Vogt 1

Red Tails Film Study

Compare and Contrast

Makenzie Vogt

Honors History
Mrs.Sponsler
May 1, 2014

Vogt 2
"Blacks are mentally inferior, by nature subservient, and cowards in the face of danger. They
are therefore unfit for combat."
#
In the past, blacks were faced with great struggles and
1
discrimination, not only in the general public but also in the military. The film, Red Tails portrays
a story that tells of what happened in our history, or at least parts of why the Tuskegee program
was started, the equipment they used, and the missions they were a part of.

In the film, Red Tails, starts by taking us to the air above Germany where we are introduced to
for negro pilots whom are all a part of the 332nd fight squadron. Through-out the rest of the film,
viewers are takin on a journey with these men, as they learn the details about their experiences as
a Tuskegee airman. From the start of the film, the viewer is never given much detail on how the
Tuskegee Airmen started, however, they are shown the difficulties that the general of the 332nd
fighter group had to face in order to keep the program in operation. One of the major difficulties
that the general overcame was that of battling with military officials in order to get his men new
equipment. Before, the men had been operating the white's damaged hand-me-down planes but
after much debate, the Tuskegee airmen were given brand new P-51 fighter planes that they
proudly painted red tails on. After receiving these new fighter planes, the general took on an even
larger task of slowly trying to transition his pilots from flying strictly reconnaissance missions to
flying escort missions. The general of the 332nd fighter group deliberated with military officials
and ended up getting the Tuskegee Airmen their first escort, a beach landing. After success with
the first escort, the Tuskegee Airmen were given more missions, the most successful of which
was the tank factory escort mission to Berlin.

Red Tails. Directed by Anthony Hemingway. 20th Century Fox, 2012. Chapter 1
1
Vogt 3

In history, the Tuskegee Airmen were a group of AfricanAmerican college graduates who
were selected for that the army called "an experiment" in 1941.
#
The experiment involved
2
training black pilots and support members who originally formed the 99th Pursuit Squadron.
#
It
3
was decided that the "experiment" would be conducted at Tuskegee University due to the fact
that they produced graduates that preformed the highest on flight aptitude tests, as well as,
already investing in the development of and airfield.
#
In 1943, after the negro pilots had
4
completed their training, they were assigned second-hand P-40 aircrafts that were though and
durable but slow and obsolete.
#
It wasn't until the summer of 1944 that the fighter groups were
5
given P-51 Mustangs that they then painted distinctive red tails on, earning them the nickname
"Red Tails".
#
After receiving the new equipment, the Tuskegee Airmen, consisting of the 99th,
6
100th, 301st, and 302nd pursuit squadrons, started flying bomber escorts as their primary
missions. And, it wasn't until after a few missions that the squadrons, as a whole, started being
7
referred to as The 332nd fighter squadron.
#

8

http://www.tuskegee.edu/about_us/legacy_of_fame/tuskegee_airmen/
2
tuskegee_airmen_facts.aspx

IBMD
3

IBMD
4

http://www.historynet.com/tuskegee-airmen
5

IBMD
6

IBMD
7

http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/airoverview.htm
8
Vogt 4
In comparing the film, Red Tails, to the actual historical events of the Tuskegee Airmen, we
can see that the foundation of the film including how the Tuskegee Airmen came about, the
equipment they used, and the missions they flew, follows history closely. However, we can also
see that the movie left out certain details about the pursuits that were a part of the squadron, as
well as, the name of the squadron as a whole. Knowing these facts, we can state that the film,
Red Tails, is indeed accurate and tells the truth, it just fails to tell the whole truth.