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In the spring of 1944, more graduates were ready for combat, and the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group was deployed overseas with three fighter squadrons: the 100th, 301st, and 302nd.
Under the command of Col. Davis, the squadrons were moved to mainland Italy and were joined by the 99th Fighter Squadron on June 6, 1941.
The 332nd Fighter Group escorted bombing raids into Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Germany. Flying escort for zdzp090827 heavy bombers, the 332nd earned an impressive combat record. The allies called the Airmen "Redtails," because of the distinctive crimson paint on the vertical stabilizers of the unit’s aircraft.
The Tuskegee Airmen were initially equipped with P-40 Warhawks, briefly with P-39 Airacobras, later with P-47 Thunderbolts, and finally with the aircraft that they became most commonly identified with, the P-51 Mustang.
By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 109 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down, one destroyer, and the destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks, and trains. The squadrons of the 332nd Fighter Group flew more than 15,000 sorties on 1,500 missions.
The unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission flown March 24th, 1945, escorting B-17s to bomb the Daimler-Benz tank factory at Berlin, Germany.
The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded several Silver Stars, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 8 Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars and 744 Air Medals.
In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946, about 445 deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat.
On Sept. 13, 2007, the 100th Fighter Squadron was reactivated as a fighter unit in the Alabama Air National Guard. The ceremony was held at Maxwell Air Force Base and presided over by the chief of staff of the Air Force with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Sen. Jeff Sessions also in attendance.
Squadron members will return home later this fall, adding over 240 to the number of combat veterans with Tuskegee Airmen history.
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