The Trainers Like all Army Air Corps pilots, the Tuskegee Airmen trained in planes that would become aviation legends over the years. Many of them are still flying in air shows today. Boeing Stearman - First among these was the Boeing PT17 Stearman. The Stearman was a rugged biplane that was demanding but rewarding to fly. It was powered by a radial engine and had an open cockpit with tandem seating. The instructor sat in the rear, the student in the front. Its open cockpit let the student feel at one with the air hearing all the sounds of flight. Since the Air Corps flew in all types of weather, this and the open cockpit meant freezing your tail off was a rite of passage for every Tuskegee Airmen Cadet. In the Stearman the cadet would learn aviation fundamentals and aerobatics. North American T6 Texan - The T6 was the trainer used by allied air forces around the world during WWII. It is an all metal monoplane powered by a Pratt & Whitney radial engine. The T6 also had tandem seating but an enclosed cockpit. The monoplane design, enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear made it much faster than the Stearman and much closer to the fighters the cadet would fly in combat if he made it through flight training. The T6 was very demanding to fly. Many veteran pilots stated that if you could fly the T6 the more advanced fighters would be a “piece of cake”. In the T6 the cadet would learn aerobatics used in combat, aerial gunnery, sophisticated navigation and ordnance delivery (bomb dropping). The Fighters Upon completing basic flight training, the new pilots were assigned to fighters. The fighters had three basic missions:
Curtis P40 Warhawk - The P40 is one of the most famous fighters of World War II. Most people are familiar with the Flying Tigers, the notorious American Volunteer Group that fought the Japanese in China at the beginning of the war. There planes were painted with a shark’s mouth on the nose and is one of the most enduring images of the war. The Tuskegee Airman who graduated from flight school would be equipped with a P40 Warhawk. The P40 was a front line fighter plane equipped with a liquid cooled V12 engine and armed with six fifty caliber machine guns in the wings. This was a single seater – no instructor along for the ride! The P40 was capable of speeds up to 350 miles per hour, much faster than the planes the pilot had flown previously. It was known for its ruggedness but also for its lack of high altitude performance. Although this was not a problem during the early stages of the war in the North African campaign, it became a severe handicap when American bombers began launching attacks against Germany. A replacement was needed. Bell P39 Airacobra - Unlike the P40, the P39 is almost forgotten in WWII aviation lore. It was very unique aircraft for its time. It was used briefly by the Tuskegee airmen during the early stages of the war. The P39 was powered by a same Allison liquid-cooled engine as the P40. Uniquely, however, the engine was mounted behind the pilot and drove the propeller through a long drive shaft. This helped the weight distribution of the aircraft. It also allowed for a 20mm cannon to be mounted in the nose firing through the hub of the propeller. In addition to the cannon the P39 had two more machine guns in the nose and four in the wings. The P39 also had tricycle landing gear, and innovation at the time that allowed aircraft to be landed more easily. The P39 was best known for its ground attack capability. It was used by the Tuskegee Airmen in the North African campaign and during the invasion of Italy. Republic P47 Thunderbolt - The P47 is another WWII fighter that is not so well known but was beloved by its pilots. It was a huge fighter plane that was renowned for bringing its pilot home even with incredible battle damage. Known affectionately as “The Jug” the P47 was a huge fighter (30% heavier than the P40) with an equally huge 18 cylinder, turbo-supercharged, 2000 horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial engine. It was capable of well over 400 miles per hour. Because of its immense weight it was known for its speed in a dive and important defensive maneuver when under attack by enemy aircraft. It packed a punch with eight fifty-caliber machine guns mounted in the wings. With the invention of droppable fuel tanks, the P47 with its turbo-supercharged engine was the first American fighter truly capable of the high altitude performance and range necessary to escort American bombers all the way to targets in Germany and back. Equipped with extensive armor protection around the pilot, the P47 was also heavily used for low level strafing. North American P51 Mustang - The P51, hands down, is what most people think of when they envision a WWII fighter plane. They are an air show favorite even today and sell for over million dollars. Many pilots and aviation historians consider it the finest fighter plane of WWII. The early P51’s used the ubiquitous Allison V12 engine. Although the airframe was much advanced over the P40 and P39 that shared the engine, it also shared the poor high altitude performance. The later P51’s married the Mustang airframe with a 12 cylinder British Rolls Royce Merlin engine. This engine gave a much need horsepower boost and its supercharger gave it unsurpassed high altitude performance. The Mustang was armed with six 50 caliber machine guns. With this combination, the Mustang was able to perform its mission and outclass every German fighter. It’s sleek, angular lines give it a timeless look that has a modern feel even today. It is their performance using P51’s for bomber escort missions where the Tuskegee Airmen amassed their unsurpassed record of never losing a bomber they were escorting due to enemy action. The Bombers North American B25 Mitchell - The B25 was designated a medium bomber. It is most known for its role in the famous Doolittle raid on Tokyo in 1942. If you want to see one fly, watch the movie “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” with Spencer Tracy. |
