Until the Tuskegee Airmen came to be in World War II, African-Americans were not permitted to be aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces. This group of aviators brought change, some of it initially uncomfortable, to the military. But the black aviators did very well in the air.
Historical from Wikipedia: The 99th was finally considered ready for combat duty by April 1943. It shipped out of Tuskegee on 2 April, bound for North Africa, where it would join the 33rd Fighter Group and its commander, Colonel William W. Momyer. Given little guidance from battle-experienced pilots, the 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small strategic volcanic island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean Sea to clear the sea lanes for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. The air assault on the island began 30 May 1943. The 99th flew its first combat mission on 2 June.[31] The surrender of the garrison of 11,121 Italians and 78 Germans[32] due to air attack was the first of its kind.[33]
The 99th then moved on to Sicily and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance in combat.
The Allies called these airmen "Red Tails" or "Red-Tail Angels," because of the distinctive crimson unit identification marking predominantly applied on the tail section of the unit's aircraft. -Wikipedia
