Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen were African American military pilots and support personnel trained in Alabama during World War II. They served in segregated U.S. Army Air Forces units, including the 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group.

Executive Order 9981: A 1948 executive order that directed the desegregation of the U.S. armed forces. The Airmen’s wartime service helped build pressure for the military desegregation this order mandated.
99th Fighter Squadron: A U.S. Army Air Forces fighter squadron activated in 1941 and staffed by Black pilots trained at Tuskegee. It was the first Black flying unit to enter combat during World War II.
Military desegregation: The removal of legally enforced racial separation within a nation’s armed forces. The Airmen’s service became evidence in the wider campaign to integrate the U.S. military.
Women Airforce Service Pilots: A U.S. civilian women’s organization that flew military aircraft on domestic assignments during World War II. Unlike the Tuskegee Airmen, WASP pilots were women and did not fly combat missions.
Civilian Pilot Training Program: A U.S. government program established in 1939 to train civilian pilots at colleges and flight schools. Its expansion to Black colleges opened an early route into aviation training for Black students.
332nd Fighter Group: A U.S. Army Air Forces fighter group whose Black pilots trained at Tuskegee and served in Europe during World War II. Its squadrons flew combat missions from Italy and escorted Allied bombers.
Double V campaign: A World War II campaign urging victory against fascism abroad and racism in the United States. The Airmen’s service embodied the campaign’s demand for democracy on both fronts.
Navajo Code Talkers: Navajo Marines who used their language to transmit military messages during World War II. They faced a different form of wartime service and discrimination from the Black pilots trained at Tuskegee.
Tuskegee University: A historically Black university in Tuskegee, Alabama, founded in 1881. Its facilities and nearby Moton Field anchored the Airmen’s flight-training program.
15th Air Force: A U.S. Army Air Forces formation that conducted strategic bombing operations from the Mediterranean during World War II. The 332nd Fighter Group flew escort missions within this air force.

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