The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II as the 332nd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Corps. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to Jim Crow laws. The American military itself was racially segregated. The Tuskegee Airmen faced racial discrimination, both within and outside the Army. Despite these adversities, they flew with distinction and were particularly successful in their missions as bomber escorts in Europe.