Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs / US Air Force / DVIDS
An artist rendering of the US Air Force T-7A Red Hawk, named in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen.
- A new fleet of Air Force training aircraft honors the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American US Army Air Corps squadron that escorted bombers during World War II.
- The celebrated squadron painted the tails of their aircraft red, earning the nickname "Red Tails." They also flew the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk - hence the "Red Hawk" tribute.
- The Air Force has put in an order for 351 of the T-7A aircraft, made by Boeing. They'll be delivered in 2023.
- Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.
Acting Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan announced on Monday that the US Air Force would introduce a new training aircraft named for the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American squadron in the US Army Air Corps.
"The name Red Hawk honors the legacy of Tuskegee Airmen and pays homage to their signature red-tailed aircraft from World War II," Donovan said at the 2019 Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Monday.
"The name is also a tribute to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, an American fighter aircraft that first flew in 1938 and was flown by the 99th Fighter Squadron, the US Army Air Forces' first African American fighter squadron."
Donovan was joined onstage by Col. Charles McGee, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. McGee served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and flew over 400 combat missions, according to a release from the Air Force.