Class SE-45-E, graduated 8/4/1945

The first photo is of class 45E in the primary phase of flight training, before differentiation between those who would later have advanced training as either single-engine or twin-engine pilots.  In other words, the top photo, taken at Moton Field, includes men who later graduated in class 45-E single engine and in class 45-E twin engine, as well as some who did not graduate in either of those classes.

I counted nineteen graduates in SE-45-E and nineteen graduates in TE-45-E, for a total of 38 who graduated from advanced flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Field. The top photo has many more than 38 cadets pictured. The difference is explained by those who were later eliminated in one of the flight training phases (primary at Moton, basic and advanced at Tuskegee Army Air Field).

Daniel Haulman, PhD
retired USAF historian