It would be almost impossible to write about this unit without spending considerable text on the racial issues they encountered during their training and deployment to North Africa in the middle years of World War Two. Most of us modelers probably tend to ignore the political or social issues surrounding our choices of modeling subjects. I suspect that is a good thing, as it allows us to build models without regard for the good, bad and ugly issues of the various conflicts.

The Tuskegee Airman are the exception to this. If it were not for the fact that they were an all Black group, they probably would be one of the many Fifteenth Air Force groups we don’t really note very much. Their record of aerial kills is not especially high, they only had one ace, and their aircraft were not generally flamboyantly marked.

But everyone knows the story of how they were able to overcome prejudices at every level of the US Military and political system that was being forced to make changes they did not want to make, and then to attempt to use the “system” to make this integration process fail. How the Tuskegee Airman managed to overcome all this, and even reach combat, let alone do well, is what this story is all about.

The author has balanced the racial issues with the group history very well. The difficulties of establishing a pilot training program for Blacks is clearly described. From there it moves on to actual training and eventual overseas deployment and follows the unit through the Mediterranean and then Italy.

It is clear that the author spent a lot of time on personal interviews and research. Almost every event has the names and even comments from either the actual participant or an observer.

While the special circumstances of the Tuskegee Airmen are well covered, the Osprey Elite Units series are military and aircraft oriented, and that part of the 332nd history is not neglected at all. The day-to-day operations, missions, losses, successes and participation in the North African and Italian campaign is very well covered.

As with most of the Osprey books, this one has an excellent color profile section that illustrates a broad selection of the different aircraft flown during WW II. An added bonus are the illustrations in color of the 332nd Fighter Group emblem and the four Squadrons assigned to the group as well.

Conclusion

Most history books tend to record history in a bland, impersonal narrative. With this book’s writing style, frequent quotes and names, it makes it much more real and personal.

If you’re into WW II Allied aircraft, this one is a keeper.