Hi All and thanks for the post Andy, What an appropriate gesture! It is tremendous to see these men recognised in such a way. Cheers Owen
Talking of those guys .... The 332d Fighter Group was a unit of the U.S. Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces based in Italy during World War II. It was composed of black pilots and ground support personnel trained at Tuskegee, Alabama, and the members of the group became collectively known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Reportedly, in order to become a pilot, blacks had to achieve high test scores and be college educated. Those standards were higher than those set for white pilots, and to the surprise of the Army, many Tuskegee applicants surpassed the requirements. The group was formed in October 1942, originally composed of the 100th, 301st, and 302d Fighter Squadrons. Subsequently the independent 99th Fighter Squadron was added. Upon arrival in Italy in December 1943, the group was based first at Montecovrino, then successively Capodichino, Ramitelli Airfield, and Cattolica. The 332d flew three fighter aircraft in combat: the Curtiss P-40, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and North American P-51 Mustang. Except for a period in late 1944, the 332d was led by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, a 1936 West Point graduate. In a year and a half of combat operations, the "Red Tails" (so named for the paint on their aircraft) gained a reputation as bomber escorts. No U.S. B-17s or B-24s were known lost to German fighters (as opposed to enemy action generally) while the 332d was at hand. In that time the four squadrons were credited with 113 aerial victories, including three German jets. While no aces resulted, the top scorer was 1st Lt. Lee A. Archer, officially credited with 4 destroyed, no probables, and no damaged. At the end of the war, more than 70 Red Tail pilots had been killed or were missing in action. NO_332nd_FighterGroup Lincoln Trail Libraries System : Search Results Red Tail Escort by Richard Taylor The 332nd Fighter Group (Memory): American Treasures of the Library of Congress
Hello Annie Thanks for the websites you gave as there is interesting reading in them. I can't remember the name but i am sure I saw a movie about these men. John lane:
At our airport we have a Stearman that is painted as, and I believe was, one of the Tuskegee Airman's training aircraft.
I have been up in her. Not sure about "Super Stearman" I think it has an engine in the 300 hp range. The purple one has a 450 in it. The picture of the yellow and red one is taken from my back door.
Ah, purple one would qualify as Super then, IIRC. I did a lot of work on a Stearman in West Oz but never got to see her 100% finished or even ground running. They make a fascinating comparison to the Tiger Moth! Lovely pics, btw.
Hi All, I must admit, the Stearman is a wonderful machine.....and rather different to the Tiger Moth on a number of grounds. I particularly like the naval version, the N3N. View attachment 2609 Cheers Owen
A wonderful photo at the link. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21tuskegee.html?_r=1&ref=us *I reckon that should read P-40s over North Africa and Mustangs over Europe. I might be wrong but he could be one of the 99th FS guys who went on to form the nucleus of the 332nd FG.
