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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 Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Founded in 1929, the Ninety-Nines has 153 chapters and 27 regional 'sections' across the globe as of 2022, including a 'virtual' chapter, Ambassador 99s, which meets online for those who are too busy or mobile to be in one region for long.
Fay Gillis Wells was an American pioneer aviator, globe-trotting journalist and a broadcaster.
Milton Pitts Crenchaw was an American aviator who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and was the first Arkansan to be trained by the federal government as a civilian licensed pilot. He served during World War II as a civilian flight instructor. He was one of the two original supervising squadron members. In 1998 he was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame. The grandson of a slave, he was known as the "father of black aviation in Arkansas" who broke through color barriers in the military.
Spann Watson was an American military aviator and civil servant who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He flew over 30 missions in North Africa, Italy and Southern Europe. On March 2007, Watson attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, where he and other surviving veterans of the Tuskegee Airmen were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service. He died on April 15, 2010, aged 93.
Janet Harmon Waterford Bragg was an American amateur aviator. In 1942, she was the first African-American woman to hold a commercial pilot license. She is a 2022 inductee to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
Willa Beatrice Brown was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license.
Mary Wallace Funk is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector, as well as one of the Mercury 13.
Charles Alfred Anderson Sr., was an American aviator who is known as the Father of Black Aviation. He earned the nickname "Chief" as chief flight instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen.
James Bernard Knighten was one of the first twelve African-Americans to become a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps after graduating from flight school at the Tuskegee Army Air Field. He became a member of the famed 99th Fighter Squadron, part of the World War II-era group of highly decorated African-American aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Knighten flew in the first combat mission by African American pilots on June 9, 1943. Knighten's military career continued through the Korean and Vietnam Wars. After retiring from the military in 1968, he had a 20-year career with the Federal Aviation Administration as an operations inspector in New York and later in Los Angeles. Known as a jokester through his military career, Knighten began performing as a stand-up comedian in Las Vegas under the name of Jay Bernard during his years at the FAA, finally moving to Las Vegas to perform full-time after retiring from his position with the FAA.
Emily Joyce Howell Warner was an American airline pilot and the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline.
Women have been involved in aviation from the beginnings of both lighter-than air travel and as airplanes, helicopters and space travel were developed. Women pilots were also formerly called "aviatrices". Women have been flying powered aircraft since 1908; prior to 1970, however, most were restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry. Aviation also allowed women to "travel alone on unprecedented journeys". Women who have been successful in various aviation fields have served as mentors to younger women, helping them along in their careers.
Mary Barr was the first female aviator to join the US Forest Service, along with being an accident prevention counselor, mechanic in a variety of fields, and flight instructor throughout her lifetime.
Katharine Stinson (1917-2001) was an American aeronautical engineer and the Federal Aviation Administration's first female engineer.
Fran Bera, was an American female aviator and record setting pilot. She is the first woman to fly a helicopter with no tail rotor.
Dorothy Swain Lewis was an American aviator who trained Navy pilots and flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during World War II. She was also an artist who created a series of cast-bronze sculptures of WASP pilots for various World War II memorial sites.
Azellia White was an American aviator who was one of the first African-American women to earn a pilot's license in Texas. She is recognized as a trailblazer, overcoming widespread perceptions at the time, "that neither women nor African Americans were qualified to fly airplanes." She and her husband ran the Sky Ranch Flying Service, an airport and flight school for African-American aviators.
Robert Jones Friend was an American military officer and pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and led the USAF's Project Blue Book from 1958 to 1963. He also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He had a 28-year military career.
Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen is an American aviator and a member of Mercury 13. Jessen worked throughout her career as a flight instructor, demonstration pilot, advisor to the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) and president of the Ninety-Nines. Jessen has also written about flying and the history of women in flight. Together with Wally Funk, Jessen is one of the last two surviving members of Mercury 13.
Willie Howell Fuller was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot, and combat flight instructor with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Pursuit Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails". He was the first black flight instructor for the single engine planes at Tuskegee. He was the only black flight instructor until December 1944. He was one of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots. He flew 76 combat missions.
References
- 1 2 Roosa, Douglas Fleming (2013-03-15), "Smith, Ida Van", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.37889, ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1 , retrieved 2024-02-19
- 1 2 Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gubert, Betty; Sawyer, Miriam; Fannin, Caroline (2002). Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 255–262. ISBN 9781573562461. OCLC 829407390.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Women in Aviation and Space History - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
- 1 2 "Ida Van Smith collection, 1971-1990". researchworks.oclc.org. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
- ↑ "Timeline of Women in Transportation History". US Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
- 1 2 Thackara, Tess (2018-06-19). "An Artist Finds Inspiration in Women of Color Throughout History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-11-01.
