Study: Blacks in the Army Air Force During World War II (CD)

The Tuskegee Airmen were African-Americans who served in the U.S. Army Air Force during the Second World War. Due to the racial segregation of the United States armed forces at that time, black servicemen were grouped in separate units, and no African-Americans were allowed to serve as pilots prior to 1941. As an all-black air combat unit successfully operating and maintaining complex aviation technology, the Tuskegee Airmen demonstrated that military competence was not a function of race, and helped pave the way for desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948. Organized as the 332nd Fighter Group, they fought in the North African and European theaters of operations, flying escort to American bombers and distinguishing themselves as one of the most effective fighter units of the war. The unit took its name from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where approximately 1000 of the 332nd’s pilot’s earned their wings between 1940 and 1946. In addition to aviators, the Airmen also included maintenance personnel, load crews, military police, and other support personnel – all of them African-American. These documents relating to the history of the Tuskegee Airmen were deposited by 2d Lt Cory Kuehn, USAF, in May of 2007 (Acc. #2007-2889). Lt Kuehn, a graduate of the University of North Dakota, acquired these documents from the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, while in the process of conducting his own research into the history of the 332nd Fighter Group. They consist of one roll of microfilm and two compact discs containing text files in PDF format. The microfilm (marked “A2284”) contains unit records dating to World War II, including (among other things) medical records, training reports, incident reports, pilot class data, and commander correspondence. The first of the two compact discs contains transcripts of a series of oral history interviews with veteran Tuskegee Airmen Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (commander of the 332nd), Chappie James (America’s first black four-star General), Samuel Curtis, Chief Anderson, and Lucius Theus. The final item consists of another CD, this one containing a digitization of a historical study written by Alan M. Osur entitled Blacks in the Army Air Forces During World War II: The Problem of Race Relations (Washington, DC: U.S. Air Force, Office of Air Force History, 1986.