B-17 Bomber Flying Fortress – The Queen Of The Skies Tuskeegee Airmen

The special to the “Tuskegee Airmen” was that itself the entire personnel from black one recruited. In the time of the racial segregation with all their prejudices, the pilots had to exist not only against the enemy in the sky, but succeed also still against the prejudices, disadvantages and degradations of their own comrades. At the end the “Tuskegee Airmen”, how they were also called after their isolated training place in Alabama, has proven that black ones are capable of the same achievements, like their white comrades. The Germans called the men of the 332. Fighter Group “black bird people”, while the bomber crews of US 12th air Force and US 15th air Forces called them respectfully “Redtail Angels” after their salient red tail unit painting. The unit acquired itself special fame by the fact that with their entire bomber escort in corroding none of their protection-ordered bombers were shot down by enemy fighters.

At the end of the war the pilots of the 332 Fighter Group could look on an impressing balance: in approx.. 15,000 mission they could destroy more than 400 enemy airplanes. In addition innumerable ground targets, under it even came a German destroyer.

They got 850 awards.
66 Tuskegee Airmen were killed in action.