Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen?
Tekst Storyboardowy
- 99th Fighter Squadron- Pack for cold weather- but our destination is a secret!
- The 99th FS was set to join the war! Chapter 6 Page 51
- Alright, Lieutenant Davis. But are you sure you can't tell us where we are going?
- SS Mariposa docking in Casablanca, Morocco Chapter 6 Pages 52-54
- We are now docked in Casablanca, Morocco.
- Why did you tell us to pack for cold weather? It's so hot here!
- That trip took nine days! Why are there no trucks to pick us up? How long do we have to walk?
- Here are the new planes, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. Crew, can you please paint each plane tail red?
- Arrival in Fez and Painting the Planes RedChapter 6 Pages 55-58
- This cattle train will take us to a base near the city of Fez. This base uses to belong to the Germans
- The red will be easy to identify in the air. We should call ourselves the red tails!
- This place is littered with old airplane wreckage!
- By August 1942, five classes of pilots had graduated fromthe Tuskegee program enough for two squadrons, the 99th and 100thFS. On April 15th, 1943, the 99th FS were to join thewar. Benjamin O Davis Jr. is now a lieutenant colonel, who is in charge of thesquadron. The airmen were told to pack for cold weather, but their destinationwas a secret.
- On a foggy day, the squadron boarded a ship called the SS Mariposa.Carrying both white and black soldiers, the 99th FS were thehighest-ranking officers on the ship. Davis Jr. was the second black man incommand of white soldiers in the US military. The Mariposa docked inCasablanca, Morocco, 9 days later. Morocco is a country on the northwest coastof Africa. It’s a land of deserts and high mountains. The country was run by the French government. It was a hot, dusty day so packing winter clothing hadbeen a mistake. The men walked onto the crowded streets loaded down with heavybags. There were no trucks to meet the 99th FS. They had to walkthree miles carrying all of their gear.
- The men boarded an old cattle train that took them to a basenear the city of Fez. This base used to belong to the Germans. The formerGerman base was littered with the wreckage of old airplanes. The men waited aweek for their airplanes to arrive. The airplanes were called the Curtiss P-40Warhawks. The “P” stood for “pursuit.” Pursuit means to chase. Pursuit planeswere fighter planes. The ground crew painted the tail of each P-40 plane abright red. The splash of color would be easy to identify in the air. TheTuskegee pilots became known as the “Red Tails.”
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