DAYTON — The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has welcomed one of two existing Tuskegee Airmen trainers to its collection.
The museum welcomed a PT-17 after a ceremonial transfer at Joint Base Andrews on the 75th anniversary of the integration of the armed forces.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black pilots to fly in the U.S. military, the museum said.
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In 1941 the U.S. Army Air Corps announced the formation of the first-ever Black combat unit, the 99th Pursuit (later Fighter) Squadron, with the pilots training on Moton Field and Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama.
“This aircraft is a valuable piece of our American aviation and military history,” said David Tillotson, III, the director of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. “Adding this to our collection gives us the ability to tell the broader story of the impact and bravery that Tuskegee Airmen had during World War II, and the precedent they set for future generations.”
The PT-17 is expected to be placed in the museum’s WWII Gallery in the spring of 2024.
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