Did You Know? The First "Top Gun" Competition Was Held in 1949 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Wanna Take a Wild Guess as to Who Won It?

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

My mother sent me a TikTok snippet about this, saying she had never heard of it before. Curious, I asked my chat assistant about the first U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, and it confirmed the date and location. Then I asked about the winner, and here’s what I found:

The "Top Gun" competition, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, was held in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis AFB, Nevada).​

​

The 332nd Fighter Group—the all-Black unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen—won the 1949 competition, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and outperforming all other teams in aerial gunnery.​

​

Yet, due to racial discrimination, their victory was not widely publicized, and official records initially credited another team with the win. Only in recent years has this achievement been properly recognized.​

​

So once again, history reveals that Black excellence was not just excluded from opportunities but actively erased—even when undeniable skill and merit were on full display. The Tuskegee Airmen weren’t just exceptional in battle; they were also dominant in competition, yet their victory was stolen from them.

And let’s be clear: this happened before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before affirmative action, and long before the so-called "DEI boogeyman" (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

What this really demonstrates is the true fear behind opposition to DEI. The pushback has never been about "merit" or "competence." It has always been about avoiding real competition—about maintaining dominance by rigging the playing field. Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

​

 

[DukeU]

So, we should set things straight by "rigging the playing field"?

 

[Seymour Flops]

My mother sent me a TikTok snippet about this, saying she had never heard of it before. Curious, I asked my chat assistant about the first U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, and it confirmed the date and location. Then I asked about the winner, and here’s what I found:

The "Top Gun" competition, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, was held in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis AFB, Nevada).​

​

The 332nd Fighter Group—the all-Black unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen—won the 1949 competition, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and outperforming all other teams in aerial gunnery.​

​

Yet, due to racial discrimination, their victory was not widely publicized, and official records initially credited another team with the win. Only in recent years has this achievement been properly recognized.​

​

So once again, history reveals that Black excellence was not just excluded from opportunities but actively erased—even when undeniable skill and merit were on full display. The Tuskegee Airmen weren’t just exceptional in battle; they were also dominant in competition, yet their victory was stolen from them.

And let’s be clear: this happened before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before affirmative action, and long before the so-called "DEI boogeyman" (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

What this really demonstrates is the true fear behind opposition to DEI. The pushback has never been about "merit" or "competence." It has always been about avoiding real competition—about maintaining dominance by rigging the playing field. Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

​

Remind me what party held the White House in 1949?

 

[Auld Phart]

My mother sent me a TikTok snippet about this, saying she had never heard of it before. Curious, I asked my chat assistant about the first U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, and it confirmed the date and location. Then I asked about the winner, and here’s what I found:

The "Top Gun" competition, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, was held in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis AFB, Nevada).​

​

The 332nd Fighter Group—the all-Black unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen—won the 1949 competition, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and outperforming all other teams in aerial gunnery.​

​

Yet, due to racial discrimination, their victory was not widely publicized, and official records initially credited another team with the win. Only in recent years has this achievement been properly recognized.​

​

So once again, history reveals that Black excellence was not just excluded from opportunities but actively erased—even when undeniable skill and merit were on full display. The Tuskegee Airmen weren’t just exceptional in battle; they were also dominant in competition, yet their victory was stolen from them.

And let’s be clear: this happened before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before affirmative action, and long before the so-called "DEI boogeyman" (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

What this really demonstrates is the true fear behind opposition to DEI. The pushback has never been about "merit" or "competence." It has always been about avoiding real competition—about maintaining dominance by rigging the playing field. Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

​

yet their victory was stolen from them.

How/when was it stolen?

 

[Concerned American]

Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

And you claim you aren't a racist bigot, defined by racist bigotry. If this isn't a classic definition of BLACK SUPREMACY ^^^, claiming that black pilots are superior to every other ethnicity because of their ethnicity, what is?

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

My mother sent me a TikTok snippet about this, saying she had never heard of it before. Curious, I asked my chat assistant about the first U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, and it confirmed the date and location. Then I asked about the winner, and here’s what I found:

The "Top Gun" competition, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, was held in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis AFB, Nevada).​

​

The 332nd Fighter Group—the all-Black unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen—won the 1949 competition, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and outperforming all other teams in aerial gunnery.​

​

Yet, due to racial discrimination, their victory was not widely publicized, and official records initially credited another team with the win. Only in recent years has this achievement been properly recognized.​

​

So once again, history reveals that Black excellence was not just excluded from opportunities but actively erased—even when undeniable skill and merit were on full display. The Tuskegee Airmen weren’t just exceptional in battle; they were also dominant in competition, yet their victory was stolen from them.

And let’s be clear: this happened before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before affirmative action, and long before the so-called "DEI boogeyman" (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

What this really demonstrates is the true fear behind opposition to DEI. The pushback has never been about "merit" or "competence." It has always been about avoiding real competition—about maintaining dominance by rigging the playing field. Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

​

So, we should set things straight by "rigging the playing field"?

Remind me what party held the White House in 1949?

How/when was it stolen?

And you claim you aren't a racist bigot, defined by racist bigotry. If this isn't a classic definition of BLACK SUPREMACY ^^^, claiming that black pilots are superior to every other ethnicity, what is?

"Alright, kids, let’s imagine we’re at a big race at school. There are teams from all over, and everyone is excited. Now, imagine that there’s one team—the Red Team—that some people don’t like because they’re different. They aren’t allowed to sit with the other kids at lunch, and sometimes, the teachers don’t even call on them in class. But this team is really good at racing.

On race day, the Red Team runs faster than anyone else and wins first place fair and square. The crowd cheers, and they’re so happy! But then, the judges—who don’t like the Red Team—say:

"Oops, we made a mistake. We’re going to say the Blue Team won instead."​

​

They erase the Red Team’s name from the winner's list.​

​

They don’t let the Red Team get their trophy or take pictures.​

​

They don’t tell anyone they actually won.​

For years, no one even knows that the Red Team was the real winner. People believe the Blue Team won because that’s what they were told.

Then, much later, someone finds an old notebook that proves the Red Team really did win! People start talking about it, and finally, the truth comes out. But guess what? The Red Team still never got their trophy, their celebration, or their moment in history.

---

How This Happened in Real Life:​

The Tuskegee Airmen (the "Red Team") won the 1949 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet (the "race"). But because of racism, their win was erased from history:

Another team was credited with the win even though they lost.

The Tuskegee Airmen’s victory was not publicized or celebrated.

For decades, no one knew they had won. (7 decades actually - 70 years)

Only years later did people start to recognize their achievement.

This isn’t about "rigging the playing field"—it’s about fixing what was unfairly rigged against them in the first place. The Tuskegee Airmen played by the rules, won fair and square, and still had their moment stolen from them.

That’s the point.

 

[Stryder50]

My mother sent me a TikTok snippet about this, saying she had never heard of it before. Curious, I asked my chat assistant about the first U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, and it confirmed the date and location. Then I asked about the winner, and here’s what I found:

The "Top Gun" competition, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, was held in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis AFB, Nevada).​

​

The 332nd Fighter Group—the all-Black unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen—won the 1949 competition, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and outperforming all other teams in aerial gunnery.​

​

Yet, due to racial discrimination, their victory was not widely publicized, and official records initially credited another team with the win. Only in recent years has this achievement been properly recognized.​

​

So once again, history reveals that Black excellence was not just excluded from opportunities but actively erased—even when undeniable skill and merit were on full display. The Tuskegee Airmen weren’t just exceptional in battle; they were also dominant in competition, yet their victory was stolen from them.

And let’s be clear: this happened before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before affirmative action, and long before the so-called "DEI boogeyman" (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

What this really demonstrates is the true fear behind opposition to DEI. The pushback has never been about "merit" or "competence." It has always been about avoiding real competition—about maintaining dominance by rigging the playing field. Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

​

Technically it was not a "Top Gun" since that label applies to the U.S. Navy competition.
Here's a more informative read;

In 1949 Tuskegee Airmen won the first ever USAF Weapons' Meet flying obsolete F-47 Thunderbolts. But their victory was hidden and the trophy stored at the USAF Museum for years.

In 1949 Tuskegee Airmen won the first ever United States Air Force Weapons' Meet flying obsolete F-47 Thunderbolts.

theaviationgeekclub.com

What's interesting about this is that POTUS Truman signed an Executive Order * ending segregation in the US military a year earlier;

Why Harry Truman Ended Segregation in the US Military in 1948 | HISTORY

Executive Order 9981, one of Truman's most important achievements, became a major catalyst for the civil rights movement.

www.history.com

BTW, the F-47(P-47) was obsolete only in an administrative sense, since as can be seen it was still an excellent combat aircraft at the time. As more P-51/F-51 became available, Air Groups transitioned to the 51. the 47 was still being used by Reserve units at the time.

 

[IM2]

Remind me what party held the White House in 1949?

It doesn't matter. Both parties were complicit. It's time that today's Republican party stopped lying about its history.

 

[Concerned American]

Only years later did people start to recognize their achievement.

I heard about the Tuskegee Airmen in grade school in the 60s at the same time that I learned about the 442nd Nisei Infantry Regiment. There were injustices that every ethnic or immigrant group in this nation has suffered. The difference is only one group continues to whine that they have been wronged, demand special treatment and claim Black Supremacy. YOU have never experienced the wrongs that you constantly whine about. If you really wanted fairness, you would advocate for EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW. Not equal treatment plus multiple programs to help your chosen group. THAT IS RACISM and it is why you are a bigot.

 

[IM2]

And you claim you aren't a racist bigot, defined by racist bigotry. If this isn't a classic definition of BLACK SUPREMACY ^^^, claiming that black pilots are superior to every other ethnicity, what is?

This post is pure ignorance. Newsvine is saying that the claim whites have long made about back inferiority is wrong.

 

[elektra]

DEI did not exist in the 1940's hence the Tuskegee airmen were never helped by such a program.

Today in the 21st century, an incompetent such as Obama can claim to be half black and become president.

The 20th century called, they want you back

 

[Stryder50]

It doesn't matter. Both parties were complicit. It's time that today's Republican party stopped lying about its history.

It's time you stop living in the past and get with the program of the 21st Century.
Situation is greatly improved over what it was 70-80 years ago.

 

[IM2]

I heard about the Tuskegee Airmen in grade school in the 60s at the same time that I learned about the 442nd Nisei Infantry Regiment. There were injustices that every ethnic or immigrant group in this nation has suffered. The difference is only one group continues to whine that they have been wronged, demand special treatment and claim Black Supremacy. YOU have never experienced the wrongs that you constantly whine about. If you really wanted fairness, you would advocate for EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW. Not equal treatment plus multiple programs to help your chosen group. THAT IS RACISM and it is why you are a bigot.

Every group hasn't suffered injustice. Whites got all kinds of extra and special help and blacks are not the only group speaking out about what white racism has done to them. It is really time whites such as yourself started thinking before you make comments. Whites not only have been given special treatment but they have been provided numerous programs that helped them.

For example:

This paper examines the U.S. government’s instigation, participation, authorization, and perpetuation of federal housing discrimination against black-Americans from the 1930s to the 1980s and the damage that such discrimination caused and continues to cause today. Delving into the U.S. government’s twentieth century federal housing practices, this paper discusses how the government effectively barred black-Americans from obtaining quality housing and from investing in housing as wealth, while simultaneously subsidizing and endorsing white homeownership, white suburbs, and white wealth. Quantifying the U.S. government’s discriminatory practices with current wealth gaps between white- and black-American communities, this paper discusses the effects of twentieth century federal housing discrimination and argues that such government-initiated wrongs justify black reparations.

Part I examines the U.S. government’s housing practices—from the New Deal until the 1968 Fair Housing Act and its 1988 Amendments—to reveal that although the New Deal’s national housing programs revolutionized homeownership and home equity in the United States, the U.S. government’s federal housing programs were racially discriminatory. Specifically, and quite shockingly, the U.S. government actively created and promulgated racist neighborhood rating systems that constructed black neighborhoods and black property as unstable, volatile, hazardous, and not worthy of investment. Using these racist rating systems, the federal government endorsed racial covenants and invested federal money into the creation and accumulation of white wealth, the value of whiteness, white suburbia, and white homeownership. Meanwhile, the government denied blacks federal housing funding, fueling black stigma and barring black-Americans from the invaluable twentieth century opportunities of homeownership and home equity.

Understanding the U.S. government’s discriminatory housing practices, Part II discusses and quantifies the effects of the government’s housing discrimination on black-American households and communities. Finding that approximately 120 billion 1950s dollars—or more than 1.239 quintillion 2019 dollars—were invested to subsidize and create white-American wealth through homeownership...

Black Reparations for Twentieth Century Federal Housing Discrimination: The Construction of White Wealth and the Effects of Denied Black Homeownership

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first documented arrival of Africans to the United States, which resulted in the enslavement of approximately 4 mil

papers.ssrn.com

That's 1 quintillion dollars the government provided whites that blacks were excluded from IN YOUR LIFETIME!

Last, you are a racist, meaning you have the same attitude as whites who practiced slavery. This forum is fu;ll of people like you. So we face the same attitudes you say we haven't experienced. Nothing posted by Newsvine was bigoted, but your white fragility doesn't allow you to participate in adult discussion on race with black people unless the black person is saying what you need to hear in order to feel comfortable. But you see, we who endure your racism don't get to feel comfortable, therefore since you are for equal rights, then you will feel equal discomfort until you get up off your ass and work to end the racism whites started in this country.

 

[Auld Phart]

It doesn't matter. Both parties were complicit. It's time that today's Republican party stopped lying about its history.

It's time that today's Republican party stopped lying about its history

as should democrats

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

And you claim you aren't a racist bigot, defined by racist bigotry. If this isn't a classic definition of BLACK SUPREMACY ^^^, claiming that black pilots are superior to every other ethnicity because of their ethnicity, what is?

It’s telling that instead of engaging with the historical facts, you chose to launch a personal attack. Nowhere did I claim superiority of any group—I simply highlighted an instance where Black pilots competed, won, and had their victory erased. That’s history, not opinion.

Your reaction says far more about you than it does about me. If acknowledging the truth makes you this defensive, maybe it’s time to ask yourself why.

 

[Kondor3]

Chuck Yeager?

 

[BackAgain]

My mother sent me a TikTok snippet about this, saying she had never heard of it before. Curious, I asked my chat assistant about the first U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, and it confirmed the date and location. Then I asked about the winner, and here’s what I found:

The "Top Gun" competition, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet, was held in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis AFB, Nevada).​

​

The 332nd Fighter Group—the all-Black unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen—won the 1949 competition, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and outperforming all other teams in aerial gunnery.​

​

Yet, due to racial discrimination, their victory was not widely publicized, and official records initially credited another team with the win. Only in recent years has this achievement been properly recognized.​

​

So once again, history reveals that Black excellence was not just excluded from opportunities but actively erased—even when undeniable skill and merit were on full display. The Tuskegee Airmen weren’t just exceptional in battle; they were also dominant in competition, yet their victory was stolen from them.

And let’s be clear: this happened before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before affirmative action, and long before the so-called "DEI boogeyman" (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

What this really demonstrates is the true fear behind opposition to DEI. The pushback has never been about "merit" or "competence." It has always been about avoiding real competition—about maintaining dominance by rigging the playing field. Because if all things were truly equal, history shows exactly who they would have been up against.

​

I can top that. Believe it or not, it’s true that black people in our land, down South, were owned by white people.

 

[Concerned American]

It’s telling that instead of engaging with the historical facts, you chose to launch a personal attack. Nowhere did I claim superiority of any group—I simply highlighted an instance where Black pilots competed, won, and had their victory erased. That’s history, not opinion.

Your reaction says far more about you than it does about me. If acknowledging the truth makes you this defensive, maybe it’s time to ask yourself why.

And again, you are whining about an event that happened 75 years ago. The world was much different then. No one has claimed that injustices didn't happen. I stated that in an earlier post. Your insistence that somehow these airmen were superior due to their ethnicity highlights your bigotry. These were great men, and the fact that I heard about the Tuskegee Airmen 12 years after their competition, prior to the CRA of 1964, shoots holes in your contention that they were not recognized. They were Americans and your divisive posts that want to separate them based on ethnicity verifies my claims about you. I fought side by side with men of every ethnicity in Vietnam, and I can guarantee you, that no one much cared who the American was who was next to them, just that they were AMERICANS. Your patriotism stops at skin color.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

I heard about the Tuskegee Airmen in grade school in the 60s at the same time that I learned about the 442nd Nisei Infantry Regiment. There were injustices that every ethnic or immigrant group in this nation has suffered. The difference is only one group continues to whine that they have been wronged, demand special treatment and claim Black Supremacy. YOU have never experienced the wrongs that you constantly whine about. If you really wanted fairness, you would advocate for EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW. Not equal treatment plus multiple programs to help your chosen group. THAT IS RACISM and it is why you are a bigot.

It’s interesting that you bring up ‘equal treatment under the law’ when the Tuskegee Airmen received anything but. They weren’t given ‘special programs’ or extra assistance—quite the opposite. They had to fight for the right to even fly, let alone compete.

And yet, despite unequal conditions, they still excelled and won—only to have that win erased. That’s not ‘whining,’ that’s history.

The fact that you’re upset about people finally acknowledging that truth—decades after the fact—says a lot about you. If fairness was truly your concern, you’d be just as outraged that their victory was stolen as you are about the programs you claim to oppose.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Technically it was not a "Top Gun" since that label applies to the U.S. Navy competition.
Here's a more informative read;

In 1949 Tuskegee Airmen won the first ever USAF Weapons' Meet flying obsolete F-47 Thunderbolts. But their victory was hidden and the trophy stored at the USAF Museum for years.

In 1949 Tuskegee Airmen won the first ever United States Air Force Weapons' Meet flying obsolete F-47 Thunderbolts.

theaviationgeekclub.com

What's interesting about this is that POTUS Truman signed an Executive Order * ending segregation in the US military a year earlier;

Why Harry Truman Ended Segregation in the US Military in 1948 | HISTORY

Executive Order 9981, one of Truman's most important achievements, became a major catalyst for the civil rights movement.

www.history.com

BTW, the F-47(P-47) was obsolete only in an administrative sense, since as can be seen it was still an excellent combat aircraft at the time. As more P-51/F-51 became available, Air Groups transitioned to the 51. the 47 was still being used by Reserve units at the time.

‘Top Gun’ as a pop culture term is commonly associated with the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (established in 1969), but before that, the U.S. Air Force held its own air combat competitions. The 1949 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet was exactly that—an elite aerial gunnery competition to determine the best fighter pilots.

Whether you call it ‘Top Gun’ or not doesn’t change the fact that the Tuskegee Airmen won and were denied proper recognition. Moving the goalposts won’t erase history