Tuskegee Airmen

On 16 January 1941, Secretary of the Army Henry L. Stimson authorized the formation of a black pursuit squadron. The Army Air Forces established several African American organizations, including fighter and bombardment groups and squadrons known as the 99th Pursuit (later known as Fighter Squadron). Between 1941 and 1946, roughly 1,000 black pilots were trained at a segregated air base in Tuskegee, AL.The Tuskegee Airmen trained primarily at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where they underwent rigorous flight training and military instruction starting in 1941. Their program included both ground school, which covered aviation theory, navigation, and aircraft systems, and flight training, where they learned to pilot various military aircraft. The training was overseen by the Army Air Corps and initially faced skepticism regarding the abilities of African American pilots, but the Airmen ultimately proved their skills and capabilities through successful missions in World War II, becoming a symbol of excellence and breaking racial barriers in the U.S. military.