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Focus On: The Tuskegee Airmen

Between 1941 and 1946, roughly 1,000 black pilots were trained at a segregated air base in Tuskegee, Alabama. The most famous of the Tuskegee Airmen were the 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the “Red Tails” for the distinctive markings of their planes. The 99th Pursuit Squadron, later renamed the 99th Fighter Squadron, also distinguished themselves in combat. Together they flew more than 15,000 sorties and lost 66 men in the line of duty. Additional units, the 477th Bombardment Group and the 553rd Fighter Replacement Training Squadron, were activated during the war, but did not see combat.

The Tuskegee Airmen played a vital role in the African American war for “Double Victory” — victory over the Axis powers and victory over racism at home. In 1941 fewer than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military. By 1945, more than 1.2 million African Americans would be serving in uniform on the Home Front, in Europe and the Pacific (including thousands of African American women). The United States Armed Forces were officially desegregated in 1948.

The Museum’s US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center will feature a restored P-51 Mustang painted with the Red Tails markings of the 332nd Fighter Group.

Learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen with our Focus On page, including oral histories, images, a fact sheet and more.

See a full schedule of events and other resources for Black History Month at The National WWII Museum.
 

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