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Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank. Purchased under contract number A-35374. Constructors Number 2846. At the factory, completed with an unpainted aluminum finish with olive drab on the upper nose and inner sides of the engine nacelles for anti-glare. On December 31, 1943 delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38J-15-LO Lightning serial number 42-104012. Disassembled and shipped overseas and reassembled. Project Number 96387-H. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 8th Fighter Group (8th FG), 80th Fighter Squadron (80th FS) "Headhunters". Nicknamed "Down Beat" with the nose art of two musical staffs each with a clef and five parallel horizontal lines in black. Squadron Letter "T" was painted in black on the nose and tail. The upper tips of the tails were green with a white line and a green strip at the bottom. The propeller spinners were greeen and white. On April 1, 1944 at Nadzab Airfield this plane was to be piloted by Captain Richard I. Bong but the mission was aborted. Crew Chief Sam Scher remembered Bong who complimented him about the maintenance of the plane. On April 12, 1944 took off from Nadzab Airfield piloted by Captain Richard I. Bong alone and joined P-38 Lightnings from 80th Fighter Squadron (80th FS) including P-38J "Corky IV" pilot Captain Cornelius M. "Corky" Smith escorting B-24s over Hollandia. It is also possible Bong flew P-38J "Marge" 42-104380 on this mission. Over the target, Bong claimed a total of three aerial victories. The first victory claim was for a Ki-43 Oscar over Tanamerah Bay his twenty-sixth aerial victory claim. Plus two more Ki-43 Oscars his twenty-seventh and twenty-eight aerial victory claims. With these three victory claims, he exceeded the 26 aerial victory claims of American World War I ace Edward "Eddie" Rickenbacker and Bong became America's highest scoring ace pilot and was promoted to the rank of Major by General George C. Kenney. Ultimate fate unknown, likely scrapped or otherwise disappeared. References Individual Aircraft Record Card (IARC) - P-38J Lightning 42-103993 via AFHRA microfilm reel ACR-75, 2537 USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-38J-15-LO Lightning 42-104012 Captain Richard I. Bong Combat Report (CR) April 12, 1944 USAF Historical Study No. 85 USAF Credits For The Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II Alphabetical: Bong, Richard I. pages 25 (PDF page 30) Chronological List: 04/12/44 page 430 (PDF page 435) Stars & Bars (1995) page 155 (Bong 4/12/44 aerial victory claims) The Missions and P-38 Lightnings of Richard I. Bong: A Synopsis (2002) pages 34 (P-38J "Down Beat"), 145 (addendum and corrections: 4/12/44), 147 (Appendix C: Aircraft of an Ace) Badger Aces: Wisconsin Fighter 1917-1972 (2022) by Mike O'Conner page 117 (P-38J "Down Beat" photo) Victory Over Tanamerah by Jack Fellows Aviation History Magazine - Legends of Flight (Victory Over Tanamerah Bay) Contribute
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