D/T&R, for Dir of Military
Personnel, 23 Apr 48, no sub; all in Negro Affairs,
SecAF files. See also "History of Godman Field,
Ky., 1 Mar--15 Oct 45," AFSHRC.]

In the summer of 1947, the Army Air Forces integrated aviation
training at Randolph Field, Texas, and quietly closed Tuskegee
airfield, thus ending the last segregated officer training in the
armed forces. The move was unrelated to the Gillem Board Report or to
the demands of civil rights advocates. The Tuskegee operation had
simply become impractical. In the severe postwar retrenchment of the
armed forces, Tuskegee's cadet enrollment had dropped sharply, only
nine men graduated in the October 1945 class.[11-17] To the general
satisfaction of the black community, the few black cadets shared both
quarters and classes with white students.[11-18] Nine black cadets were
in training at the end of 1947.[11-19]

[Footnote 11-17: "History of the 2143d AAF Base Unit,
Pilot School, Basic, Advanced, and Tuskegee Army
Air Field, 1 Sep 1945-31 Oct 1945," AFSHRC.]

[Footnote 11-18: For an example of black reaction see
_Ebony_ Magazine V (September 1949).]

[Footnote 11-19: Memo, James C. Evans, Adviser to the
SecDef, for Capt Robert W. Berry, 10 Feb 48, SecDef
291.2 files.]

Another postwar reduction was not so advantageous for Negroes. By
February 1946 the 477th Composite Group had been reduced to sixteen
B-25 bombers, twelve P-47 fighter-bombers, and only 746 men--a 40
percent drop in four months.[11-20] Although the Tactical Air Command
rated the unit's postwar training and performance satisfactory, and
its transfer to the more hospitable surroundings and finer facilities
of Lockbourne Field, Ohio, raised morale, the 477th, like other
understaffed and underequipped organizations, faced inevitable
conversion to specialized service. In July 1947 the 477th was
inactivated and replaced by the 332d Fighter Group composed of the
99th, 100th, and 301st Fighter Squadrons. Black bomber pilots were
converted to fighter pilots, and the bomber crews were removed from
flying status.

[Footnote 11-20: "History of the 477th Composite
Group," 15 Sep 45-15 Feb 46, Feb-Mar 46, and 1
Mar-15 Jul 46, AFSHRC.]

[Illustration