The movie Red Tails is a produced by George Lucas and Lucas films, it starred a great cast of current actors such as, Terrence Howard he played the character of Colonel A. J. Bullard, A. J’s character is based on Colonel Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. was commander of the 332nd Fighter Group, composed entirely of Tuskegee Airmen. After the Army and Air Force separated, into different branches of military service, Davis became the Air Force’s first black general. Cuba Gooding Jr. layed the role as Major Emmanuelle Stance; this role was based on the Major George “Spanky” Roberts who was one of the leaders of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. When Colonel Davis became commander of the 332nd Fighter Group, Major George “Spanky” Roberts took his place as commander of the 99th Fighter Squad. When Colonel Davis was away from the base, Major Roberts served as the acting commander of the 332nd. When Colonel Davis received another command assignment, after the war, Major Roberts became commander of the 332nd. Nate Parker as Marty “Easy” Julian, he played the captain of the squadron.
David Oyelowo was cast as Joe “Lightening” Little. Who takes the character of Wendell Pruitt according to all reports, the men of the 332nd considered Wendell Pruitt the Fighter Group’s best pilot. Tristan Wilds played as the character Ray “Junior” Gannon. Red Tails is set during WWII. The all African American squadron is considered to be a test program initiated by the military with the expectation of proving that blacks cannot fly. The squadron is equipped with some of the greatest pilots, but are provided with subpar, junk aircrafts in what you can only believe is a project that is destined for designed failure.
In 1944, after enduring racism throughout their recruitment and training in the Tuskegee training program, the 332d Fighter Group of young African American USAAF fighter pilots are finally sent into combat in Italy, the Tuskegee Airmen are chosen to support the Allied landings at Anzio, Italy known as Operation Shingle. Their they scored their first air combat victory over the enemy pilots and they destroyed a German airfield. Bullard is eventually approached by the USAAF Bomber Command, who was impressed with the Tuskegee Airmen’s performance and sked him to use his fighters as Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber escorts due to a very high casualty rate among bomber crews. Bullard accept the mission on the condition that his unit is supplied with the new North American P-51 Mustangs. The Tuskegee airmen painted the tails of their aircrafts bright red and this became the unofficial name of the outfit. Bullard noted that the flaw of previous escort fighters is that they would recklessly pursue German fighters at the cost of protecting the bombers, so he orders his pilots to stay with the bombers at all costs.
Their first escort mission is a success, with the 332nd downing multiple Luftwaffe aircraft without the loss of a single bomber. However, Ray Gun is shot down and captured while Deke crash lands and nearly dies. Attitudes against the Tuskegee Airmen begin to change as they earned the respect from bomber crews’, even being allowed into the “whites only” officer’s club. Ray Gun is sent to a POW camp, where he is recruited by a group of POWs who are planning to escape. The escape attempt is successful.
One of the POWs manages to reach the 332nd’s base and informs them about Ray Gun’s sacrifice, assuming him to be dead. The Tuskegee Airmen are then tasked with escorting the first American bombers to attack Berlin. However, the 332nd is only asked to escort the bombers on the first leg of their journey due to propaganda reasons. But the fighter squadron meant to relieve the 332nd never arrives, and Easy makes the decision to stay with bombers all the way. They are then attacked by Pretty Boy,( name given to enemy fighters by the redtails).
Despite being outclassed by their superior speed and 30 mm cannon, the Tuskegee Airmen are able to shoot a few down. A Pretty Boy fighter manages to get on Easy’s tail and is about to shoot him down, but at the last moment, Lightning attacks and kills the Pretty Boy in a head-on attack. Although victorious, he is fatally wounded, and Lightning eventually crashes and dies. At Lightning’s funeral, Ray Gun miraculously returns, having survived his escape from German captivity. The Tuskegee Airmen are awarded the Presidential Unit Citation in honor of their achievements.
