Class photo and orders assigning the first aviation cadets to Tuskegee

Submitted by:

  • LaVone Kay

Location:

  • Red Wing, MN
Orders assigning the first aviation cadets to Tuskegee

Class 42-C-SE Single Engine (SE)

The first class of black pilots completed pilot training on March 6, 1942, at Tuskegee Army Air Field, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Of the 13 original cadets, five graduated (from left): Capt. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., 2nd Lt. Lemuel R. Custis, 2nd Lt. George S. Roberts, 2nd Lt. Charles H. DeBow and 2nd Lt. Mac Ross. (U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency)

By the following year, the Tuskegee Airmen would be activated and take to the skies of North Africa and Europe. Only the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group would see combat.

Class 42-C

Class 42-C

Orders assigning the first aviation cadets to TuskegeeOrders assigning the first aviation cadets to Tuskegee

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