The Tuskegee Airmen

Artwork and research is by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette

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This is my painting of the P-51C flown by Benjamin O. Davis. "By Request"

This is my introduction to the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. In 1990 when I was planning my series of "Famous American Aviators", I planned to include several of the Tuskegee Airmen in my series. At the time there was very little on the Tuskegee Airmen except a paragraph here and two paragraphs there, so I decided to include them in the series because I felt that the 332nd had been over looked. I located Roscoe Brown and Lee Archer in 1994, 1995. Several years later PBS and the History Channels were finally showing documentaries on the air group.

After reading the autobiography of Benjamin O. Davis I was taken back at the quality of the man and the way he tempered himself during the most difficult of times. This self discipline guided his future in keeping Davis focused on his goal. Davis considered his first goal was to his country. His second goal was to be a fighter pilot, commanding his own squadron in combat. He achieved both and much more. His leadership qualities transferred to his men through his deeds. Even as the strict disciplinarian his fellow officers who served under him knew that they too were indeed lucky to be there with Davis at that time in history. They were a unit and they witnessed for themselves that training and discipline does pay off in efficiency and duty.

The Tuskegee Airmen would receive recommendations again and again finishing the war with a record second to none. There was a historical note for many decades that the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber that they escorted. However several bomber pilots and a few crewmen of bombers units escorted by the 332nd insisted that their group lost a plane here and a plane there while under their escort. When these stories got to the ears of the president of the Tuskegee Airmen Foundation about 2005, he conducted his own research into the matter. After careful research of each of the bomber groups mission records there were a few bombers that did go down during the protection of the Red Tails, however, heavy anti-aircraft fire could have been a contributing factor. Yes, an occasional Luftwaffe fighter was able to break through the layers of protection of the Red Tails, however the enemy was only able to make one determined pass at the bombers and then fled for their lives. The Luftwaffe fighter would not be able to linger in the formation becoming a threat.

Enjoy my narrative of an important part of American Military History.

In May 1938 President Franklin Roosevelt helped pass a mandate to encourage aviation training into collage programs as the Civilian Pilot Training Program. This was to spur the number of qualified pilots available a few years later when the world was at war finally pulling America into the conflict.

This program would produce almost every American aviator I interviewed during my aviation research. However, this program excluded African-American schools. There were quite a few African-American pilots distressed at the exclusion so two of them, Chauncey E. Spencer and Dale L. White decided to fly to Washington D.C. to personally petition any government official that would listen.

The senator the gentlemen were able to lobby was Harry S. Truman. Truman was most impressed with the boldness of the two African-American gentlemen because of the run-down condition of their aircraft. Truman was said to comment that if the two pilots were brave enough to fly to Washington to petition their cause in the aircraft they came in, then he would be brave enough to take up their cause.

The message Spencer and White took to Washington was heard and was worked into the government through channels that brought the idea to a vote. Congress approved the extension of the program which would include a little known Alabama collage and airfield. On October 15, 1939 the Tuskegee Institute was added to the Civilian Pilot Training Program.

Development of the program was slow growing only as monies became available. Extending the airfield, building infrastructure and new class rooms were finally completed once additional influence was directed in the form of alumni donations from groups like the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The most influential member of the Julius Rosenwald Fund was the President’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt who took a personal interest in the development of the program. She was personally able to persuade the President of the importance of the program and the door-opening opportunity for African-Americans. With the help of a few people the programs success was assured even though there were prejudice conspirators in high places. Eleanor Roosevelt was so interested in the program that she caught her body guards off guard when she decided to take an airplane ride. To show her confidence in the aviation program she took a ride with an African-American pilot who was with the Civilian Pilot Training program. Alfred Anderson was a flight instruction in the program and was highly rated. Eleanor Roosevelt thought the flight was wonderful.

The Institute would not only instruct pilots but the complete entourage needed to support the aviators. The African-American aviators would be their own squadron equipped with mechanics, laundry, and cafeteria, medical and staffed by all African-Americans, except for the commanding officers. All these talents were taught at the Tuskegee Institute to African-Americans who would be going into combat with the group.

The first class of aviation cadets started on July 19, 1941 when eleven cadets and one Army Officer, all African-American, were inducted into the Class of 42. The one officer in the new class was Captain Benjamin O. Davis. His father was Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis, senior, both West Point graduates. Benjamin Junior graduated 35th in a class of 276. Davis was recognized as having leadership qualities and was nurtured towards that end.

The first aviation cadets of Class 42-C graduated from flight school on March 7, 1942. Ben Davis was selected to be the Commanding Officer of the 99th Fighter Squadron. Subsequent classes would swell the ranks of the African-American units giving these lucky first pilots and ground crews a cohesive functional unit that would indeed serve the United States professionally as an air unit and with their new talents as citizens.

The ranks of trained pilots grew to where on May 26th the 100th Fighter Squadron was activated followed by the activation of the 332nd Fighter Group which consisted of the 100th, 301st and the 302nd Fighter Squadrons. By the time the Tuskegee facilities were closed in 1949, 1030 African-American pilots graduated from the Institute.

The 99th Fighter Squadron received its orders for over-sea deployment on April 1, 1943. Lt. Col. Benjamin Davis was to lead his group into combat as they debarked on a troop transport on April 15th. After a week crossing the Atlantic on April 24th the ship Mariposa docked in Morocco at a little coastal town called Casablanca with Davis and his men. Once settled in to their base the aviators began checking out in their new P-40L which were powered by the Merlin engine.

The Tuskegee Airmen knew in advance that the P-40 was not equal to the Messerschmitt 109’s and the Focke Wulf 190’s. The squadron’s first mission was on June 2nd where Davis and his men attacked ground targets. After several missions to gain confidence their squadron became stronger. Strafing ground targets and then adding small bombs to their P-40’s became routine to where they sometimes flew two missions a day. The entire squadron from aircraft maintenance to bomb loaders and refueling teams worked perfectly. Their long practice back in the U.S. had prepared them for their duties admirably.

The group met their first Luftwaffe aircraft on June 9th as they escorted twelve A-20 medium bombers. Eight of the group stayed with the bombers as they were attacked by Bf-109’s. Four fighters were routed into the Messerschmitts. Pilot Willie Ashley damaged one of the enemy fighters as they sped away from the target area.

On June 18th six Tuskegee Airmen came on a Luftwaffe bomber formation with escort fighters. The Luftwaffe group turned out to be twelve twin-engine Dornier Do-17 medium bombers with twenty two fighter escort. They were above Pantelleria when the dog-fight ensued lasting fifteen to twenty minutes. The attack routed the bombers to scrub their mission scoring ineffective hits with their bombs. Two of the defending Messerschmitts were damaged.

The group also lost their first men to Luftwaffe pilots on July 2nd when Davis was leading his group as escort to twelve B-25 Mitchell bombers. The target was Castelvetrano which is located south west of Sicily. This would be the first mission that Davis himself would see enemy aircraft. Above his group Davis saw two Fw-190’s and four Bf-109’s. The entire group identified the enemy fighters as they dove for the bombers. Davis vectored the top cover of his group to attack which did keep the enemy fighters out of range of the bombers.

In the deadly aerial melee of twisting and turning fighters the first Luftwaffe aircraft fell to a Tuskegee Airman. Lt. Hall shot down an Fw-190 and damaged a Bf-109. Lt. Sherman White and Lt. James McCullin however were killed in action. The bombers the 99th were escorting were unmolested.

That very afternoon the 99th airfield was visited by the following Generals, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Carl Spaatz, James H. Doolittle, and John Cannon. They congratulated the group for its first aerial victory in addition to their bombing escort record which was now growing in reputation. Mind you these brave aviators were flying the P-40L which only had four fifty-caliber machine guns and was not as agile as the Luftwaffe fighters. The P-40 pilot had to really work his fighter knowing its strong points and knowing his fighters weaknesses. Some pilots lost their lives due to the few disadvantages the P-40 was unable to over come yet the fighter was a strong piece of aeronautical design and could take damage and deliver some damage itself.

On September 3, 1943, Davis was ordered back to the States to take command of the 332nd Fighter Group. The group was activated on October 13, 1942 and consisted of three squadrons and support groups making it self sufficient. The entire personal of the group was African-American except for the Commander and his training personal. Now the group would be all African-American with a combat veteran, Benjamin Davis in command.

The 332nd departed on January 3, 1944 for Italy. A few days before Davis and the group landed success stories of the 99th squadron at the Allied landing at Anzio were reported to them. Davis was proud in that his men were being led well and was performing gallantly in his absence. The 99th was recognized for their deeds up and above the call to duty for their efforts at Anzio. Davis returned to a well established unit with three more fighter squadrons for support. Remember that the pilots at Anzio were still flying the P-39 and the P-40.

On January 27th, the 99th was able to catch the Luftwaffe attacking the Allied landing on Anzio beach. The Tuskegee Airmen caught Focke Wulf 190's which had been carrying bombs as they pulled out of their dives. The pilots of the 99th shot down eight of the Fw-190's. They also badly damaged two others considered as parables and damaged another two routing the enemy. The next day the 99th was able to shoot down four more enemy aircraft that were trying to attack the landing and cargo ships in the harbor. Taking out twelve enemy aircraft and damaging four others hurt the Luftwaffe units in the area. This subsequently eased the attacks form the German Air Force on the landing area for a time.

I am writing a condensed story since each of you can personally read for yourselves the many books and biographies of the Tuskegee Airmen as I have. I am only skirting the surface of the tens-of-thousands of words I have consumed as well as the interviews I have conducted. Officially I will try to keep the reader in the proper military relationship of Squadrons, Groups, and Commands. Officially once Davis returned to Italy with his re-enforcements they were the 332nd Fighter Group assigned to the 62nd Fighter Wing, 12th Air Force. They were under the command of Col. Robert Israel where they replaced the 81st Fighter Group on February 15, 1944 as the group was transferred out of the theater.

Their first mission was to protect the harbor, escort naval and cargo convoys as well as reconnaissance patrols. Most all of the supplies for the Allied Landing were being delivered through that port so its protection was vital. On two occasions two Junkers Ju-88 reconnaissance aircraft were badly damaged. It was here at Anzio that Davis was awarded the Legion of Merit for his service with the 99th. Only a few months earlier there was a movement to dis-credit and disband the 99th Fighter Squadron. Davis was a level headed leader with honor and great temper. Davis had to fight two fronts, one against the Luftwaffe and the other was his critics in his own government and in the Army Air Corp who wanted to defeat him and his squadron as bad as the Luftwaffe.

The surplus of new aircraft gave the 332nd the opportunities to receive the P-51 Mustang. At first they got hand-me-down P-51C Mustangs but brand new factory P-51D's were showing up on the airfield soon there after. By July 1944 the 332nd had replaced its war-weary P-39's, P-40's and even the P-47 Razorback with the P-51B's and C's. The red tail had been painted on the tails only of the Thunderbolts. This started the group's distinguishable identification. As soon as the Mustangs arrived they were subsequently painted with the red tails and stabilizers. The groups painted the trim tabs either Yellow, Black or White representing the different squadrons.

The 332nd pilots adorned their fighters with the names or nick-names of their wives or girl-friends. Some had artwork but most all were christened with the names of their loved ones. Lee Archer named his Mustang, "Ina the Macon Belle", Roscoe Brown's was named "Bunny", and Hiram Mann's P-51 was named after his wife, "Boss Lady." Davis named his P-51 Mustang, "By Request". The reason Davis named his fighter By Request was because the bomber groups would request escort by the Red Tails. After many missions the bomber groups would send telegraphs and make phone calls to congratulated the Tuskegee Airmen personally for staying with them and keeping them safe. "By Request!" That says it all.

The combined results of the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group during the war was an impressive 15,533 sorties. During these missions they shot down a total of 111 enemy aircraft. An additional one hundred and fifty enemy aircraft were destroyed on their airfield during strafing and bombing missions as well. The Squadrons were also credited with destroying fifty seven locomotives and six hundred enemy vehicles. However it was the close support of the Allied Landing at Anzio, Italy by keeping the Luftwaffe aircraft from attacking the landing that was the most exceptional accomplishment.

Many American pilots never shot down an enemy aircraft. That did not mean that they did not do their jobs. Davis is an example of such. Flying 35 combat missions himself he flew with his men and he did his job as they did their jobs. Davis stayed closed to the bombers as he directed his top cover to fend off the incoming aircraft. But when the mission called for them to strafe and bomb enemy targets, Davis took his P-40 into the thick of the fire.

Benjamin O. Davis was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Clusters, Croix de Guerre and three Distinguished Service Medals. He served from 1936 until his retirement 35 years later as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Strike Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

One more thing that I would like to add. After reading a dozen books and articles on human psychology and studying the cause and effect of our thinking and actions I did lean one thing; "The only thing that we can really control in life is our ability to adjust our attitude towards the events that face us". This is the one thing that stands out the most about my studies of the Tuskegee Airmen as well as the WASP pilots of WWII.

In January 2010, I donated Benjamin Davis prints to the sixteen Tuskegee Airmen that rode in the Rose Blow Parade which featured a float honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. It was a beautiful float showing two P-51 Mustangs flying together with the props slowly turning. Below are some of the airmen at the parade with my donated print.

Below are links to the pages of the Tuskegee Airmen I have worked with.

Please tell your friends about my endeavors.

Lee Archer                       P-51C

Roscoe Brown                  P-51D

Hiram Mann                     P-51D

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Posted on January 15, 2009