H5301

Distinguished Americans

C. Alfred Chief Anderson - Aviator

Chief Instructor of the Tuskegee

Airmen

Collins Cover Announcement 

C. Alfred Anderson

Chief Instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen

Charles Alfred Anderson was an American aviator who is known as "The Father of Black Aviation." Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1907, Charles was fascinated by airplanes at an early age and by age 20 had saved enough money for flying lessons. He attended aviation ground school and learned aircraft mechanics. He talked constantly with other pilots learning from their experience.

He soon bought his first plane — a Velie Monocoupe. As a member of a local flying club, he gained valuable experience from taking flights with experienced pilots. During World War II, Tuskegee Institute in Alabama recruited Anderson to be chief flight instructor for the cadets who would become members of the military's first all-black aviation unit — the 99th Pursuit Squadron. They began calling him "Chief' and from then on he was known as Chief Anderson. Today those men who trained under him are known and remembered as the Tuskegee Airmen. During the war they flew thousands of missions, destroyed more than a hundred German aircraft, and were awarded many distinguished flying crosses.

In March of 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady, was touring the base hospital. She then proceeded to meet the flight cadets and their instructor. She requested that Chief Anderson take her for a ride, and after 40 minutes they returned and Eleanor was delighted. My hand painted cachet shows them in the cockpit on that historic day. It also depicts Anderson's first plane — the Velie Monocoupe. Now available is the 700 stamp that honors the instructor of the famous Tuskegee Airmen — C. Alfred

"Chief' Anderson. Collins # H5301 at $14.50.