The Combat Theater
A Taste of the War
The long awaited day finally came on April 4th, 1943. The 99th fighter squadron departed from Tuskegee for deployment into the European combat fields. By May of 1943, the setup phase ended. The first combat sortie was flown on July 2nd, where the first enemy fighter shot down by the war was awarded to Charles Hall.
By fall of 1943, the Airmen had moved into the Licata Air Base of the Italian front of the war. From here, the Airmen were in a prime position to fly numerous offensive attacks against the German supply lines, air fields, and communication centers. Come September 1943, the Airmen had moved into the Patsum Air Base, with Lt. Colonel Benjamin O. Davis as its head. Davis was a West Point graduate and one of the original thirteen pilots to graduate from the Tuskegee Institue. The newly formed 332nd group (created from the merging of the 99th, 100th, 301st, and 302nd fighter groups) was placed under his command. This new group represented the best of the best, with a vast ammount of combat experience, and the skills to fly a "variety of combat aircraft, including the "p-47, p-40, and p39." Once the Tuskegee Airmen were reasigned to Ramtelli Airfield in 1944, they flew the latest airplane, the P-51 Mustang. The Mustang was the most advanced fighter interceptor in the Army Air Force.
After the Anzio Campaign in Italy, the Tuskegee Airmen were now recognized as combat experts. Maintaining this reputation was their 7 to 1 kill ratio, or perhaps the sinking of a destroyer off the Gulf of Venezia. With Davis at the command, the Airmen soon became known as premier bomber escorts of the Italy front. This was because of Davis' command to his fighters. "He did not permit his fighters to leave their escorts, never leave the bombers, stay close in, provide proper defense, and to never abandon the bombers for targets of opportunity." Because of this, the Airmen gained high respect and regard from the bomber pilots, many of whom were white. Going so far as to call the Airmen "The Red Tailed Angels," On account of the markings on the back of their P-51s.
In the final days of the war followed perhaps the best testament to the Tuskegee Airmen's fighting skills:
"April 1st became a momentous day for the 332nd, just as the war was drawing to a close. Tuskegee Airmen provided escort for the 47th Bomber Wing in a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards in Polten, Austria. When they were returning home, the black pilots spotted four enemy FW-190s fighters below the bomber formation. They dove on the enemy aircraft only to realize that they had been drawn into a trap. Suddenly, other Lufftwafe aircraft [Luftwaffe were the German Airforce Elite] appeared and pressed an attack. ... In the dogfight that followed no fewer than twelve fighters were shot down, and three Red Tails were lost. The Melee demonstrated the skill of the 332nd in air combat."
In the final days of the war followed perhaps the best testament to the Tuskegee Airmen's fighting skills:
"April 1st became a momentous day for the 332nd, just as the war was drawing to a close. Tuskegee Airmen provided escort for the 47th Bomber Wing in a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards in Polten, Austria. When they were returning home, the black pilots spotted four enemy FW-190s fighters below the bomber formation. They dove on the enemy aircraft only to realize that they had been drawn into a trap. Suddenly, other Lufftwafe aircraft [Luftwaffe were the German Airforce Elite] appeared and pressed an attack. ... In the dogfight that followed no fewer than twelve fighters were shot down, and three Red Tails were lost. The Melee demonstrated the skill of the 332nd in air combat."