CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 RED TAIL ANGELS CHAPTER 2THE LONG ROAD TO TAKEOFF CHAPTER 3 AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY CHAPTER 4 FLIGHT TRAINING AT TUSKEGEE CHAPTER 5 FROM AFRICA TO EUROPE CHAPTER 6 THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN CHAPTER 7 THE HOME FRONT CHAPTER 8 POSTWAR CHALLENGES CHAPTER 9LEGACY OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN 100 102 TIMELINE ESSENTIAL FACTS GLOSSARY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES SOURCE NOTES INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR 104 106 110 112
a t B 24s and other US heavy bombers flew in large formations over enemy
CHAPTES RED TAIL ANGELS Jim Scheib was a 20 year old from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania deployed to combat in World War II in October 1944 He was assigned as copilot of a B 24 bomber aircraft as part of the 485th Bombardment Group based in Venosa Italy The US military was segregated at this time with white and African American soldiers split into separate units The 485th was all white It was not long before the bomber named Tail Heavy and its crew of ten men were flying missions over German occupied Europe Their job was to weaken Germany's ability to continue the war by destroying transportation infrastructure and oil refineries behind enemy lines TAIL HEAVY IN TROUBLE On November 17 1944 Tail Heavy and 27 other B 24 bombers flew a mission deep into Germany They were accompanied as
