A Tuskegee Airman

Celebrating

African-American History Month
BEN “FLAPS” BERRY

A TUSKEGEE AIRMAN

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In 1944, the United States government, wondered if Blacks could fly airplanes? This is the story of one of those cadets during World War II.

i. The Desire to Fly

My interest in flying started when I was age five where my family operated a farm in Arkansas. I spent many hours lying on my back in the field while watching Navy Pilots from nearby Pensacola, Florida practice aerobatic "dog fights" all over the sky. I wanted nothing more than to be able do this.

My family's farm included a large lake where one day a private airplane landed on the lake for a fishing vacation. The two men spent a week at the lake and it was the first time that I had seen an airplane close -up. I spent the whole week climbing inside and outside of the airplane. Once it was all over, I knew for sure that I wanted to fly airplanes.

1. Qualifying to Fly

Uncle Sam drafted me at age eighteen and I was offered an opportunity to enter the Navy. I immediately informed the officers that I intended to become an Army Air Corps Pilot and so I was sent to the Air Corps Basic Training. I was very excited upon my arrival at Basic Training Camp. It was in the middle of a forest, but I saw Air Corps Signs everywhere. Such as, WING, GROUP, FLIGHT, SQUADRON, etc. I was at the camp for more than a week before I inquired about where the airfield was located. Everyone only laughed and said that there wasn't any. I was also impressed that there were so many soldiers with stripes and bars, indicating their ranks. We were all promised to receive our first stripe when we finished our Basic Training.

I chose to take Airplane Mechanics Training and the training school was located in Sheppard Field, Texas. A highlight of the training was the requirement for our training group to completely replace an engine on a B-25 Medium Bomber. That day the weather happened to be below zero degrees. We weren’t allowed to go back to our barracks until the new engine was completely installed, started, and operated for at least one hour.

One of my mechanic friends encouraged me to take the Army Air Corps Qualifications Tests to attend Aviation CadetTraining School. The tests required eight hours per day for two weeks. All of these black candidates were sent to Keesler Field, Mississippi for the testing. Out of the approximately one thousand Pre-Cadets who took the tests, only two hundred passed the tests. Sadly, my friend did not pass. Out of these, one thousand candidates only about twenty Aviation Cadets finally completed Pilot Training. This was the top one per cent of this original group.

2. Pre-Flight Training

The actual training started at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, an all-black college in the South. We spent eight hours a day on one subject, for example college Algebra. We would complete the entire book in two weeks. Then we would move on to another subjects, such as Chemistry or Physics, for two weeks. At the end of each subject we would take a Final Examination. I think that this intensive method of training was meant to provide mental "muscle building" for our brains. We certainly did not retain much of this information long past the Final Examines. However, it was not information that we needed for the long term. For the most part, our class remained intact through Pre-Flight Training. Our class, Class 45H was known as the "Whiz Kids".

3. Primary Flight Training

We discovered that the Whiz Kids were not only excellent academically, but we were also good fliers. Out of the two hundred cadets comprising Class 45H entering Primary Flight Training, we only lost thirty-five cadets in this phase of our training. Our first / PT 17 Bi-Plane

airplane was the "Joe Stearman", a PT 17 bi-plane. That's the one with the four wings. For most of us, it was the first time that we had left the ground. Three cadets in our Class were only sixteen years old and hadn't even driven a car, but they became good pilots.

I previously had a fear of heights, but I never felt this fear flying in an airplane. One of our class members would get airsick just about every time he flew, but his father was a doctor and was able to prescribe medicine for his airsickness.

All of our Primary Flight Instructors were African-American Licensed Pilots. They were harder on us than the white instructors that we encounter during our subsequent training phases. My Instructor was so afraid that I would do something stupid that would crash the plane and kill both of us that he would ride on the dual controls. I told him that I couldn't learn to fly with him on both the controls. To prove that he was flying the plane for me, during our landing, I decided to take my hands and feet off the controls. We made a very poor landing. He screamed, "what kind of landing was that?" he said. "I don't know sir, you were flying the Airplane yourself.” I thought that he was going to wash me out, but instead, he surprised me by saying “all right, take it around by yourself. Go ahead, kill yourself!” This was my first solo flight, but all during my solo flight, I could still hear his voice screaming in my ear, "Pick up that wing; watch your airspeed boy, are you trying to kill us?" I touched down to a perfect landing. I had completed my first solo flight.

I finished Primary Flight Training with ten free hours remaining of my allotment of flying hours. I was told to use them any way that I wished. I decided to take a cross-country flight and so I followed a highway South. I saw a bridge over a river and thought that it would be fun to fly under the bridge. I then continued my trip South where I saw some people gathered at a church and decided to put on a little air show. I noticed that the clouds beneath me were obscuring my view of the highway I have been following. So when I was next able to see the ground, I discovered that I was over a body of water. I concluded that I was flying over the Gulf of Mexico. When I turned to return to my Home Base, I could no longer see the Highway. This was due to a change of wind direction. I turned slightly into the wind to correct for my drift. It was only then that I noticed that I was running low on gas. No problem, I just needed to put the plane in a shallow dive. I continued North until I saw some other planes from our group -- we had no radios then. When the other two planes saw me closing in on them, they dove down through the clouds, with me on their tails. When we broke out of the clouds, I saw our Home Base just below. I continued my dive straight for the runway and landed my plane, but discovered that I didn’t have enough gas to taxi off the runway. My Base had assumed that I was down somewhere and sent Search and Rescue planes to find me. I had kept my plane aloft about an hour longer than my gas supply was supposed to take me. I was accused of landing somewhere and taking off again, but I was still happy because this became my first cross-country flight.

1. Basic Flight Training

BT13 Trainer Aircraft /
AT6 Advanced Trainer

We started our Basic Training Phase by flying the BT13 Trainer Aircraft. This was a much larger and more powerful aircraft than the PT17 Primary Trainer. We used this aircraft for about half way through our Basic Training, when we were transitioned into the AT6 Advanced Trainer. This was really a shock to us because this AT6 was a much heavier and faster plane. Its spin characteristics were terrifying to us, and as a result, we had a rash of washouts. We all had difficulties landing the AT6 because the landing gears were too narrow. We were told that this was the reason for changing to the AT6 before actually entering the Advanced Training Phase. The BT13 was too easy to land because its landing gears were very wide. The AT6 better prepared those of us who were going to be Fighter Pilots to transition into the P51 Fighter; those of us who were planning to become Bomber Pilots, including myself, would be use to heavier aircrafts.

We lost about fifty more of the black cadets during Basic Flight Training. By now, a total of eighty-five of our class had been washed out -- roughly half of our Class. But this was considered a success story, since most classes lost more than this. The BT13 was so easy to land that we could just about land it will our eyes closed. However, the early transition into the AT6 did have a psychological impact, since we were getting into this much faster, more advanced trainer at the earlier phase-in time. But, we were the Whiz Kids-- we could handle it!

In the Basic Flight Training Phase, we learned Formation Flying and Cross-Country Flying. We learned Instrument Flying in the Link Trainer. When we got lost in the Link Trainer, it was nice to find that we were safely at the same spot where we started our flight.

1. Advanced Flight Training

Separating the Men from the Boys!

Advanced Flight Training is where we separated the men from the boys. Now we could see the light at the end of the Tunnel. We only had to survive for about another four months of intensive training. We all had to learn Morse Code, DIT DA DIT DIT, DIT DIT DIT DA. When about fifty or sixty cadets are all sending and receiving Morse Code at the same time, the sound can just about drive you crazy. I have seen grown men jump up, snatch off their earphones and scream, "I can't stand this crap any more. I quit!"

P51 Fighter / B25 Medium Bomber

The Cadets, who were training to become P51 Fighter Pilots, spent their entire training time, during advanced training, flying the AT6. Those cadets training to become Bomber Pilots, transitioned into the B25 Medium Bomber during Advanced Training.

We were in our last two weeks of training, and were scheduled to become a part of the Air Group that was to participate in the invasion of Japan. At Sunday Chapel, the Chaplin said," I heard that you young men are going to be a part of the invasion of Japan. I will sure hate to see all of you beautiful young men all shot up. We all laughed at the Chaplin -- We never thought about getting shot up.

Then the day came when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Japan, we were told, "If you don't plan to serve in the Post-War Air Force, don't come to the Flight Line tomorrow.” It was really decision time; I had completed my Academic Training and had two weeks of Flying Training to complete. I had already been to the tailor for measurements for my new uniforms for my graduation. It was a really hard decision, but I also had planned to go to college to take Aerospace Engineering and so I decided in favor of my long-term Engineering career goal.

Speaking of post-war careers, a group of us were talking about our plans for the future. I told them that I planned to design the first space ship. As a Aerospace Engineer, I worked on the design of the Apollo Spacecraft and later I played a role in the development of the Shuttle. I also designed Flight Control Systems for Fighter Aircrafts.

One of our Tuskegee Airmen told us that he was going to become a Test Pilot. We said, “a Test Pilot!! They hardly want us to fly these planes at Tuskegee, let alone fly and test new airplanes.” His name was John Whitehead and he later became the best Test Pilot at Northrop Aircraft Corporation.

I went on to marry and have three children, Cupid, Ben and Gina. My son Ben is the Chief Technology Officer at Providence Health System, Oregon. Thank you for allowing me to participate in your celebration of African-American Month and in celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen!

DATELINE: MARCH 1, 2006-- Congressional Gold Medal for the Tuskegee Airmen. March 1, 2006 was a great day on the Hill for all America! All of usstand upon the shoulders of the Tuskegee Airmen and enjoy the fruits of their sacrifices, perseverance, and unprecedented performance over 65 years ago. Their exemplary legacy of service since WW II has been a beacon of hope and inspiration tocountless thousandsthroughout America and the world. They are indeed an American treasure!With God's help and your continued prayers, we shallsoon see an event that surpasses even yesterday:President Bush awarding these great patriots with the Congressional Gold Medalbeneath the rotunda in ournation's Capital.

Approximately 100 original Tuskegee Airmen and their families will be honored this year in Phoenix during the2006 Co-Conventions of the sevenorganizations of the International Black Aerospace Council (IBAC), July 31 - Aug 5, 2006 IBAC is comprised of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and sixother aviation-related organizations. The commongoal of these organizations isto inspireyoung people toward the pursuit of excellencein our society through social and educational activities. Theorganizations build upon the great legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen to motivate, mentor, and encourage youthto study, sacrifice and attain a self-sustaining status with marketable skills in the fields of aerospace, engineering, science, and other disciplines.The newly formed Archer-RagsdaleArizona Chapter isthe host for this great event.

Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal honors a particular individual, institution, or event. Although the first recipients included citizens who participated in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants, and foreign recipients.

In addition to the requirement that all Congressional Gold Medal legislation must be cosponsored by at least two-thirds (290) of the Members of the House, specific standards are set forth by Rule VII (c)(vii) of the House Committee on Banking and Financial Service's Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy when considering such legislation. Additionally, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee requires that at least 67 Senators must cosponsor any Congressional Gold Medal legislation before the committee will consider it.

/ The HistoryMakers- ... 99th Pursuit Squadron. He graduated at the close the war, in Class45H, and part of the last group of TuskegeeAirmen trained.
Tuskegee Airmen- ... Although the Tuskegee Airmen flew many types of aircraft including the North American P51 Fighter, the United States built in excess of 15,000 P51 Mustang fighter aircraft.

“Red Tails,”George Lucas’ high-flying action movie set over the skies of World War II Europe, opened today (January 20, 2012) in the United States. The film follows the legendary all-black Tuskegee airmen as they battle Germans in the air and prejudice behind their own lines.

Eight Tuskegee airmen pose in front of a P-40 fighter in 1942 or 1943.

The Tuskegee airmen once shot down three German jets in a single day. On March 24, 1944, a fleet of P-51 Mustangs led by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, commander of the Tuskegee airmen, set out on the longest escort mission their crews would fly during World War II. The 43 fighters were there to help B-17 bombers run a gauntlet of over 1,600 miles into the heart of Hitler’s Germany and back. The bombers’ target, a massive Daimler-Benz tank factory in Berlin, was heavily defended by whatever forces the German Luftwaffe Air Force could muster at that point in the war. The 25 aircraft protecting the plant included the battle-tested Fw 190 radial propeller fighters, the Me 163 “Komet” rocket-powered plane and the much more formidable Me 262, history’s first jetfighter and the forerunner of today’s modern fighters. While the American P-51s typically lagged behind the Me 163s and 262s, they could outmaneuver them at low speeds. The German planes also tended to run out of fuel more quickly than the Tuskegee airmen’s Mustangs. Making the most of their limited advantages, pilots Charles Brantley, Earl Lane and Roscoe Brown all shot down German jets over Berlin that day, earning the all-black 332nd Fighter Group a Distinguished Unit Citation

German Luftwaffe Air Force Me 262 was the first jetfighter and

the forerunner of today’s modern fighters

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