Tuskegee Airmen 99th Fighter Squadron Uniform Patch, circa 1943

File — Box: 4253.002, Folder: 016

Scope and Contents

The collection contains a World War II Uniform patch for the 99th Fighter Squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen. The patch is approximately 4" in diameter and features what appears to be a winged panther in dark orange on a dark blue background with four stars above the panther and five stars below. The whole is encircled in the same dark orange of the panther with nine evenly spaced blue marks. The patch has been pasted onto a heavy paper or cardboard backing which includes a note saying "99th Fighter Squadron Flown by Black Pilots WWII". The collection also includes copies of the history of the 99th Fighter Squadron taken from the Tuskegee Airmen website (http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/Tuskegee_Airmen_History.html) which also lists the officers of the 99th Fighter Squadron.

Dates

circa 1943

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

Biographical / Historical

The United States Army Air Force 99th Fighter Squadron was constituted as the 99th Pursuit Squadron on 10 March 1941 and activated on 22 March 1941. It was redesignated the 99th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942. From the beginning, during training, the 99th Fighter Squadron was commanded by "white" officers, many of whom stayed just long enough to be "promotable" before transferring out at their new rank. It wasn't until 1 July 1945, when Colonel Robert Selway was relieved of the 477th Group's command (the 99th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the 477th Composite Group on 2 June 1945) and replaced by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., that a clean sweep of Selway's "white" staff took place. At that time, all vacated jobs were filled by African-American officers for the first time. In all, 996 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946, approximately 445 were deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat, including 66 pilots killed and 32 prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited with: 15,533 combat sorties and 1578 missions; 112 German aircraft shot down with another 150 destroyed on the ground; 950 railcars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed; one destroyer sunk; and a nearly perfect record of not losing U.S. bombers being escorted by the squadron. The Unit received three Distinguished Unit Citations, at least one Silver Star, an estimated 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, 744 Air Medals and 8 Purple Hearts.