history was

made. On July 2, 1943, Lieutenant Charles Hall scored the first

kill for the 99th, when he downed a FW-190 and damaged an Me-

109.*9* Later that day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was

commander of American forces in Northern Africa at the time,

visited the squadron and praised Hall for an excellent job.

A few days after the first kill, Pantelleria, a small island

they were attacking surrendered. Also the same day Lieutenant

Colonel Davis received a letter from the area commander, Colonel

J.R. Hawkins, which congratulated them, and thanked them for

their performance in the take down of Pantelleria.*10*

Within days of the surrender of Pantelleria, the 99th