The Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African-American military pilots (fighter and bomber) who fought in World War II. Officially, they formed the Fighter Group and the Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel for the pilots. Black Americans in many U.S. states were still the subject. The American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside the army. The U.S. Air Force did not yet exist as a separate entity. The Army had resisted using black men as pilots but, in response to a pending lawsuit, conceded to creating a segregated unit for them.

armed forces. the Tuskegee Army Air Field, and were educated at Tuskegee University. Although the Bombardment Group trained with bombers, they never served in combat. The Pursuit Squadron was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas. The Fighter Group, which originally included the Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. The group deployed to Italy. The Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions, and the Fighter Squadron was assigned to the Fighter Group, which then had four fighter