The Tuskegee
Airmen
In memory of our friend Louis G. Hill Jr. Tuskegee Airman June 28, 1916-April 25, 2007
Louis G. Hi
ll Jr., Class 44
-B,
served at the former Atterbury Army Air Field as a B-25 Bomber Pilot during
WWII. The Tuskegee Airmen gallery displays their history and Louis' B-25 Bomber
in 1/8 scale is suspended above that display. Pictured here is Louis in his
flight suit during WWII and again at the museum for the dedication of his B-25
Bomber display. Louis along with fellow Tuskegee Airman, Walter Palmer, Class
43-F, were long time friends and supporters of the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum. We are honored to have known you Louis.
The museum needs your help to locate photographs,
artifacts and personal histories of the Tuskegee Airmen who served at the former
Atterbury Army Air Field during WWII.
Click on photographs
for full size
Tuskegee Airman of the 618th and 619th Bomb
Squadrons (M) of the 477th Bomb Group (M) in training at Atterbury Army Air
Field in Columbus Indiana during World War II. They flew the B-25 Mitchell
Bomber like the ones in the photographs.
B-25
SPECIFICATIONS
Span:
67 ft. 7 in.
Length: 52 ft. 11 in.
Height: 15 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 28,460 lbs. loaded
Armament: Five .50-cal. machine guns; 5,000 lbs. of bombs
Engine: Two Wright R-2600's of 1,700 hp. ea.
Cost: $96,000
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 275 mph.
Cruising speed: 230 mph.
Range: 1,200 miles
Service Ceiling: 25,000 ft
Tuskegee Airmen at the
Atterbury Army Air Field
Daily life at Atterbury Army Air Field for the Tuskegee
Airmen in 1944. There is a monument dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen located on
Bakalar Green between the Control Tower and Rotating beacon a short walk from
the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum front door.
This photograph is of Colonel Robert R.
Selway reviewing the 618th Bomber Squadron at the Atterbury
Army Air Field on June 24, 1944. The Tuskegee Airman that Col. Selway
is facing is Hubert L. Jones, Class P43H. At Freeman Field,
Seymour, Indiana, Colonel Selway segregated the Tuskegee Airman and white
Officers Clubs. The Tuskegee Airman were not allowed to enter the white
Officers Club under Col. Selway's orders. Suggested reading: The
Freeman Field Mutiny by Lt. Col. James C. Warren USAF (Ret.)
This official photograph is from the
museum archives and appears to show a B-25 being sprayed with foam by the
base fire department. This is one of many base fire department photographs and
may be the photo of the Tuskegee Airmen B-25 which crashed during
training. According to a 1944 newspaper article "B-25 slides 1,500
feet in field attempting landing." This photo may be of that aircraft but
the museum staff is unable to document this.
Photographs of Tuskegee Airmen, Louis Hill,
Class 44-B and
Walter Palmer, Class 43Fgreat friends of the Atterbury-Bakalar Air
Museum. Joined by Major
General (Ret.) John Hoff, former Bakalar Air Force Base Commander and WWII B-17
Command Pilot in the photo in front of the Museum sign and Louis and Walter
getting a warm welcome from Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong a decorated Vietnam
Veteran. Louis and Walter are part of our Museum Family and attend many of the
Museum events.
Tuskegee Airmen, Walter Palmer and
Louis Hill with museum volunteer. Bob Henry.
Major General (Ret.) John Hoff,
Walter Palmer and Lewis Hill at the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum
dedication November 11, 1992.
W.W. II Photographs of Walter J. A. Palmer
1st Lt. (U.S.A.F. Ret.) The photo on the left is of Walter at Tuskegee
Institute as an aviation cadet and the center photo of him after he shot
down an ME-109 on July 18, 1944. Photo on the right is Walter in a dress
uniform. Walter flew P-39's, P-40's, P-47's and P-51's with the 100th
Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group. Walter did not fly out of Atterbury
Army Air Base but is a good friend of the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum
and an important part of the Tuskegee Airmen history. Walter flew 158
combat missions with over 400 combat hours flying time. Walter J.A. Palmer as
pictured in an Indianapolis Star feature story about the Tuskegee
Airman. Walter served with the Tuskegee Airman from September
1942 to July 1945
Walter Palmer's 1/8th scale P-51
"Duchess" on display at the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum
along with Louis Hill's 1/8th scale B-25 as seen in the
photographs at the top of this page.
Tuskegee Airman, Lt. Colonel (Ret.)
Charles W. "A-Train" Dryden and his wife, Marymal at the Atterbury-Bakalar
Air Museum historical markers dedication program July 12, 2003. Lt.
Colonel Dryden also took time to host a book signing of his book. "A-Train:
Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman." Lt. Colonel Dryden has been inducted
into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame and is on the Board of Directors
of the Atlanta Chapter-Tuskegee Airman, Inc. He resides with his wife
Marymal in Atlanta, Georgia. Lt Colonel Dryden is the cousin of longtime Atterbury-Bakalar
Air Museum friend and fellow Tuskegee Airman, Walter Palmer. Walter
holds the record for the most combat missions flown by a Tuskegee Airman
during WWII. A whopping 158 combat missions.
A special section of the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum is dedicated
to the Tuskegee Airmen.
