Osprey Publishing

332nd Fighter Group - Tuskegee Airmen

by  Chris Bucholtz

Reviewed By  Howie Belkin, IPMS# 16

MSRP: $22.95 Soft cover 7.25"x 9.75" 130 pages including color covers, 28 color side views and 4 unit illus. Author Chris Bucholtz is Managing Editor of the IPMS Journal, and Aircraft Editor of Internet Modeler. He has written extensively on aviation and modeling subjects but that, and the fact that 'Osprey' is to publishing as 'Tamiya' is to models, are not the only reasons why you should buy this book. If your modeling interests include a significant sum invested in reference and history books, then you've at least heard of the Tuskegee Airmen and the 99th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd FG. In 1942 this nucleus of first black aviation cadet graduates rose above rampant racial discrimination to prove that black men could fly and fight for America just as well as any other American males. More than 'just' elite fighter pilots, the Tuskegee, Alabama airmen also fought and won a major battle in the war against prejudice and inequality. Chris thoroughly researched and concentrates on the air war. It's not meant to be a social history of the war on land at home, though he doesn't ignore it. The greatest legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen is how they persisted despite a stacked deck that was meant by many, to prove the inferiority of the Negro race. It would be a shame then, if the reader doesn't appreciate the vicious intent of the 'Catch-22' of being refused entry into the USAAC because of "…the non-existence of a colored Air Corps unit to which you could be assigned…" On the other hand, it would be a shame if the reader took the impression that people as notable as Chief of the USAAC, Hap Arnold, were racists when they simply reflected the "…behavior of society in general." It is unimaginable for those who hadn't been born yet, that this great nation was still solidly segregated in the 1940s. Capt. Benjamin O. Davis Jr and his father, Brig. Gen. Davis Sr. "…were the only black non-chaplain officers in the entire Army at the time." And in 1942 the Army was the most socially progressive of the military services, where non-white, non-WASPSs actually had a fighting chance (pun intended) to rise to the top! That being said, understand that this book has to, by necessity, focus on the air war. Author Bucholtz does not ignore the issues of the time, but in the context of this book, cannot give the race war the full impact it deserves. That would require volumes. He does mention how in spite of all odds, the unit was formed thanks to the chutzpah of a couple of black American civilian pilots who managed to capture the attention of then little known Senator Harry S. Truman. Chris mentions that Tuskegee, Alabama was a less than an ideal location, but serendipitously brought black aviation to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's attention (she was a Board of Director of the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which held its annual meeting at Tuskegee in 1941). She boldly took a flight where no woman had gone before (at the hands of a black man), that won black aviation the financial support it desperately needed, along with political support in the highest places. It was numerous events and circumstances like these, brought about by the unflagging persistence of the pilots, that won out over all the impediments put in their way. White officers and leaders in Washington meant to use this 'experiment' to prove once and for all that blacks were unfit for service beyond serving meals to white officers, as the US Navy had opted for, or for roles where labor was of dire importance. That dying, but strongly held belief, in the context of the times, was the norm. Chris balances touches of social history, with the development of the 332 FG from its crude beginnings to the combat debut of the 99th Fighter Squadron. He tells of leaders falsely reporting failures as well as white leaders who championed the cause. As more and more black airmen graduated Tuskegee and other flight schools, some wound up in an all black B-25 unit "mishandled" by the USAAC; forty pilots flew light a/c in the Pacific. The remainder of the book concentrates on the combat history of the 99FS, 100FS, 301FS and 302FS. The dramatic cover painting depicts 1Lt Roscoe Brown's first kill, an extraordinary air to air Me-262 kill well into the 15th Air Forces longest round-trip mission (1600 miles to Berlin and back) for which the 332 Fighter Group was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. Another 28 color side views illustrate an AT-6A, P-40s, a P-39, P-47s and some of the group's famous red-tailed P-51s. Black and white photos thoroughly document the men and machines of the Tuskegee experiment, from the first cadets and their Vultee BT-13 'Vibrators' on Tuskegee tarmac, their good and bad commanders, and even detail shots modelers will enjoy like an underwing shot showing eager cadets and incidentally a P-40 landing gear leg complete with brake line and attachment. Another photo shows a P-40Ls exposed engine. Images of many of the pilots and their planes appear here, as do their words from interviews and combat reports. General Davis instilled "the importance of the mission" upon his men, which for most of their tour, was to protect the bombers. That meant fewer opportunities for kills and individual notoriety as a pilot could chase intruders away, but couldn't conclude the chase thru to a kill. Yet shared almost equally between the squadrons, "…the 332nd FG had destroyed 111 aircraft in the air and 150 on the ground…" the latter especially being no mean feat as more Allied pilots were lost strafing than in air to air combat later in the war. My only criticism is when Chris qualifies then repeats the oft-repeated exaggeration "…that as far as anyone could determine, they had never lost a bomber under escort to enemy aircraft." In my personal opinion, the Tuskegee airmen have legitimately earned the awards and accolades of their countrymen without need to resort to over exaggeration and perpetuating a myth. Especially when a couple of lines later the author states that the claim "…is hard to verify… it is all but impossible to determine which groups the 332nd was covering at specific times." Chris then reveals that even Col. Davis "…expressed uncertainty about this now-famous claim." Col. Davis is quoted as having said, "But so many people have said it that a lot of people have come to believe it." I think the Tuskegee airmen would have been far better served had Chris lay the myth to rest, letting the record speak for itself. Nonetheless, it is a minor point as the book otherwise is a respectful study of these awesome men who overcame overwhelming odds both at war and peace during WWII. This book is highly recommended and could stand as your one and only 332nd FG reference book. Like all the excellent Osprey books, they're a little pricey for soft-cover books but worth the investment. Available in better hobby shops and bookstores or go to www.ospreypublishing.com . Many thanks to Heather Feinstein of Osprey Publishing for the review copy.

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