Picture this: It’s 1944, you’re 22, currently inside the cockpit of a B-24 Marauder cockpit above Italy, preparing for a mission. A cloud of German luftwaffe fighter planes swarm towards you, and you start saying your goodbyes. However, a group of planes, seemingly out of nowhere, flies by you, and attacks the enemy aircraft, quickly destroying planes left and right. The planes look familiar, except for one thing: a red tail.
Thousands of young pilots had experiences similar to those during WWII, as red tailed P-51 Mustangs came to the rescue in their time of need. However, something was different about these P-51s. They were entirely flown and maintained by people of color—pilots and flight crews known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
In a time when the air force was part of the army, and the army was heavily segregated, the very existence of black pilots was very controversial. The 322nd fighter group and the 477th bombardment group were originally experiments, with pilots trained at the Tuskegee institute near Tuskegee, Alabama, being tested to see if African Americans could be good pilots. Spoiler Alert: They were. These all-black fighter squadrons had some of the most prestigious records of the war, and were instrumental in the European theater during WWII, as well as the battle for equality.
The Tuskegee Airmen made up some of the most distinguished squadrons of the war, as well as paved the way for African American pilots, soldiers, and sailors across the country, by proving that color has nothing to do with how well someone can pilot an aircraft, fix a tank, or captain a ship.