When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s red, the nickname 'Red Tails' was coined. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944) and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter-bomber aircraft.

In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions and, in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons. Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat. The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and other parts of Italy). It also included a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the Dominican Republic. Of the 922 pilots, five were Haitians from the Haitian Air Force and one pilot was from Trinidad. They were educated at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), located near Tuskegee, Alabama. The group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.Īll black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Griel Field, Kennedy Field, Moton Field, Shorter Field, and the Tuskegee Army Air Fields.

The Tuskegee airmen received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting white American bombers from enemy fighters. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel.

They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The Tuskegee Airmen / t ʌ s ˈ k iː ɡ iː/ were a group of African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II.

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