The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The Tuskegee airmen received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting American bombers from enemy fighters. The group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.
The Freeman Field mutiny was a series of incidents at Freeman Army Airfield, a United States Army Air Forces base near Seymour, Indiana, in 1945 in which African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club. The mutiny resulted in 162 separate arrests of black officers, some of them twice. Three were court-martialed on relatively minor charges. One was convicted. In 1995, the Air Force officially vindicated the actions of the African-American officers, set aside the single court-martial conviction and removed letters of reprimand from the permanent files of 15 of the officers. The mutiny is generally regarded by historians of the Civil Rights Movement as an important step toward full integration of the armed forces and as a model for later efforts to integrate public facilities through civil disobedience.
Oliver Goodall was an American military aviator who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He was involved in the Freeman Field Mutiny, and he was active member in the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
The 487th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time. The unit's last known assignment was in 2003 at Cairo West Air Base, Egypt, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The 447th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) and United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). The unit is currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
The 458th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. The most recent known activation of the unit was at Ramstein Air Base, Germany in 2011.
The 500th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. Its last known assignment was at Christchurch, New Zealand, where it was activated for the summer 2005–2006 season.
The 392d Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed. The group was last active as the 392d Strategic Missile Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, where it briefly operated three early models of intercontinental ballistic missile during 1961. In 1984, the wing was consolidated with the 392d Bombardment Group
The 453rd Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit that was first organized in June 1943, during World War II, as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber group. After training in the United States, it deployed to England in December 1943, and, starting in February 1944, participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany with Eighth Air Force. Its 733d Bombardment Squadron completed 82 consecutive missions without a loss, a record for Eighth Air Force bomber units. James Stewart, of film fame, was group operations officer from 31 March to 1 July 1944. The group was programmed for redeployment to the Pacific and returned to the United States in May 1945 for training, however the Japanese surrender cancelled these plans and the group was inactivated in September 1945.
The 493d Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit that was assigned to the 92d Bombardment Wing during World War II. It the last bombardment group to be assigned to Eighth Air Force. It flew combat missions in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany until shortly before V-E Day, then returned to the United States for inactivation. In 2002, the group was converted to provisional status as the 493d Air Expeditionary Group and assigned to Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed.
The 477th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska. The 477th FG is an associate unit of the 3rd Wing of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), and if mobilized the wing is gained by PACAF.
The 490th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. The group was activated in October 1943. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations and participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany from 31 May 1944 to 20 April 1945, losing 22 aircraft while flying more than 5,000 sorties. Following V-E Day, the group returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in November 1945.
The 100th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing located at Dannelly Field, Alabama. The 100th is equipped with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
The 55th Fighter Wing is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. It was withdrawn from the Ohio Air National Guard and inactivated on 31 October 1950 when the Guard adopted the Wing Base organizational model and formed the cadre for the 121st Fighter Wing.
Freeman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base. It is located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) south-southwest of Seymour, Indiana.
The 917th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active as a Geographically Separated Unit at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, while assigned to the 43d Operations Group at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, where it was inactivated on 1 July 1994.
The 919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 306th Bombardment Wing, stationed at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 June 1971.
The 618th Bombardment Squadron was activated in 1943 as one of the four squadrons of the 477th Bombardment Group, the first bombardment group in the United States Army Air Forces to include black pilots. Members of the squadron participated in the Freeman Field Mutiny, protesting racial segregation in the military. The squadron was inactivated in 1945 after the 477th became a composite group that included bombardment and fighter squadrons.
The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command was formed in the fall of 1942 to establish a single command to control antisubmarine warfare (ASW) activities of the Army Air Forces (AAF). It was formed from the resources of I Bomber Command, which had been carrying out the antisubmarine mission in the Atlantic and Caribbean since the Attack on Pearl Harbor due to the lack of long range Naval aviation in that area.
Esteban Hotesse was a black Dominican American United States Army Air Force second lieutenant and member of the World War II combat fighter group, the Tuskegee Airmen. He was the only Dominican-born member of the Tuskegee Airmen. He died in a B-25 Mitchell crash in July 1945.
United States 
United States Air Force 
