Tuskegee Airmen made history in Las Vegas

  • Published
  • By Jerry White
  • 99th Air Base Wing History Office
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --  Although no Tuskegee Airmen passed through the Las Vegas Army Airfield gunnery school during World War II, the gunnery school, which later became the foundation for Nellis Air Force Base, was the site of one of the Tuskegee Airmen's great post-war accomplishments.

On March 2, 1949, Las Vegas Air Force Base was selected to host the Air Force's very first Gunnery Meet. Just two months later, on May 2, 1949, 12 teams from across the Air Force lined up to compete. These units, from five different commands, flew both propeller and jet aircraft. There were F-80 and F-84 jets as well as the F-47 Thunderbolt, F-51 Mustang and F-82 Twin Mustang. The 332nd Fighter Group from Lockbourne AFB, Ohio, was the only F-47 unit participating.

During the next eight days, fighter pilots flew air-to-air and air-to-ground gunnery, dive bombing, skip bombing and rocketry missions. When the smoke cleared, the 332nd Fighter Group "Tuskegee Airmen" had taken the trophies for both the Best Piston-Engine Team and Best Team overall. They beat the next closest team, the 82nd Fighter Group flying the Mustang, by 21.58 points and the closest jet team, the 4th Fighter Group flying the F-80, by 46.4 points. Capt. Alva Edwards placed second overall among all pilots.

This was the "last hurrah" for the Tuskegee Airmen. On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 that started the process of desegregating the military. At Lockbourne AFB, Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. oversaw the dismantling of the 332nd Fighter Group and Wing as part of the process for the desegregation of the Air Force. So, on July 1, 1949, just six weeks after winning the U.S. Air Force's first Gunnery Meet, the Tuskegee Airmen faded into history... at least for a while.