War Accomplishments
In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946. 450 were deployed overseas, and 150 lost their lives in accidents or combat. The toll included 66 pilots killed in action or accidents, 84 killed in training and non-combat missions and 32 captured as prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments:
- 15 combat sorties
- 311 missions for the Fifteenth Air Force (hundreds more earlier for the Twelfth Air Force)
- 179 bomber escort missions, with a good record of protection, losing only 25 bombers
- 112 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground and 148 damaged
- 950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed (over 600 rail cars)
- One destroyer put out of action. The ship concerned had been classified as a destroyer (Giuseppe Missori) by the Italian Navy, before being reclassified by the Germans as a torpedo boat, TA 22. It was attacked on 25 June 1944. The German Navy decommissioned it on 8 November 1944, and finally scuttled it on 5 February 1945.
- 40 boats and barges destroyed
Awards and decorations included:
- Three Distinguished Unit Citations
- 99th Pursuit Squadron: 30 May–11 June 1943 for actions over Sicily
- 99th Fighter Squadron: 12–14 May 1944: for successful air strikes against Monte Cassino, Italy
- 332d Fighter Group: 24 March 1945: for a bomber escort mission to Berlin, during which it shot down 3 enemy jets
- At least one Silver Star
- 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses to 95 Airmen; Captain William A. Campbell was awarded two.
- 14 Bronze Stars
- 744 Air Medals
- Eight Purple Hearts
Read more about this topic: Tuskegee Airmen
Famous quotes containing the word war:
“The more prosperous and settled a nation, the more readily it tends to think of war as a regrettable accident; to nations less fortunate the chance of war presents itself as a possible bountiful friend.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)