The Tuskegee Airmen: The History and Legacy of America’s First Black Fighter Pilots in World War II

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of training, combat, and segregation written by multiple members of the Tuskegee Airmen *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “When World War II started, the black press and the black community wanted blacks to be able to fly because in 1925, the military had done a study that said that blacks didn’t have the intelligence, ability, or coordination to fly airplanes. The pressure from the NAACP and the press caused them to start an experimental group that was to be trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, and that’s why we were known as ‘The Tuskegee Airmen.’…I come from a generation of African Americans where we were always trying to be better. We were taught that you had to be better than whites in order to move ahead, so we were very competitive…Practically everyone in the Tuskegee Airmen was an exceptional scholar and athlete, so the competition was really great and it helped to bond us together.” – Roscoe Brown, one of the Tuskegee Airmen The United States has no shortage of famous military units, from the Civil War’s Iron Brigade to the 101st Airborne, but one would be hard pressed to find one that had to go through as many hardships off the field as the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American fighter pilots who overcame Jim Crow at home and official segregation in the military to serve their country in the final years of World War II. In fact, it required a concerted effort by groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the extreme circumstances brought about by World War II that the military eventually decided to establish the “Tuskegee Experiment.” The black crews trained at Tuskegee before being sent overseas, and even then, they faced discrimination from those who didn’t trust them to do more than escort bombers flown by white pilots. However, as the men proved their worth in the heat of battle, some of the squadrons’ red markings helped them earn the nickname “Red Tails,” and their track record was so good that eventually the white pilots of American bombers wanted to fly with them. As Tuskegee airman Roscoe Brown eloquently put it, “They have a saying that excellence is the antidote to prejudice; so, once you show you can do it, some of the barriers will come down.” In time, the Tuskegee Airmen would be romanticized and mythologized to the extent that it was erroneously claimed that some escort squadrons didn’t lose a bomber to the enemy, which led Tuskegee airman Grant Williams to note in jest, “Back then, nobody realized the significance of what we were doing. Now, they seem to think we could walk on water." However, even though the suggestion that the escorts lost no bombers on their missions was inaccurate, there is no question that the Tuskegee Airmen’s record was elite and some of the fighter pilots were among the best to serve. Ironically, this was a byproduct of the systemic racism the men had to overcome, which resulted in extra training and planning among other issues. The Tuskegee Airmen: The History and Legacy of America’s First Black Fighter Pilots in World War II chronicles the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and their important place in American military history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Tuskegee Airmen like never before, in no time at all.

Genres: History

56 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2015

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Fletcher Dyflin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, the Tuskegee Airmen have stuck with me ever since I first learned about them touring an air museum, & as a history major they were always something I wanted to go back & learn more about. This one covers it very succinctly. It's a very quick read, but it's line after line of here are the facts, here's the evidence of what happened.

It gives a much more detailed overview of what it was like before they ever saw conflict, & how much of that conflict was at home: in training, on the homefront, & dealing with all of the racial issues that were so common for that time. Their power & willpower to push through it & become an elite squad is so commendable. This is part of history that should never be forgotten.

Read this if you're craving: history that should never be forgotten · quick, fact-heavy reads · WWII history

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Includes pictures
*Includes accounts of training, combat, and segregation written by multiple members of the Tuskegee Airmen
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
*Includes a table of contents

“When World War II started, the black press and the black community wanted blacks to be able to fly because in 1925, the military had done a study that said that blacks didn’t have the intelligence, ability, or coordination to fly airplanes. The pressure from the NAACP and the press caused them to start an experimental group that was to be trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, and that’s why we were known as ‘The Tuskegee Airmen.’…I come from a generation of African Americans where we were always trying to be better. We were taught that you had to be better than whites in order to move ahead, so we were very competitive…Practically everyone in the Tuskegee Airmen was an exceptional scholar and athlete, so the competition was really great and it helped to bond us together.” – Roscoe Brown, one of the Tuskegee Airmen

The United States has no shortage of famous military units, from the Civil War’s Iron Brigade to the 101st Airborne, but one would be hard pressed to find one that had to go through as many hardships off the field as the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American fighter pilots who overcame Jim Crow at home and official segregation in the military to serve their country in the final years of World War II. In fact, it required a concerted effort by groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the extreme circumstances brought about by World War II that the military eventually decided to establish the “Tuskegee Experiment.”

The black crews trained at Tuskegee before being sent overseas, and even then, they faced discrimination from those who didn’t trust them to do more than escort bombers flown by white pilots. However, as the men proved their worth in the heat of battle, some of the squadrons’ red markings helped them earn the nickname “Red Tails,” and their track record was so good that eventually the white pilots of American bombers wanted to fly with them. As Tuskegee airman Roscoe Brown eloquently put it, “They have a saying that excellence is the antidote to prejudice; so, once you show you can do it, some of the barriers will come down.”

In time, the Tuskegee Airmen would be romanticized and mythologized to the extent that it was erroneously claimed that some escort squadrons didn’t lose a bomber to the enemy, which led Tuskegee airman Grant Williams to note in jest, “Back then, nobody realized the significance of what we were doing. Now, they seem to think we could walk on water." However, even though the suggestion that the escorts lost no bombers on their missions was inaccurate, there is no question that the Tuskegee Airmen’s record was elite and some of the fighter pilots were among the best to serve. Ironically, this was a byproduct of the systemic racism the men had to overcome, which resulted in extra training and planning among other issues.

The Tuskegee Airmen: The History and Legacy of America’s First Black Fighter Pilots in World War II chronicles the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and their important place in American military history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Tuskegee Airmen like never before, in no time at all.

What did I think"
5 stars
Once again I have to say that this is a must read, while it is short, it does give you a lot of history about the Tuskegee Airmen , how they were told that because of their skin color they wasn't able to fly, but they keep proving people wrong, you get to see what they went though from training to actually flying in to batter, they types of airplanes they flow, and the black and white photos I can't forget about those , they help bring the story to life .

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is group of black men who loved to fly and wanted to serve their country during WWII but who ran into massive prejudice on the part of the military with their refusal to believe black men could ever be as good pilots as white men.

Stupid idea, of course, but when you go into the history of WWII you'll find discrimination against black men was pretty well wide-spread, keeping them into support roles more than anything else and not allowing them to prove just how good they could be as white soldiers.

Anyhow, the book goes into how various black men learned how to fly, how they got into various flying units and how they were basically kept of regular front-line flying duties (wasting a lot of potential.)

It also goes into how eventually they were given decent planes and chance to show what they could do and they performed in nothing less than a great manner as pilots who protected bombers, shot down Nazi planes, blew up things on the ground and ended up being so effective bombing groups wanted them specifically as protective fighters.

A truly amazing group of black patriots.

[Robert R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book’

I cannot get enough about the Tuskegee Airmen. My dad was a gunner in the 99th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force and on his missions from Fogia and back the B17s were escorted by the Red Tails. The only thing he ever said about the war was that the Tuskegee Airmen were fearless. This book does justice to the two wars they fought: over there and back here. I learned things I had not known even though I have read many other books on these brave men!

[Kevin Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ignores Chronology, Too Hard to Follow

It will mention a month and year in one paragraph then give just a month and you don’t Know the year. Will also mention 1944 then the next paragraph jump back to 1943.

It also quotes relates the myths as facts in one chapter then calls them myths in another. No wonder the myths persist.

[Sam Hartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shorter read about the initial development of the tuskegee airmen, scouting propper candidates from around the country to represent the 1st african american fighter pilots. Also went in depth about their fighting experience in europe protecting bombing raids and the discrimination issues they faced along the way. Leading to change on the homefront

[Steven Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Nicely written. Not a dry read, kept me interested. History is something we all should continuously read in an effort to appreciate what we have and the sacrifices of those that preceded us.

[James Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read. It summarizes the story of these.courageous American men. They fought two wars. One was against the Nazis; the other was against the prejudice that permeated the Armed Forces of the United States of America. Very informative helpful if you want to know more about them.

[Angeline Gallant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures were a nice touch. There are a lot of facts included so it would be better for an older child.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

[daniella! · Rating 4 out of 5]

very insightful I liked it a lot

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it was a nice, interesting book, I felt at one point there was some redundancy.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important but less-known episode of WWII presently lucidly..

[Shannan Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short read of some of the first black fighter pilots in America during World War one.