Stories (18)
At the heart of all good theater is a great story. And "Ponder Anew: A WWII Warrior's Story" certainly fits that description — thanks to the considerable talents of esteemed artists (and husband-and-wife team) Robert Kiefer and Carol Ponder.
P-47 Pilot Lt. Robert Griffiths joined the 510th Fighter Squadron in August of 1944. He flew his first missions helping pave the way for US troops to gain ground in Europe. By the time he was flying, the Luftwaffe was virtually wiped out. He longed for air to air combat, but it didn't look like he was going to see much.
The Clark Elmo Bremseth photo collection has been posted to the website under Photo Archive. There are 143 images together, and his Daily flight log which will be added later.
Gregory PONS of France has sent us a copy of Capt. Peter Harrings photo album. Great images of lots of Maintenance Folks supporting the war effort!
We are always looking for help in identifying Buzzards in Uniform, so if you recognize anyone, let us know!
Jason Helland, Grandson of William F. Shaeffer sent us his Grandfather's WWII Photo collection of the 510th.
We are always looking for help in identifying Buzzards in Uniform, so if you recognize anyone, let us know!
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.
Vernon J. Schwering was assigned to the 510th Fighter Squadron during WWII. Mike Barrowman scanned the photo album and submitted the images for posting to the website. See the entire WWII Photo collection.
We are always looking for help in identifying Buzzards in Uniform, so if you recognize anyone, let us know!
Ralph C. Jenkins
Colonel U.S.A.F., Retired
Commander, 510th Fighter Squadron (1945)
I hope I won't be out of line speaking for all the 510th Fighter Bomber Squadron commanders, from the beginning at Walterboro, South Carolina through war's end in Europe. Bruce Parcell was commanding officer from the unit's organization, 5 November 1943, until his death in combat on or about 27 July, 1944 when I took command. Parcell organized the unit, supervised its training, moved it to Christchurch and led its first combat missions. Then there were those who took over while I was on stateside leave in November and December, 1944 when the 510th distinguished itself on missions at Metz (and its Ft. Driant), Chateau-Salins, Saar Valley east of Nancy, and Bastogne in the Ardennes. Upon returning to Europe I was privileged to command until war's end.
Adolph Hitler’s Germany was spreading its evil brand of "order" throughout Europe, while Japan sealed its control of Malaysia and the western Pacific with the Imperial Army’s occupation of Singapore. Then, in a classic case of misjudging an enemy, the Japanese navy struck a devastating blow to Pearl Harbor and other U.S. Pacific garrisons.
Admiral Yamamoto spoke a vision when he said, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping dragon." For the people of the United States quickly recovered from their shock and began gearing for battle.
General observations and random thoughts about the 405th Fighter Group at Strip A-8, Located near Picauville, France, from 29 June 1944 to 11 September 1944.
This essay was written in response to a request by Mr. Reme Chuinard, a Frenchman who is compiling an account of the fighter plane activity in Normandy and Brittiany. Mr. Chuinard selected the 510th Fighter Squadron to typify all P-47 units. He was a teenager during 1944 and lived through the action.
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THE CONTRIBUTION BY P-47 THUNDERBOLT UNITS TO THE VICTORY IN EUROPE IN WWII
A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
BY RALPH C. JENKINS, COL. USAF (RET.)
(WITH T. R. BARDUE)
Probably the most under-reported story of World War II, as it was intensely waged on the western front in Europe between April 1944 and May 1945, relates to the cooperative teamwork between the US Army ground forces and P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber units of the US Ninth Air Force. I will be talking about. this great. Republic Aviation Company airplane in an effort to give it the credit deserved for its vital roles in defeating Germany in Europe as a part of World War II.
Flak Haven is no kin to Flak Alley, but if you were in on the construction of our local GIN MILL you might have suspected otherwise.
It all began in a harmless sort of way when Major Jenkins gathered his clan about him in the shade of "Ye Olde Apple Orchard" and said, "Chillun, what do you think of the idea of constructing a Rec Hall for the amusement of all the lads and (with a gleam in his eye) possibly a few lasses?" Well, when he said lasses, the deal was cinched and now all we had to do was build it. It is surprising how dexterous some of the local talent suddenly became, and strangely enough they were all volunteers. The special orders issued forth the following day.
Written by: Charles D. Mohrle
The following essay is from the text of a letter written to Mr. Bob Brulle of Ft. Myers, Florida, in response to a request for first-hand experiences of pilots who had flown an airplane through a compressibility dive. He referred to it as a harrowing experience.
I flew through three such compressibility dives in two different airplanes - twice in the same P-47 D-16-RE Razorback model and once in a P-47 D-2_5RE Bubble Canopy model. Both aircraft were assigned to me during my European combat tour. Frankly, because we had been prepared in control procedures for the maneuver, I didn't find it a harrowing experience. Exhilarating is a better choice of words, I think. However, for the pilots who worked out the recovery procedures, it probably was close to terrifying.
Excerpt from forthcoming book by Joe Molyson
1Lt John Drummond oral history, January 22, 2003
The ALGs were dangerous, cramped places limited by lack of available real estate and surfacing materials. Based at one of these was the 405th Fighter Group, the unit of then 1Lt John “Ace” Drummond. Drummond is now President Pro Tempore Emeritus of the South Carolina Senate but his memories of Christchurch are vivid after almost sixty years. Christchurch was sandwiched into the local terrain just west of Southampton on England’s Channel coast. The airfield was tiny and surfaced with PSP (pierced steel planking). The men lived in tiny neighboring cottages taken over for the war and in tents. The runway was very short for a loaded Thunderbolt. On June 29, 1944 the hazards of a temporary airfield claimed 13 lives and caused 14 other casualties in what came to be known as the “Foxwood Avenue Disaster”:
