12. American Commanders Were Lukewarm to the Idea of Black Pilots
Even as the Tuskegee training pipeline began to pump out black aviators, most were left to cool their heels. The new black pilots were given no assignments, as plans to place them into command slots were slow walked or resisted by higher ups. The US Army Air Forces’ commanding general, Henry “Hap” Arnold, was among those who were lukewarm about the placement of black officers in operational slots. One of his stated objections was that: “Negro pilots cannot be used in our present Air Corps units since this would result in Negro officers serving over white enlisted men creating an impossible social situation“.
It took even more public pressure from civil rights groups and the black press, plus the personal intercession of the president, before the military finally relented, and declared the 99th Pursuit Squadron combat ready in April, 1943. It was shipped to North Africa, where it flew P-40 Warhawks as operational fighters. Its first combat assignment was to participate in Operation Corkscrew, the air assault on the Italian island of Pantelleria, to clear the way for the upcoming Allied invasion of Sicily.
