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Tuskegee Airmen Research Paper

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The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
John C. Robinson, enrolled at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and got his degree in Mechanics at only eighteen years old (Brownlee, R.A 2012). When he returned a war hero from being the commander of the Ethiopian Air Force, he dreamed of having an aeronautical school at Tuskegee (Brownlee). However, out of pure luck Tuskegee was chosen to be a part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program, even though Robinson didn’t have a hand in this and he was teaching at Keesler and Chanute Air Fields during World War II (Brownlee). He laid the foundation and standards for who African American pilots were during World War II: well respected, and had excellent piloting and combat skills. Through his determination and …show more content…

Davis, who was the commander of the 99th fighter group, would become the commander of the 332nd group (Haulman, Dale L. 2010). In 1944, the group went to Italy where the 99th squadron was, and they served under the fifteenth Air Force. According to Haulman, “[they were] given the primary mission of escorting heavy bombers such as Boeing B-17s and Consolidated B-24s to their targets in southern, central, and eastern Europe” (Haulman). Soon after spotting a warship on the Gulf of Venezia and Gulf of Trieste and shooting it down till it sunk, the next day the entire group received the p-51 Mustangs that were faster and had a longer range in combat (Haulman). With this new equipment, the Tuskegee Airmen was one of seven fighter groups selected to escort the heavy bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force (Haulman). The Tuskegee Airmen would rotate on escorting each bomber wing, their fighter planes had a distinctive red tail on it, to identify that they were American and what their main mission was (Haulman). During their time in the Fifteenth Air Force, Haulman reported they had encountered enemies 35 out of 311 missions that they completed for the Fifteenth Air Force, and seven out of 172 heavy bomber missions, had been shot down my enemy aircraft (Haulman). Even during World War II, Tuskegee Airmen shot down 112 enemy airplanes (Haulman), this is how well trained they fought together. According to Haulman “The 332d earned another Distinguished Unit Citation [on top of what the 99th group received beforehand] for the only Fifteenth Air Force mission to Berlin, the German capital. The raid took place on March 24, 1945. Three Tuskegee Airmen pilots each shot down a German Me-262 jet that day” (Haulman). Not only is this a big feat for them because the

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