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Who was the only ace among the Tuskegee airmen? — blkbaron2011

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Dear Mr. “Black Baron,” There was no Tuskegee ace. I, for one, have been among those trying to confirm a fifth victory for Lee Archer, but officially his score still stands at four (one German and three Hungarian Me-109Gs). The only known black ace is Roger Sauvage, a Parisian whose Martinique-born father was killed in the Battle of Chemin-des-Dames in 1917. Flying Potez 631s in 1940, “Saussage” Sauvage survived being shot down by Hawker Hurricanes whose pilots mistook him for an Me-110, and he later shot down a Heinkel He-111 and a Dornier Do-17. Escaping from France, he later served in the Normandie Regiment in Russia, where he scored another 14 victories. He wrote an autobiography before he died in September 1977 at age 60.

Sincerely,

 

Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History Group
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