Lee Archer (pilot)

Born in, New York, Archer grew up in New York's Harlem neighborhood, later attending New York University. After graduation, he joined the United States Army in the hopes of becoming a pilot. At that time, the Army did not accept black pilots, so Archer was posted to a communications job as a telegrapher and field network-communications specialist in Georgia.[5] When the Army's policy changed, he was accepted to the training program for black aviators at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama, graduating first in his class,[6][7] and one of only 994 black wartime pilots to graduate there. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on July 28, 1943.[8]

A restored P-51C Mustang in Lee Archer's markings, is now flown by Kermit Weeks, at Fantasy of Flight.[9][N 1]

Archer is considered by some as the first and—as of 2010—only black U.S. pilot to earn an "ace" designation, for shooting down at least five enemy aircraft.[11][12] However, during the war, Archer claimed, and was acknowledged to have shot down only four planes.[3] Years later, Archer stated he and another pilot both claimed victory for shooting down a fifth aircraft, that he was credited for only one half the kill, and that half kill was later taken away. However, official records show no claim by Archer on the date in question. Archer's supposed ace status was mentioned in news articles through the time of his death, when it was stated as fact in several obituaries. The original records of his duty were clear. The discrepancy between these records and the later reporting has caused some controversy. Archer also destroyed six aircraft on the ground during a strafing mission in August 1944, as well as several locomotives, motor transports and barges.[7][12]

While flying with the 302nd Fighter Squadron, as a combat pilot, nicknamed "Buddy", Archer flew 169 combat missions in the European Theatre of World War II, flying the Bell P-39 Airacobra, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft.[N 2][13] Flying a P-51C fighter with the distinctive red tail of the 332nd Fighter Group, known collectively as the "Tuskegee Airmen", he scored his first victory, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 on July 18, 1944, over Memmingen, Germany.[N 3][8]

Archer is best remembered for his exploits of October 12, 1944.[15] In the midst of a furious series of dogfights over German-occupied Hungary, he shot down three Hungarian Bf 109s over Lake Balaton, Hungary, in engagements that spanned only 10 minutes.[8]

Archer was one of only four Tuskegee Airmen to have earned three aerial victories in a single day of combat: Joseph Elsberry, Clarence Lester, and Harry Stewart, Jr.[4] Moreover, Archer was one of only nine 332nd Fighter Group pilots with at least three confirmed kills during World War II:

• Joseph Elsberry - 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron - 4 Confirmed Kills, 1 Possible
• Edward L. Toppins - 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron - 4 Confirmed Kills, 1 Possible
• Lee Archer - 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron - 4 Confirmed Kills
• Charles B. Hall - 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron 3 confirmed kills
• Leonard M. Jackson - 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills
• Clarence D. Lester - 332nd Fighter Group's 100th Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills
• Wendell O. Pruitt - 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills
• Roger Romine - 332nd Fighter Group's 302nd Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kill, 1 Unconfirmed
• Harry Stewart, Jr. - 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron - 3 Confirmed Kills

When Archer returned home in 1945 as a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, he found that nothing seemed to have changed in American society. "I flew 169 combat missions when most pilots were flying 50," Archer told the Chicago Tribune in 2004. "When I came back to the U.S. and down that gangplank, there was a sign at the bottom: ′Colored Troops to the Right, White Troops to the Left′."[6]

Archer remained in the armed forces for a career as the United States Army Air Forces transitioned into the present day United States Air Force in 1947. He later flew missions during the Korean War,[8] became a diplomatic officer at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and then became the headquarters chief of the U.S. Air Force Southern Command in Panama,[16] eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1970.[12]

Archer speaking at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, September 2003.

Television personality Bill Cosby (right) eulogized Archer at a Riverside Church memorial service on February 4, 2010.

After retiring from the military, Archer joined General Foods Corporation in White Plains, N.Y. where he became one of the first black corporate vice presidents of a major U.S. company. While there he also led its small-business investment subsidiary, North Street Capital Corporation, which serviced clients such as Essence Communications and Black Enterprise Magazine. In 1987 he helped establish the food conglomerate TLC Beatrice and in the same year founded the venture capital firm Archer Asset Management.[17] Archer became a longtime resident of New Rochelle, New York.

In October 2005, Archer and four fellow Tuskegee veterans, retired pilot Lt. Colonel Robert Ashby, Retired Master Sgt James A. Sheppard, Retired Colonel Richard Tolliver, and retired Technical Sergeant George Watson Sr. visited Balad Air Base at Balad, Iraq, to meet with 700 servicemen from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the successor unit to his all-black outfit.

"This is the new Air Force," he told The Associated Press. In the dining room, he said, he saw "black, white, Asian, Pacific Islanders, people from different parts of Europe. This," he said, "is what America is."[18]

In April 2009, Archer was selected to be an adviser for the George Lucas produced film, Red Tails.[19] Archer, aged 90, died at Cornell University Medical Center in New York City on January 27, 2010, as a result of coronary complications, according to his son Roy Archer.[5][12] His death came during the post-production work on the Lucas film Red Tails, and the film's final credits subsequently bore a tribute to the pilot.[19] At a memorial service for Archer held at the Riverside Church on February 4, entertainer and commentator Bill Cosby gave a eulogy.[20]

Archer was predeceased by his wife, Ina Burdell, who died in 1996 and was survived by his three sons, one daughter and four granddaughters.[6][17] He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[20]

• Dogfights (TV series)
• Executive Order 9981
• List of Tuskegee Airmen
• Military history of African Americans
• The Tuskegee Airmen (movie)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Archer.

• Lee Archer's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• Lee Archer at IMDb
• Lieutenant-Colonel Lee Archer – Daily Telegraph obituary