The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces. Flying P-51 Mustangs with distinctive red-painted tails, the 332nd Fighter Group became one of the most successful bomber escort units of the war. They flew over 15,000 sorties and destroyed 112 enemy aircraft in the air. Their success famously debunked the racist military theories of the time that claimed Black men lacked the intelligence or courage for flight. Their exemplary record was a major factor in President Truman's 1948 decision to desegregate the U.S. military.