A PT-13D Stearman used to train the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II touched down in Washington last week, carrying with it the stories and memories of men who helped shape not only the history of aviation, but the history of a nation as well.
The airplane, known as the Spirit of Tuskegee, was used to train African American airmen from 1944 to 1946 at Moton Field, the Alabama facility that served as the only primary flight-training site for African Americans in the Army Air Forces during WWII. During that time, the Spirit of Tuskegee, along with other aircraft, helped train more than 1,000 African American pilots for bombing missions over Italy and North Africa.
