The Tuskegee Airmen Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eleanor Roosevelt

While Franklin Roosevelt was President and had the power, it was Eleanor Roosevelt who took a famous flight with Chief Anderson in April of 1941. She was visiting Tuskegee for her husband and saw airplanes flying around in the skies. She asked to go for a ride with Chief Anderson. Anderson was instructed by the secret service to take off, circle the runway a few times and land again.

He intended to follow instructions, but once in the air Mrs. Roosevelt asked to fly to Mobile. The two were in the air for almost an hour, much to the concern of the secret service.

Answer: Tunisia

The 99th Fighter Squadron was sent to North Africa and flew its first combat mission against the island of Pantelleria on June 2, 1943. During their early missions they flew close tactical ground support, dive bombing and strafing German ground forces.

Answer: Pantelleria

This small island located between Sicily and Tunisia was held by the Germans as a stronghold against Allied shipments of supplies. Pantelleria was large enough for a landing strip and proved to be a solid base of operations for German boats and submarines. Allied mission planners knew the island had to be taken out.

For two weeks the Allies sent planes to Pantelleria on the hour. Night and day the island was bombed until a white flag was hoisted and the Germans contacted to surrender. This is a historic event as there were no ground troops involved in the taking of the island - only 500 pound bombs.

Answer: All of these

The Tuskegee Airmen flew the P-39s and P-47s only for a short period of time. They are best known for flying the P-40s and P-51s.

An interesting story during the few weeks of flying the P-47. Returning from a mission, two pilots Wendell Pruitt and Gwynne Peirson spotted an Italian destroyer unescorted. Thinking of the extra ammo in their guns, they decided to give a few bursts. Some of the rounds pierced the deck and went into the magazine, igniting and blowing up the destroyer. The Tuskegee Airmen have the unique pleasure as a Fighter Group to add a destroyer to their list of victories.

Answer: 303rd

The 332nd Fighter Group was composed of the 99th Fighter Squadron (renamed after it joined the group), the 100th F.S. , the 301st F.S. and the 302nd F.S. Most Fighter Groups consisted of three squadrons, but being the only all African American group, the pilots were sent to the 332nd from Tuskegee.

Answer: 112

The Tuskegee Airmen flew escort missions and remained with the bombers until an enemy aircraft actually attacked. They have fewer air to air victories than most other Fighter Groups, but they also had considerably fewer losses.

Answer: The Daimler-Benz Tank Factory

As the war effort moved towards Berlin, the 15th Air Force was given the mission to bomb the Daimler-Benz Tank Factory. The Tuskegee Airmen were supposed to escort the first leg of the mission, but the second leg fighter group was caught in inclement weather and couldn't rendezvous, leaving the Airmen to make the journey. Among the many successes of the mission, three German ME-262 jet fighters were shot down by Tuskegee Airmen during the mission.

Answer: Lee Archer, Jr.

Lee Archer is credited unofficially as the only Ace of the Tuskegee Airmen. Roscoe Brown was the first Tuskegee Airman to shoot down the German ME-262 jet fighter while on the flight to Berlin. Spann Watson was one of the first 36 pilots sent over to North Africa when the Airmen first arrived into the War. Hannibal Lee was the conglomerate character played by Laurence Fishburne in the 1996 Tuskegee Airmen movie.

The first name of "Hannibal" comes from Hannibal Cox, a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, while the last name of "Lee" comes from Lee Archer.

Answer: Red

Rumors float around as to the origins of this color choice. Some say the only available paint was red, while others say the red paint was to make sure everyone knew who the Tuskegee Airmen were while flying. There is a restored "Redtail" flying into air shows across the United States, and seeing the red tail against the blue sky certainly would lead the author of this quiz to believe the red was for attention.

Answer: Desegregated the military

With the Tuskegee Airmen's record, the Freeman Field Mutiny, the 761st tank battalion and the contributions of other African American soldiers during the war, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 into effect July 26th, 1948. With the stroke of his pen he stopped the practice of segregation in the armed forces.