The Tuskegee Airmen

The only African-American pilots in combat with the Army Air Forces during World War II believed they had something to prove. They knew that if they performed well in battle, the decision to accept them in a role from which they had previously been excluded would be vindicated. Excellent combat performance would also contribute to expanding opportunities for African Americans, not only in the armed forces of the United States, but in American society as a whole.

Major James Ellison returns the salute of Mac Ross while he reviews the very first class of Tuskegee Airmen (AF photo)

Later known as “Tuskegee Airmen” because they had trained to fly at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, members of the 332nd Fighter Group and its four squadrons, the 99th, 100th, 301st and 302nd, more than met the challenge. They shot down 112 enemy aircraft in flight. This paper describes that important part of their story. Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. served as the most famous of the 332nd Fighter Group commanders.

His father had been the first African-American general in the U.S. Army. Partly because he was a graduate of West Point, Col. Davis had already been commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first black flying unit in the Army Air Corps. The squadron was more than a year older than the group. [1]

Hall is congratulated by Gen. Canon for his victory

The 99th FS deployed from Tuskegee, Ala., to French Morocco in April 1943. Originally flying the P-40 Warhawk, the 99th began combat operations from Tunisia on June 2. While serving under the Twelfth Air Force, the 99th and other fighter and bomber squadrons attacked enemy installations in Tunisia and Sicily and on the island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean Sea.
The defenders of Pantelleria, heavily bombarded from the air and sea, surrendered on June 11 without the need for an invasion. [2]
On July 2, 1943, 99th Fighter Squadron pilots escorted North American B-25 medium bombers in an attack on Castelvetrano, Italy.
Enemy Focke-Wulf FW 190 fighters rose to intercept the bombers, and the Tuskegee P-40s intervened. On that day Lt. Charles B. Hall scored the squadron’s first aerial victory. Never before had an African-American fighter pilot in the U.S. armed forces shot down an enemy aircraft. [3]
Hall’s was the only squadron aerial victory for all of 1943.

Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. in the cockpit of his P-51 was the most famous commander of the 332nd Fighter Group. (Photo from the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA)

On June 9, a squadron formation had scattered when a German fighter force twice its size and flying superior aircraft attacked it from above and out of the sun. Army Air Force generals questioned whether the 99th Fighter Squadron should remain in combat. In testimony before the War Department’s Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies, Col. Davis convinced committee members to endorse his squadron’s continued combat role. [4]

Capt. Erwin B. Lawrence was at one time C/O of the 99th FS. He was KIA on 4 Oct. 1944. (AFHRA)

From the spring of 1943 until May 1944, the 99th was assigned to the XII Air Support Command but attached at various times to white fighter groups, including the 324th, the 33rd and the 79th. During that time, the squadron supported the Allied invasion of Sicily, to which it moved in late July 1943, and the mainland of Italy, to which it moved in October. On January 16, 1944 the squadron moved again, this time to Capodichino Airdrome near Naples. [5]
Less than one week later, more than 37,000 Allied troops launched an amphibious invasion of Anzio, about 35 miles south of Rome. Although they established a beachhead by nightfall, they could not break out of the city. On January 23, Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the Allied positions and two hospital ships in the harbor. Four Army Air Forces fighter groups and their squadrons took on the task of repelling enemy air raids. Among them was the 99th Fighter Squadron. [6]
On January 27 and 28, formations of German FW 190s raided Anzio. Eleven of the squadron’s pilots shot down enemy fighters in those two days. Among the victors was Capt. Charles B. Hall, who had already scored the squadron’s first aerial victory almost seven months earlier. Hall shot down two, bringing his aerial victory total to three. [7]
Eight fighter squadrons were involved in the air defense of Anzio on January 27 and 28, and together they shot down a total of 32 enemy aircraft. Of these, the 99th had the highest score, with 13. The most enemy aircraft shot down by any of the other squadrons in those two days was seven. Black fighter pilots proved that they could shoot down enemy aircraft as well as their white counterparts after all. [8]

99th Fighter Squadron pilots earned four more aerial victory credits on February 5 and 7, 1944, shooting down German FW 190s raiding Anzio and driving off others. Now the squadron total was 18. By the end of the war, the squadron had also earned three Distinguished Unit Citations. [9]

An early shot of some Tuskers while they were still flying the P-40 (Air Force photo)

Former squadron commander Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. had returned to the United States in October 1943 to assume command of the 332nd Fighter Group, the first African-American fighter group. In February 1944, the group moved to the Mediterranean Theater with three assigned squadrons, the 100th, 301st and 302nd. On May 1, the 99th joined the group. [10]
Members of the 99th Fighter Squadron would still have the opportunity to shoot down enemy aircraft, but no longer for the 12th Air Force on close air support and interdiction missions. The new mission of the 332nd Fighter Group was to escort heavy bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force on raids against enemy strategic targets in southern and central Europe. They served as one of seven such groups. By the end of May, the group was equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and settled at Ramitelli Airfield in Italy. [11]
On June 9, 1944, Col. Davis led 332nd Fighter Group as it escorted bombers of the 304th Bombardment Wing on a raid to Munich, Germany. Over the Udine area of northeastern Italy, up to 20 enemy fighters challenged the formations, and a series of dogfights ensued. Four of the Tuskegee Airmen shot down five Messerschmitt Me 109s that day. Success was dampened by the fact that one of the Tuskegee flyers failed to return. 332nd Fighter Group commander Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. earned a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his heroism that day. [12]

During July 1944, the Tuskegee Airmen downed 36 enemy aircraft, the most they ever scored in a single month. One reason was that the group had begun flying the P-51 Mustang, which was faster and more maneuverable than the previous types the group had flown. The 332nd Fighter Group pilots proudly painted their aircraft tails red to distinguish them from the fighters of the other six groups of the Fifteenth Air Force, each of which had its own color scheme. [13]
On July 12, group fighters escorted a formation of Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers of the 49th Bombardment Wing to bomb the marshalling yards at Nimes in southern France. Near the target, enemy FW 190 fighters attacked the formation from above, diving through it. 1st Lt. Harold E. Sawyer of the 301st Fighter Squadron shot down one of the FW 190s. Another Tuskegee Airman, Joseph D. Elsberry, shot down three of the enemy aircraft. Elsberry earned a DFC for his actions that day. [14]
On July 16, the 332nd Fighter Group sent more than 40 P-51s on a fighter sweep of Vienna, Austria. On departing the target area, a few of the Mustang pilots spotted an Italian-made enemy aircraft approaching a straggling B-24 from another Allied mission. The group’s operations officer chased the enemy pilot and hit him with several bullets as he descended and turned to escape. Trailing thick black smoke, the quarry struck a mountain and burst into flames. Another Tuskegee Airman spotted a similar enemy airplane below him and shot pieces of the airplane off before it also crashed into the ground. [15]

Captain Andrew Turner, commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron (AFHRA photo)

The next day, July 17, members of the 332nd Fighter Group escorted Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators on a raid against a marshalling yard and railroad bridge at Avignon in southern France. Three Me 109s from a distant larger formation of enemy fighters approached in a string to attack the Liberators. Three Tuskegee pilots each chose one of the enemy fighters and chased it into the ground. [16]
As far as aerial victories are concerned, July 18 was the best day yet. The red-tailed Mustangs shot down 12 enemy airplanes, beating the previous one-day record of 10. While escorting 5th Bombardment Wing Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses on a raid against an airfield at Memmingen, they encountered at least 30 German Me 109s over the Udine and Treviso areas of Italy. The enemy fighters approached from different directions and altitudes in groups of two and five. Most of the day’s victories belonged to the 21 Tuskegee Airmen P-51s that engaged these German aircraft, but the P-51s that continued to the target area also shot down two of four FW 190s that dove on the bomber formations over Memmingen. Three of the group’s pilots went missing that day. [17]
On July 20, 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group escorted heavy bombers of three wings to their targets in the Friedrichshafen area of Germany. They also conducted a fighter sweep northeast of the target. Of the 44 P-51 escorts on the raid, 20 peeled off to engage an equal number of fighters that attacked the rear wave of bombers in the Udine area. The Tuskegee pilots shot down four Me 109s. No Tuskegee Airmen fell that day. [18]

Both bombers and fighters sometimes faced more danger from antiaircraft artillery than from enemy aircraft. On July 21 and 22, for example, 332nd Fighter Group pilots escorting B-17s and B-24s to Brux and Ploesti encountered no enemy air resistance, but lost two P-51s to flak. [19]
On other days, enemy fighters were out in force. On July 25, while escorting B-24s on a raid against a tank factory at Linz, Austria, 44 Tuskegee fighters encountered an almost equal number of Me 109s. Most of the enemy fighters provided top cover for their attacking compatriots, who struck the bombers in groups of three and four. In the ensuing air battle, 1st Lieutenant Harold E. Sawyer of the 301st Fighter Squadron shot down one Me 109 and damaged two others, but the same squadron lost two pilots in the engagement. [20]
July 26, 1944, was a day of triumph and tragedy. On the positive side, the Tuskegee Airmen shot down four Me 109s while escorting the 47th Bombardment Wing on a mission against Markendorf airdrome, Austria. At least 18 enemy Me 109 fighters, peeling off in pairs, attacked the bombers in the target area. The victory for Capt. Edward L. Toppins was his fourth, more than any other Tuskegee pilot to that time. On the negative side, 2nd Lieutenant Charles B. Jackson of the 100th Fighter Squadron was lost. [21]
The next day was better. Thirty-seven pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group escorted B-24s on a raid against an arms factory in the Budapest area of Hungary. North of Lake Balaton, they were met by more than 25 enemy fighters, which attacked from all directions.
In the ensuing dogfights, the Tuskegee pilots shot down eight enemy aircraft, including four FW 190s and four Me 109s. In the target area, 12 additional FW 190s attacked the bomber formations, but 332nd Fighter Group P-51s easily dispersed them. [22]
On July 30, the 332nd Fighter Group closed out its aerial victories for the month.
2nd Lt. Carl E. Johnson of the 100th Fighter Squadron, having joined 42 other P-51 pilots in escorting bombers attacking Budapest, shot down an Italian made Reggiane Re 2001 that attempted to shoot down one of the Mustangs on the way back. [23]

War Bonds Poster featuring a Tuskegee Airman

Captain Wendell O. Pruitt (seen here with his crew chief) would become one of the top scorers of the Tuskegee Airmen with three victories. (AFHRA)

During August 1944, the Tuskegee Airmen encountered less enemy aircraft opposition, but there were a few outstanding days. On August 14, more than 60 of the 332nd Fighter Group P-51s strafed targets in southern France. Two Me 109s and two FW 190s attacked the Mustangs at about 15,000 feet in the Toulon area, coming from high and behind. 2nd Lt. George M. Rhodes, Jr. of the 100th Fighter Squadron chased one of the FW 190s as it descended to the deck, hitting the left wing and causing it to crash. While enemy aircraft shot down no Tuskegee Airmen that day, two were lost to flak. [24]
On August 23, the group escorted bombers to Markersdorf Airdrome in Germany. Sixty P-51s accompanied the bombers to the target area and spotted 14 Me 109s at 28,000 to 30,000 feet. Seven of the enemy airplanes dived through the formation, and some of the Tuskegee pilots gave chase. Flight Officer William L. Hill of the 302nd Fighter Squadron shot down one of the Me 109s. [25]
The next aerial encounter occurred the next day, as 52 P-51s of the 332nd Fighter Group escorted 5th Bombardment Wing B-24s and B-17s to Pardubice Airdrome in Czechoslovakia. 1st Lt. John F. Briggs attacked one Me 109 that approached the formation. His bullets knocked pieces off the enemy aircraft and the pilot bailed out. During the same mission, two 302nd Fighter Squadron pilots each destroyed an FW 190 as they dove toward the deck. One of the enemy planes crashed into the ground while attempting to evade, and the other one succumbed to gunfire. [26]
Opportunities for Tuskegee victories diminished as the war continued. During September, the 332nd Fighter Group rarely encountered

any enemy aircraft, and thus shot down none. October was the same, except for one memorable day. On Columbus Day, October 12, 1944, the group destroyed nine enemy airplanes as it strafed railroad traffic in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The 302nd Fighter Squadron encountered a lone twin-engine Heinkel He 111 near Tapolca, Hungary, and Capt. Wendell O. Pruitt peeled off to attack it. When he did, nine other enemy airplanes arrived, including two other He 111s and seven Me 109s that were probably escorting them. A furious air battle followed during the next 15 minutes, ranging between the altitudes of 7,000 feet and a few hundred feet.
1st Lt. Lee A. Archer shot down three of the Me 109s in rapid succession, bringing his total of enemy aircraft destroyed to four. Pruitt got the He 111 he originally targeted, plus another Me 109 besides. Only one of the enemy airplanes, a Me 109, got away. Flak got the only Tuskegee Airman lost that day. [27]
On November 16, the 332nd Fighter Group experienced its only other aerial encounter of 1944. As three of the 332nd Group’s P-51s escorted a crippled B-24 heavy bomber of the 304th Bombardment Wing toward Allied territory, they were attacked by eight Me 109s near the Udine area of Italy. The enemy planes came in from high and behind, attacking in a string from an altitude of 24,000 feet.

Captain Armour McDaniel with his ground crew examine combat damage to his P-51. (AFHRA)

Capt. Luke J. Weathers of the 302nd Fighter Squadron chased one of the Me 109s as it descended rapidly in a defensive Lufberry maneuver. His guns hit their target, and it smoked before crashing into the ground. Another Me 109 got behind Weathers, who chopped his throttle. The enemy airplane overshot and ended up in front of the P-51. Weathers fired short bursts and the enemy pilot, attempting to evade, crashed into a mountainside. The encounter was over in less than 10 minutes. The other six Me 109s got away. The month was bittersweet. Many of the group’s best pilots, including Lee Archer, completed their quota of missions and returned home. [28]

An armorer loads 0.50 caliber ammunition belts into a P-51. (USAF photo, 53702AC)

In the four months between November 16, 1944, and March 16, 1945, the Tuskegee Airmen scored no aerial victories, partly because harsh winter weather and shortages of enemy pilots and fuel discouraged aerial encounters. The Luftwaffe also concentrated its forces in northern Europe, where Allied forces advanced from both east and west. In January and February 1945, pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group occasionally spotted enemy aircraft, probably jets, but they were too fast and far away to challenge. [29]
As the weather improved in March, so did the opportunity to shoot down enemy airplanes. On March 16, 1st Lt. William S. Price III and four of his fellow Tuskegee Airmen descended on Mettenheim airfield to strafe enemy aircraft on the ground. Price shot at a Me 109 just as it became airborne, and it quickly cartwheeled into the ground. It was the first of 16 Tuskegee victories for the month. [30]
The next victories came on March 24. Forty three of the 332nd Fighter Group’s P-51s escorted B-17s of the 5th Bombardment Wing on a raid against the Daimler-Benz tank factory in Berlin. A total of 25 enemy airplanes rose up to challenge the bombers. Among them were FW 190s, jet Messerschmitt Me 262s and rocket-propelled Messerschmitt Me 163s. While both of the latter two aircraft types could fly at least 100 mph faster than the P-51 Mustangs, they could not turn as quickly. Rapid fuel consumption also restricted the time jets and rockets could engage in aerial combat. Short of fuel, the Germans limited use of the new airplanes, and training was restricted. Three of the 100th Fighter Squadron pilots each shot down one of the Me 262s, the first time members of the 332nd Fighter Group destroyed any jets. The pilots were 1st Lieutenants Roscoe C. Brown and Earl R. Lane and 2nd Lt. Charles V. Brantley.

For its outstanding performance in combat that day, the 332nd Fighter Group earned the Distinguished Unit Citation.
The day was not unmitigated triumph for the Americans, however. One of the jets shot the right wing off a P-51, and its pilot, Capt. Armour G. McDaniel, went down. [31]
In terms of aerial victory credits, the best day for the Tuskegee Airmen was March 31, 1945. Members of the 332nd Fighter Group shot down 13 airplanes, the most since the 12 they got on July 18, 1944. The red-tailed Mustangs were conducting a fighter sweep of the Munich area and strafing rail targets in southern Germany when they were challenged by German Me 109s and FW 190s. Six members of the 99th Fighter Squadron shot down five Me 109s and one FW 190, all of the enemy fighters that challenged them in their assigned western sector of the target area. The 100th Fighter Squadron also produced six victors that day. They shot down five FW 190s and two Me 109s. The 11 enemy fighters that challenged the 100th Fighter Squadron in its eastern sector of the target area were more aggressive than those that confronted the 99th, and four got away. [32]

August 1944, Ramitelli, Italy. From left to right: Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan, Lt. Carrol S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelson, Jr., Capt. Andrew D. Turner, and Lt. Clarence P. Lester. (Air Force photo)

On April 1, the primary mission of the 332nd Fighter Group was to escort B-24s raiding St. Polten marshalling yard. Eight of the 47 red-tailed P-51s that launched preceded the bombers and then flew a fighter sweep of the Linz area of Austria. Flying at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the Mustang pilots spotted four FW 190s near Wels flying in the same direction but about 2,000 feet below them. They dived to attack, but at that point, 12 additional enemy aircraft appeared from a higher altitude. A series of individual dogfights ensued, ranging from altitudes of 5,000 feet to the deck. The enemy pilots attempted to out-turn the P-51s or to lead them over antiaircraft artillery. Seven members of the 301st Fighter Squadron shot down 12 enemy airplanes that day, including eight FW 190s and four Me 109s. Unfortunately, three of the P-51s failed to return. [33]
On April 15, the 332nd Fighter Group launched 37 P-51s to strafe rail targets in southern Germany and Austria. Mustangs of the 99th, 100th and 301st Fighter Squadrons each took a separate area. While two of the 301st pilots were strafing rail traffic, they spotted a Me 109 and chased him. 1st Lt. Jimmy Lanham’s shots hit the enemy aircraft in the engine and it burst into flames before crashing into the ground. Four of the Tuskegee pilots failed to return to Ramitelli that day, but they were not all lost. Two landed at alternate fields. [34]
The final day for Tuskegee Airmen aerial victories was April 26. Three of six group P-51s escorting a reconnaissance airplane peeled off to investigate an unidentified aircraft that turned out to be an Allied Mosquito. On their way back, they encountered five Me 109s that rocked their wings to appear to be friendly. Not fooled, the Mustang pilots turned toward the enemy, who took evasive action. Only one of the Me 109s escaped. A few days later, the war ended. [35]

Color shot of a Red Tail P-51 in use by the Tuskegee Airmen near the end of the War (Air Force photo)

During World War II, 72 Tuskegee Airmen shot down 112 enemy aircraft, including the best of the German fighters. Members of the 332nd Fighter Group downed at least 10 airplanes on four separate days in 1944 and 1945. Three of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 301st Fighter Squadron’s Capt. Joseph D. Elsberry, the 99th Fighter Squadron’s Capt. Edward L. Toppins and the 302nd Fighter Squadron’s Lt. Lee A. Archer, each shot down four enemy planes. On most missions, the group escorted heavy bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force on raids against targets in Germany, Austria, and other parts of central Europe. The Tuskegee Airmen proved that African-Americans were capable of flying the best of the Allied fighters to victory against the best of the enemy fighters. They earned an indelible place in the history not only of their service, but also in the history of their country and of the world. [36]

The Tuskegee Airmen

112 Victories: Aerial Victory Credits of the Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen With More Than One Claim

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF TUSKEGEE AIRMEN AERIAL VICTORY CREDITS

References