Tuskegee. It was very hostile toward blacks, especially its sheriff.At the TAAF base, very diverse entertainment was offered. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne, other celebrities like Joe Louis and the Camel Caravan Orchestra.The first trainer plane used by the squadron was the PT-17.*4*It was a biplane with unretractable landing gear. The instructor rode with the cadet during the first practice, whether the trainee knew how to fly or not.Before the cadets could earn their wings, they had to complete three phases of the training. These were the primary, basic and advanced courses. In the primary and basic, the cadets would have ground school classroom courses and flying lessons. In the advanced, the cadets would concentrate on military flying.On September 2, 1941, Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr. became the first black man to officially solo an aircraft as an officer of the Army Air Corps.*5* A few days after Davis’s solo flight on December 7,1941, in the midst of class 42C’s training, the Japanese bombed the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That next day the United States declared war, joining allies with Great Britain, France, and Russia in the fight against the Axis powers Germany, Italy and Japan.It was not until July 3, 1942 that the fourth class of the Tuskegee Institute graduated. The men of this class became the cadets that would fill the 99th squadron, which became the first black squadron of the Army Air Corps.Joining the pilots in the 99th were 14 other officers who provided support services and commanded the 35 enlisted men who serviced the planes. In nine months to a year, they had mastered skills the Air Force said should require at least five years. The 99th then perfected their skills in the P-40, the plane they would fly in combat. After receiving word from their officers, in October 1942, the Inspector General of the Third Air Force said the 99th was in excellent condition and was ready for...
