The Data

The data this week comes from the Tuskegee Airmen Challenge as part of the Veterans Advocacy Tableau User Group with data sourced from the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) CAF. This dataset is released in honor of Black History Month and honors the sacrifices and challenges that these African American pilots faced in WWII and beyond.

airmen <- read_csv("airmen.csv") %>%
  mutate(grad_year = year(graduation_date)) %>%
  mutate(pilot_type = case_when(
    pilot_type == "Liason pilot" ~ "Liaison pilot",
    TRUE ~ pilot_type
  )) %>%
  mutate(rank_at_graduation = case_when(
    rank_at_graduation == "Capt" ~ "Captain",
    rank_at_graduation == "N/A" ~ NA_character_,
    rank_at_graduation == "Unk" ~ NA_character_,
    TRUE ~ rank_at_graduation
  ))

Plotting

airmen %>%
  select(pilot_type, rank_at_graduation, grad_year, number_of_aerial_victory_credits) %>%
  drop_na() %>%
  ggplot(aes(x = rank_at_graduation, y = pilot_type)) + 
  geom_jitter(aes(color = as.factor(grad_year), size = number_of_aerial_victory_credits),
              alpha = 0.5) +
  scale_color_brewer(palette = "Dark2") +
  labs(
    title = "Type of Pilot",
    caption = "Tidy Tuesday Plot: @hardin47 | Data: Tuskegee Airmen Challenge",
    color = "grad year",
    size = "aerial victories",
    x = "rank at graduation",
    y = "") +
  facet_wrap(~grad_year)
Scatterplot with rank at graduation on the x-axis and pilot type on the y-axis. The size of the point is given by the number of aerial victories (ranging from 1 to 4), and the color of the point is given by the year the pilot graduated.

Most of the pilots graduated in 1943 and 1944 as 2nd Lt; most of the pilots were flying single engine airplanes. In 1943 and 1944 the single pilots seemed to have a higher rate of aerial victories than in other years. 

praise()
## [1] "You are remarkable!"