Warren Ludlum, a World War II bomber pilot, told the Associated Press news service in an interview last week that his bomber was shot down while being escorted by fighters flown by the Tuskegee Airmen. He went on to say that one of the mission’s Tuskegee Airmen—Starling Penn—was himself shot down and spent time in the same POW camp. One of the two historians who ignited a firestorm over their claim that the Tuskegee Airmen did not have a perfect no-bombers-lost record—William Holton of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.—confirmed Penn’s fate.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.