Air Force Academy honors the heroic Tuskegee Airmen

The Air Force Academy football team is honoring the Tuskegee Airmen with new 2020 edition ‘Red Tails’ uniforms in the Falcon Stadium. The team will be debuting the uniforms on October 3rd when they play against the Navy. 

This college football uniform was revealed for the Falcons’ 2020 Air Power Legacy Series to honor the squadron. 

The helmets have a chrome base, featuring the P-51 aircraft flown by the Tuskegee Airmen with the signature red tails and nose that helped identify the squadron. The helmet design includes the four squadron patches for the 99th, 100th, 301st and 302nd forming the 332nd Fighter Group known as the ‘Red Tails.’ The jerseys are grey with black lettering and a custom ‘Red Tails’ nameplate, which was inspired by the hand-lettered names painted on the side of the P-51 aircraft.

The Air Power Legacy Series program began in 2016 to honor the Air Force’s history. Previously the Air Force Academy renamed the airfield after Benjamin O. Davis Jr., who is the commander of the 99th Pursuit Squadron.

The 332nd Fighter Group ‘Red Tails’ were trusted escorts with an impressive record that led strategic targets of attack.  At the time, they were the only African-American air units that saw combat during the war.  During World War II, the ‘Red Tails’ was said to have conducted 1,578 missions, 15,533 combat sorties, and downed a total of 112 enemy planes. The success of the Tuskegee Airmen helped the civil rights movement and influenced President Harry Truman’s decision to desegregate the armed forces in 1948.

Tuskegee University felt elated being apart of a heroic legacy via Instagram, “What a special honor for the esteemed #TuskegeeAirmen!” 

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