Lt. John Drummond's photo collection was recently added to the 510th Fighter Squadron Gallery.  The collection contains 180 photos of Lt. Drummond's time in the Military to include with the 510th Fighter Squadron.

Lt. Drummond was captured by the German Army when his P-47 named "Raid Hot Mama" was shot down.  He was taken to the Stalag Luft I camp where he remained for the rest of the war.

Some years ago, the 510th Fighter Squadron Association merged with the 509th, the 511th, and the 405th Associations to become a single larger organization. As the 510th had the majority of members participating in the Annual Reunions, the members decided to retain the 510th Fighter Squadron Association name.

Over the past five years, members of the Association have submitted their photos, memories and achievements to this website, allowing us to share our continuously growing catalog to the general public. Today marks the first day where a member of the 509th has furnished their collection. View the 509th Collection.

Sharing Success—Owning Failure: Preparing to Command in the Twenty-First Century Air Force.
By Col David L. Goldfein.
The following excerpt is an interview with Col Dave Nichols, USAF; February 2001.

Lt Col Dave “Face” Nichols is among the most positive commanders I’ve worked with. At Aviano AB, Italy, his enthusiasm and love of the 510th Fighter Squadron, the Buzzards, resonated around the wing. He agreed to share a few words on leadership with us.

People make leadership exciting, complex, frustrating, and rewarding. I approach the challenge with a simple acronym—ICE. It stands for intelligence, compassion, energy, and experience. Let me briefly mention each.

During World War 1, American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons. Some were wealthy scions attending colleges such as Yale and Harvard who quit in mid-term to join the war. In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore about his neck.

The 2007 Reunion was a success.  Eveyrone who missed the Reunion, well, what can we say. The Reunion was hosted at the Hampton Marina Hotel (formerly Radisson Hotel) in Hampton, Virginia. The reunion was from Tuesday, 11 September through Saturday, 15 September.

We wish the 509th, 510th, 511th and 405th members a safe trip home, and remind them to check back with the website often.  Everyone is encouraged to go through their attics, trunks, and basements to dig out stored memories, photos and documents which can be archived on the website.

Anyone who wants to add to the 510th Association's Historical Archive can ship the items to:
Mr. David Sarvai
510th FS Association Archivist
177 Highland St.
Manchester, NH 03104

Lt. Ben Hartley served with the 510th Fighter Squadron during WWII and wrote numerous letters home during those years.  We are please to publish those letters in chronological order for you to  read.  The letters span from February 24th 1943 to October 12th 1945. In all, there are approximately 120 letters and about 600 pages of hand written 510th history.  From a Civilian's first encounter with the Army, training as a Fighter Pilot to winning the war.

Over the course of the next couple of Months, those letters and images will be posted to the website.  Click "Read More..." to read the first letter in the collection.

Buzzards are Currently Deployed to Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM as the 510th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.  Squadron Commander, Lt Col Adrian "Kermit" Pone, sent along a few photos of the Squadron which can be seen by clicking the image to the right of this article. Photos include a Group Operations photo, Group MX (Maintenance) photo, and a few candid shots.

Download the Application & Join Today!

The 510th Fighter Squadron Association was organized to preserve the illustrious history of the squadron and to continue by membership in this organization the brotherhood and camaraderie that we expressed during military service and to promote friendship among the members, their families and survivors.

Annual and Lifetime Membership is extended to all active, retired or honorably discharged personnel who have served with the 510th Fighter Squadron or with the 405th Fighter Group and the 509th and 511th Fighter Squadrons originally activated under its immediate command.

Airmen deployed from the 510th Fighter Squadron took part in the decisive Battle of An Najaf where more than 200 enemy insurgents were killed and 100 gunmen captured near An Najaf Jan. 28.

The Air Force’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, to which they are currently deployed, provided close air support in the joint, com­bined effort to route the en­emy in battle.

We have new photos posted in the Global Buzzard Gallery of the Buzzards in Supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and from other locations.  The 510th Association is still looking for photos/movies between 2000 and 2007 to help record the history of the World's Greatest Fighter Squadron!

We are always looking for help in identifying Buzzards in Uniform, so if you recognize anyone, let us know!