"Frank Mann"{November 22,1908-November 30,1992}

His parents wanted him to be a become a schoolteacher,from

 

childhood,had had a natural ability to fix things.At age 11,he had his own mechanic shop.As a teenager,he worked alongside airplane mechanics,repairing engines.By the age of 20,he had designed and built several of his own Model-T cars.It was unheard of in the 1920s for An African American man to have anything to do with cars,trains,or airplanes.His life-long friend Howard Hughes was instrumental in opening doors for Frank's exceptional talents.Frank attended the University of Minnesota & UCLA where he earned a mechanical engineering degree.Wold War II equipment that revolutionized military weaponry would not exist if not for his involvement.Sadly,few Americans are aware of Frank.He was the first African American commercial pilot for American Airways.Frank was also a distinguished military officer.In 1935,following Italy's invasion of Ethiopia,Frank flew reconnaissance missions for the Ethiopian army.He served in the World War II Army Air Corps and was the primary civilian instructor of the famous Tuskegee airmen in 1941.Frank left there after a rift with the U.S.government,which didn't want the Squadron,an all African-American unit,flying the same high caliber of airplanes as their white counterparts. An angry Frank had refused to have his men fly old "World War I biplanes crates," because his airmen had proven themselves equals.They were being giving inferior equipment and materials,their squadron never lost a plane,bomber,or pilot,and they were nicknamed the "Red Tails." After the war,Frank was instrunmental in designing the first Buick LeSabre and the first communications satellite launched for commercial use.