Mounting pressure by black leaders and the black press to increase their presence in all branches of military service eventually persuaded a reluctant War Department to allow for the training of blacks as fighter pilots (initially no training for bomber crews) at an isolated field at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, thus preempting contact with white trainees.  Despite this and the later action of a white commander to sabotage their efforts, 992 African American cadets participated in the “Tuskegee Experiment” and completed the Army Air Corps course between July 19, 1941 and the end of World War II. 

Roughly 450 men joined the 99th Squadron, ably led by Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., and the 332nd Fighter Group that saw action in North Africa and Italy where they distinguished themselves winning hundreds of decorations for skill and bravery.  Flying P-39 Air cobras, P-40 War hawks, P-47 Thunderbolts and, later, P-51 Mustangs, among their feats was the downing of more than 100 enemy aircraft in aerial combat and the first ever sinking of a large ship without the use of explosives.  The Tuskegee Airmen were the only Army Air Force group not to lose an escorted Allied bomber to an enemy aircraft attack.  Moreover, their outstanding performance served to bolster African American pride and facilitated the transition to an integrated military in the post-war years.  Among the Tuskegee Airmen emerged a number of future leaders including San Francisco physician Dr. Wendell Lipscomb and four-star Air Force General Daniel “Chappie” James.