Tuskegee Airmen: A Brief Chronology and Some Highlights
By Mel Fabrikant Monday, March 30, 2009, 04:55 PM EDT
Tuskegee Airmen and Mike Spivak
3 April 1939 - Public Law 18 authorized Civilian Pilot Training (CPTP) at accredited aviation schools.
15 October 1939 - CPTP was extended and authorized at 6 Historically Black Colleges and the Chicago School of Aviation.
10 January 1941 - The U.S. War Dept. Announced Negros would be accepted into the Army Air Corps and trained in combat flying at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
19 March 1941 - The 99th Pursuit Squadron was officially activated with training of Negro ground support personnel at Chanute Field, Rantaul Illinois.
19 July 1941 - The first 13 of a quota 33 Black Pilots began training at Tuskegee Army Air Field Flying School (TAAFFS), Alabama.
7 March 1942 - TAAFFS class 42C, the first class of 5 Black Pilots received their wings. They were Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., 2nd Lt George S. Roberts, 2nd Lt Leonard R. Custia, 2nd Lt Charles DeBow, and 2nd Lt Mac Ross.
2 June 1943 - The 99th Fighter Squadron had its' first combat assignment.
3 November 1943 - TAAFFS class 43J, the first class of 4 twin-engine pilots graduated.
3 January 1944 - 332nd Fighter Group (FG) consisting of the 100th, 301st, 302nd, Fighter Squadrons (FS) embarked for overseas duty.
5 February 1944 - 332nd FG began combat missions flying coastal patrol over Naples Harbor.
3 July 1944 - 99th FS joined the 332nd FG as its 4th Squadron.
24 March 1945 - Mission to Berlin, 332nd FG destroyed 3 German jets, probably destroyed 3 more and damaged 3. The group received the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for this mission.
31 March / 1 April 1945 - 332nd FG destroyed 25 German fighters and lost 0.
19 April 1945 - Freedom Field Mutiny - 101 Black Officers were placed under house arrest, 3 were court-martialed and 1 was convicted. The crime was trying to enter a whites-only Officers Club, in violation Orders of the Base Commander of Freedom Field, located in Seymour, Indiana. Those "Orders" were contrary to a Presidential Executive Order issued in 1944 to integrate facilities at all military bases.
7 May 1945 - Last combat mission of 100th FS, 332nd FG. This was also my last combat mission.
679 were trained as single engine fighter pilots.
254 were trained as multi engine pilots. The multi engine pilots became the nucleus of the all Black 477th Medium Bombardment Group (MGB).
The 332nd FG was the only Group credited with sinking an enemy destroyer with machine gun fire and it was the only group credited by the US Air Force with never having lost a plane it escorted to enemy fighters! Approximately 400 of the 679 fighter pilots were sent overseas to Africa and Europe. Approximately 5 pilots were downed but evaded capture by the enemy.
32 pilots were prisoners of war.
78 pilots were killed overseas, approximately 12 in aerial combat.
Tuskegee trained pilots destroyed or damaged 409 enemy aircraft. Of those,
117 were destroyed in aerial combat. With approximately 12 loses in aerial combat, their kill ratio was nearly 10 to 1!
Black Pilots of the 332nd FG were the 1st Top Guns of the USAF, based on scores from a USAF Fighter Gunnery contest at Las Vegas, AFB, Nevada in May 1949. The 332nd FG Top Gun pilots were Capt. Alva N. Temple, 301st FS, 1Lt Harry T. Steward, 100th FS and 1Lt James H. Harvey, 99th FS, 1LT Halbert L.
Alexander had been selected as an alternate. Until recently, the Air Force records indicated the 1st Top Gun winners were "unknown".
Three of the original members of the Tuskegee Airmen Experience were elevated to Flag Officer rank. They were Gen B.O. Davis, Jr., Gen Daniel "Chappie" James, and Maj. Gen Lucius L. Theus.
Former Tuskegee Airmen later held distinguished positions in a wide variety of fields in civilian life. Some notables in public service were Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, Colorado Lt Gov. Clifford Brown, Secretary of Transportation William Coleman, and Under Secretary of State Clifton R.
Wharton, Jr.
All 4 Squadrons and the Group designation of the former 332nd FG have been reactivated as heritage elements of the current United States Air Force.
Compiled by Leo R. Gray, Lt Col USAF (Ret)
Former Member of TAAFFS Class 44G (SE) 100th FS, 617th MBS, and 99th FS
14 February 2005
