Tuskegee Mustangs are seen streaking over southern Germany on April 1, 1945. On this day and the preceding day, they destroyed 25 enemy aircraft with only one lost. It was a historic two-day period for the Tuskegee, of which they will always be proud.
By March of 1945, Germany was surrounded and fighting a purely defensive war. To the east, the Russian Army and Air Force rushed headlong toward Berlin, crushing any resistance in their path. In the west, the Allies had crossed the Rhine River into Germany and were pushing the battered Germany army further east. To the south, the Allies advanced north past Rome and into the Po Valley of Italy.
The Allied air forces were relentless in their bombing and destruction of any effort put up by the beleaguered Luftwaffe in these final days. Among the fighter squadrons that were involved in the missions were the Tuskegee pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group. Flying out of Ramatelli, Italy, they continued their escort duties, providing the necessary protection for the bombers to hit their targets in central Germany. Many of these missions still met enemy resistance, and some of the air battles were fierce. Starved of fuel, the German war machine staggered on when it should have ended sooner. But Hitler insisted on battling on to ultimate self-destruction, both for himself and the German population.
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