Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, commemorates the contributions of African-American airmen in World War II. Moton Field was the site of primary flight training for the pioneering pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, and is now operated by the National Park Service to interpret their history and achievements. It was constructed in 1941 as a new training base. The field was named after former Tuskegee Institute principal Robert Russa Moton, who died the previous year.
Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.[1]
"Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the so-called "Tuskegee Experiment" (later called the "Tuskegee Experience"). This Army Air Corps and then Army Air Force program trained African-Americans to fly and maintain both training and combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air (approximately 16,000)[1]
The military selected Tuskegee Institute to train pilots because of its commitment to aeronautical training. Tuskegee had the facilities, and engineering and technical instructors, as well as a climate for year-round flying. The first Civilian Pilot Training Program students completed their instruction in May 1940. The Tuskegee program was then expanded and became the center for African-American aviation during World War II.[1]
The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. They proved conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen's achievements, together with the men and women who supported them, paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.[1]
History
2021 US Mint five-ounce silver coin depicting the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, the image also used on the reverse of that year's America the Beautiful quarter
Moton Field was the only primary flight facility for African-American pilot candidates in the U.S. Army Air Corps (Army Air Forces) during World War II. It was named for Robert Russa Moton, second president of Tuskegee Institute.
Moton Field was built between 1940 and 1942 with funding from the Julius Rosenwald Fund to provide primary flight training under a contract with the U.S. military. Staff from Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama, provided assistance in selecting and mapping the site. Architect Edward C. Miller and engineer G. L. Washington designed many of the structures. Archie A. Alexander, an engineer and contractor, oversaw construction of the flight school facilities. Tuskegee Institute laborers and skilled workers helped finish the field so that flight training could start on time.[1]
The Army Air Corps and later the Army Air Force assigned officers to oversee the training at Tuskegee Institute/Moton Field. They furnished cadets with textbooks, flying clothes, parachutes, and mechanic suits. Tuskegee Institute, the civilian contractor, provided facilities for the aircraft and personnel, including quarters and a mess for the cadets, hangars and maintenance shops, and offices for Army Air Corps/Army Air Force personnel, flight instructors, ground school instructors, and mechanics. Tuskegee Institute was one of the very few American institutions to own, develop, and control facilities for military flight instruction.[1] In addition to the primary flight training at Moton Field, the following known sub-bases, auxiliaries, and an intermediate/advanced site were used:
In late March 1941 Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, visited Kennedy Field in the Tuskegee area and was taken up in an aircraft piloted by C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson, Tuskegee Institute's chief instructor pilot. As a result of the flight, stories appeared in newspapers across the nation. The positive stories helped Mrs. Roosevelt, a Rosenwald Fund trustee, in conjunction with Tuskegee Institute, secure financing for the final construction of Moton Field.[2]
Moton Field flight instructors in front of BT-13 Stearmans, 1945
The first class (42-C), which included student officer Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., began training on July 19, 1941. who served as Commandant of Cadets. Twelve cadets served with him under Captain Noel F. Parrish, a white officer, and 2nd Lieutenant Harold C. Magoon, another white officer, who served as the adjutant. The other cadets were John C. Anderson, Jr., Charles D. Brown, Theodore E. Brown, Marion A. Carter, Lemuel R. Custis, Charles H. DeBow, Jr., Frederick H. Moore, Ulysses S. Pannell, George S. Roberts, Mac Ross, William H. Slade, and Roderick C. Williams. Only five of these cadets completed the advanced flying training at Tuskegee Army Air Field (about five miles from Moton Field), in March 1942.[2]
Rigorous training in subjects such as meteorology, navigation, and instruments was provided in ground school. After pilot cadets passed primary flight training at Moton Field, they transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) to complete their training with the Army Air Forces. TAAF was a full-scale military base (albeit segregated) built by the U.S. military. The facility at Moton Field included two aircraft hangars, a control tower, locker building, clubhouse, wooden offices and storage buildings, brick storage buildings, and a vehicle maintenance area.[1]
Many cadets got their primary flight instruction at Moton Field. Support personnel were trained at Chanute Field in Illinois. Between 1941 and 1945, Tuskegee Institute trained over 1,000 black aviators for the war effort.[1]
Moton Field was closed in 1946. In 1972, a large portion of the air field at Moton Field was deeded to the city of Tuskegee for use as a municipal airport which is still in use today.[1]
National Historic Site
Established on November 6, 1998, the National Historic Site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places the same day. Hangar One has been restored and the grand opening [3] of the site was October 10, 2008. The Hangar One Museum is open for tours Wednesday–Sunday.[4] Tours are free of charge to the public.
An oral history project, consisting of interviews of hundreds of people involved in the Tuskegee Experience, was completed in 2005 and will eventually be available to the public.[citation needed]
In January 2021, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Site was depicted on the 56th and final quarter in the America the Beautiful Quarters series.
The Tuskegee Airmen was a group of primarily 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 Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African-American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps, that fought in World War II. The film was directed by Robert Markowitz and stars Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Lithgow, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
Sharpe Field is a closed private use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Tuskegee, a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. This airport is privately owned by the Bradbury Family Partnership.
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. In 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.
Noel Francis Parrish was an American brigadier general in the United States Air Force who was the white commander of a group of black airmen known as the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He was a key factor in the program's success and in their units being assigned to combat duty. Parrish was born and raised in the south-east United States; he joined the U.S. Army in 1930. He served in the military from 1930 until 1964, and retired as a brigadier general in 1964.
Herbert Eugene Carter was an American military officer of the United States Air Force. He was a member of the original thirty-three members of the Tuskegee Airmen. He flew 77 missions with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
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.
Marion Raymond "Rodge" Rodgers USAAF was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American military pilots who fought in World War II and were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served the Air Force for 22 years, commanding the renowned 99th Flying Squadron of "Red Tails" after combat, then working in management for NORAD and NASA. In his nineties, as one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, Rodgers continued to receive media attention as he shared his experiences and was honored at several public events.
Mildred Louise Hemmons Carter (1921–2011) was one of the first women to earn a pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program, making her the first black female pilot in Alabama. Though she was denied admission into the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she was declared an official member of both later in life.
2LT Wallace Patillo Reed was a World War II U.S. Army officer, U.S. military meteorologist, and the first ever African-American meteorologist in the U.S. military. Reed served at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama as the chief weather officer responsible for the all-African American Tuskegee Airmen. Reed regularly advised Tuskegee Airmen pilots and instructors on weather maps and forecasts.
Herbert Vanallen Clark (WIA) was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer, and combat fighter pilot. He first served in combat with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group in World War II, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He completed two tours of duty, completing ten missions on his second tour. In 1944, Clark's aircraft was shot down over Italy, and was reported as missing in action. He was picked up by the Italian resistance, evading enemies for eight months before rejoining his unit. He retired with a rank of major.
Mac Ross was a U.S. Army Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot during World War II. A member of the Tuskegee Airmen, he commanded the 100th Fighter Squadron and served as the Group Operations Officer for the 332nd Fighter Group.
George Levi Knox II was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot and Adjutant with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group's 100th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots, he was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen's third-ever aviation cadet class, and one of the first twelve African Americans to become combat fighter pilots. He was the second Indiana native to graduate from the Tuskegee Advanced Flying School (TAFS).
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.
Yancey Williams was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and pilot with the 85th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails".
Edward Creston Gleed was an U.S. Army Air Force officer with the famed Buffalo Soldiers/9th Cavalry Regiment, 332nd Fighter Group’s operations officer, and combat fighter pilot with the 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He was one of the more prominent members of Tuskegee Airmen's ninth-ever aviation cadet program, as well as one of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots. His classmates included Robert B. Tresville, West Point's seventh African American graduate and the 100th Fighter Squadron's Commanding Officer.
Vernon V. Haywood was a U.S. Army Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot/jet pilot, and commanding officer of the 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron, a component of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Raymond Cassagnol was a Haitian Air Force officer/flight instructor, alleged Haitian rebel leader, and one of the first Haitian Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or “Schwartze Vogelmenschen” or among enemy German pilots. Cassagnol was an aviation classmate and roommate of Daniel James Jr., the first-ever African American four-star general.
William Hugo Holloman III was a U.S. Army Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot, and high-profile member of the prodigious 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails", or "Schwarze Vogelmenschen" among enemy German pilots.
Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC,
Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas OCLC276858370
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