The Tuskegee Airmen were 926 African American pilots who flew bomber planes in World War II to escort other American planes to safety. At first, they were not allowed to fly their planes because they were African American. The Tuskegee Airmen had one of the most successful records in the U.S. Air Force and won 100 Distinguished Flying Crosses for their bravery. In hundreds of missions over North Africa and Europe, they never once lost a plane to enemy aircraft. They destroyed 261 German planes and even sank a German warship.