In 1939, the War Department, after facing pressure from the NAACP, the National Airmen’s Association, and newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender, announced plans to train Negro pilots in July. In June of that year, Congress passed bill H.R. 5619 that created the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) that would give schools contracts to train pilots. Tuskegee Institute was one of the schools that received funding and because of the efforts of men like C. Alfred Anderson, who was one of the instructors for the CPTP and personally flew First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on a test flight; the civilian airport was established in 1940. By June 1941, the first group of cadets (class 42-C-SE), dubbed the "Lonely Eagles" by the black press, arrived at Tuskegee led by Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Only five of the thirteen men (Capt. Davis, Lemuel Custis, Charles DeBow, Mac Ross, and George Spencer Roberts) would graduate in March 1942 and would form the core of the 99^th Fighter Squadron. At graduation, Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. George Stratemeyer told the men that their graduation was an historic moment and that their unseen supporters recognized this as well.

The second group of cadets came in July 1941 and only three (Sidney Brooks, Charles W. Dryden, and Clarence C. Jamison) survived graduation and went on to become the 100^th Fighter Squadron under Mac Ross. Two more cadet groups arrived and by July 1942, the 99^th Fighter Squadron numbered twenty-six pilots. By this point cadets began to report on a weekly basis and a quota of two hundred cadets per year was established. This would lead to the eventual formation of the 301^st and 302^nd Fighter Squadron and together with the 99^th and 100^th, they wouldeventually form the 332^nd Fighter Group and were activated together on Oct. 13, 1942 under the total command of Col. Samuel Westbrook, a white officer. During training, the cadets started by flying the Stearman PT-17 Kaydets which were old biplanes. The next level was the BT-13 Valients and the AT-6s which had flaps, retractable landing gear, and a 650-horsepower engine. Following graduation, they trained using old P-40 Warhawks that were used to fight the Japanese in China. They were highly criticized in the Truman Report for their limited firepower, poor protective armor and their sluggish controls but because they would be flying them in battle, the 99^th practiced with them.


Although they would not see combat until the next year, the men were highly confident that they would succeed in battle. Speaking at a Field Day assembly in December 1942 at Tuskegee, Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (who was promoted in May) stated that his greatest desire was to lead this squadron to victory against the enemy. By February 1943, plans were being made for the 99^th to enter combat and on April 1, after spending half a year waiting to be notified, the 99^th finally received their call.