Another historic World War II plane will join the collection at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
A PT-17 used by the Tuskegee Airmen has been delivered to the museum from the Collings Foundation’s American Heritage Museum in Hudson, Massachusetts. It is one of only two PT-17s known to exist.
The plane was used by the Tuskegee Airmen, who were the first group of Black pilots to fly in the US military. They were trained at Moton Field and Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama.
In March 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. Before closing in 1946, nearly 1,000 Tuskegee Airmen received their primary flight training at Moton Field.
Delivery of the plane to the Air Force Museum comes on the 75th Anniversary of the integration of the armed forces.
The Museum says the plane is scheduled to go on display next year.
