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The '''Tuskegee Airmen''' were the 1000 black airmen who fought in segregated units of the Air Force during World War II, flying combat, reconnaissance, and other missions. They trained at Tuskegee Institute, a predominantly black private college in Alabama.
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, using Curtiss P-40 fighters, was based in Tunisia in 1943. On June 2, 1943, it entered combat for the first time in a bombing mission against the German-held island of Pantelleria. The squadron later supported the Allied invasion of Sicily. The 332nd Fighter Group escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe, using P-39, Curtiss P-40, [[P-47]] and [[P-51 Mustang]] fighters. The two units shot down 111 enemy planes and lost none of the bombers they were escorting.
Leader of the 99th and the 332nd was Colonel [[Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.]] (1912-2002), later the first black Lt. General.
The National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit was built as a tribute to these men.
[[Category:United States Air Force]]
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, using Curtiss P-40 fighters, was based in Tunisia in 1943. On June 2, 1943, it entered combat for the first time in a bombing mission against the German-held island of Pantelleria. The squadron later supported the Allied invasion of Sicily. The 332nd Fighter Group escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe, using P-39, Curtiss P-40, [[P-47]] and [[P-51 Mustang]] fighters. The two units shot down 111 enemy planes and lost none of the bombers they were escorting.
Leader of the 99th and the 332nd was Colonel [[Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.]] (1912-2002), later the first black Lt. General.
The National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit was built as a tribute to these men.
[[Category:United States Air Force]]