Posted on 12/11/2006 2:33:55 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- It has been part of the lore of America's first black fighter pilots since the end of World War II: The Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber to enemy fire.
But now, more than 60 years later, a leader of the group says he has uncovered records proving the claim is not accurate.
Air Force records show that at least a few bombers escorted by the red-tailed fighters of the Tuskegee Airman were shot down by enemy planes, William F. Holton, historian of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. And the group's losses may have been much greater, he said.
Holton's research was first reported Sunday by the Montgomery Advertiser.
Some surviving members of the group were offended by the findings of Holton and Daniel Haulman of the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, who came to the same conclusion.
Former Tuskegee Airman Carrol Woods of Montgomery called their claims "outrageous."
"I think they are trying to destroy our record. What's the point now?" Woods, 87, told the Advertiser.
Holton said his sole interest is in making sure the group's history is as accurate as possible.
The president of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Russell Davis, said he will no longer claim in speeches that the group never lost a bomber under its escort.
"I'm going to drop (it) until we can get this thing clarified," Davis said. "We've got some homework to do, obviously."
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first group of black fighter pilots allowed into the U.S. Army Air Corps. They got their name from the Alabama town where they trained.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
How much history is really the lies of the liberal press?
How I wish these legends were close to true :
It wouldn't make their combat record any less honorable if some bombers were shot down under their escort - so many thousands of bombers were shot down in the skies of Europe - I always thought that claim sounded utterly incredible, but since it has been made so often I figured someone had actually researched it before now. Probably some liberal academic or activist (often the same thing) inserted the statement into one of the early efforts to honor the Tuskegee airmen and it just kept getting recirculated. It does not dishonor them if they turn out to be just a little bit human. The only way a fighter group could never lose an escorted bomber in WWII would be if (a) they simply didn't fly too many combat missions, or (b) they simply didn't encounter many German fighters. Again, it's not diminishing their actual accomplishments to make the record accurate.
The hallmark of the Tuskegee Airmen success story has been that America's first black fighter pilots never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft during World War II escort missions.
Two historians now say that's just a myth.
Daniel Haulman of Montgomery and William Holton of Columbia, Md., have released documents showing several U.S. bombers were downed by German planes during those Tuskegee Airmen protective flights.
The exact number is unclear, said Haulman, who is white, and Holton, who is black, but they are adamant that bomber losses to enemy planes did occur during missions over enemy territory.
"It's still being stated as fact that no bombers were lost to enemy aircraft, and it's wrong," said Holton, who is the national historian of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., which was formed to promote and honor the fabled fighter pilots.
A third nationally known military historian indicated Friday that further study may be needed to clarify specific points about the Tuskegee Airmen escort missions.
"Even if they lost three or four bombers, it would still be miniscule compared to the losses incurred by white pilots who also escorted bombers," said Alan Gropman, an author who also teaches at the National Defense University in Washington.
Gropman said Haulman and Holton "may be right" in their findings, "but I'm not convinced and I think it's going to take more readings of those mission reports to settle this once and for all."
Surviving Tuskegee Airmen and authors of military publications have no doubts and continue to insist that no friendly bombers were lost to enemy planes while being escorted by black pilots.
The revelations by Haulman and Holton have had one impact. The president of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. has altered his position a bit.
"I'm going to drop (references to having no losses) until we can get this thing clarified," retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Russell Davis said late last week. "We've got some homework to do, obviously."
Don't confuse me with facts! How many times do I have to tell you.
You may want to read the entire article first.
Holton, of Columbia, Md., suspects that claims about the all-black group never losing a plane resulted from something that happened in May 1945 around the end of the war.
In a letter commending Davis, Col. Buck Taylor said the group had the distinction of never losing a bomber, Holton said. A military public relations representative included the claim in Davis' official biography, he said, and Davis later put it in his autobiography.
Holton, in the AP interview, said it is unclear where Taylor got his information, "but that's sort of where the whole concept emanated from."
Again, I bless him for his guts.
Too right - it would seem to make them more heroic. The historian is doing the right thing to make sure that those who sacrificed their lives are recognised.
They were men who fought valiantly for their country to rid it of great evil. Does it really matter if they lost bombers or not?
Given the information in the article, what I know of military history, what I know of how bad information arises and gets repeated, I'd give a 99.99% probability that the guy saying there were some bombers they escorted that were lost is right.
There are a lot of various factoids that either arise from nowhere or are intellectually invalid that keep getting repeated and repeated and repeated because people like them and want them to be true. Another one is the claim that the US posession of airfields on Iwo Jima saved more Army Air Corps B-29 crew lives than the number of marines killed taking Iwo. Simply not close to true.
Yes. Would you rather a myth be perpetuated?
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
raciss!
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