Training aircraft used by Tuskegee Institute
This PT-13D Stearman Kaydet biplane once flew the skies above Moton Field in Alabama as a training aircraft for the Tuskegee Airmen, the Army Air Corps’ first African American aviators. One of the few remaining aircraft utilized by original pilots at the primary training facility located at Tuskegee, Alabama, it represents a critical period in the fight for racial equality in America. Further, it embodies the heroism and sacrifice of the African American men and women who served during World War II.
During the War, over 1,000 pilots passed through Tuskegee and into combat service with the all black 332nd Fighter Group and 99th Pursuit Squadron. These units served with distinction over the skies of North Africa, the Mediterranean, and mainland Europe, escorting long-range bombers and supporting troops on the ground. Pilots trained at Tuskegee completed over 1,500 missions, destroying more than 260 enemy aircraft, one enemy ship, and numerous military facilities.
Military leaders used the distinguished service records of these men and women as a justification for desegregating the U.S. military. Three years after the war, on July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 and integrated the U.S. Armed Forces.
The plane and poster pictured above are now in the collection of theSmithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visitors to the museum can view the plane in the “Defining Freedom, Defending Freedom: The Era of Segregation” exhibition and the poster in the “Double Victory: The African American Military Experience” exhibition.
Credits and Sources:
2011.82.1-.2 - Training aircraft used by Tuskegee Institute, ca. 1944. Manufactured by: Boeing Corporation. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
2011.168 - Poster for war bonds depicting Tuskegee Airman Robert W. Diez, 1943. Created by: US Department of the Treasury. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
United States. National Park Service. "Significance of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site." Accessed January 4, 2016. http://www.nps.gov/tuai/learn/historyculture/significance-of-the-tuskegee-airmen-national-historic-site.htm.
United States. National Park Service. "The Tuskegee Airmen--Overview: Legends of Tuskegee." Accessed January 4, 2016. http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/airoverview.htm.
