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| USAAF 5th AF 49th FG 9th FS |
Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank. Constructors Number unknown (four digits). Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38H-1-LO Lightning serial number 42-6???? (last four digits unknown). Disassembled and shipped overseas and reassembled. Wartime History In early July 1943 assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 49th Fighter Group (49th FG), 9th Fighter Squadron (9th FS) "The Flying Knights". Squadron Number 79 in white was painted on the tail. Assigned to Captain Richard I. Bong. Below the cockpit on the left side of the nose was Bong's scoreboard with his aerial victory claims that included 16 Japanese flags in three rows after July 28, 1943. In total, Bong may have flown as many as twelve combat missions flying this plane. On July 3, 1943 took off from Port Moresby by Captain Richard I. Bong on a one hour ferry flight to Horanda Drome (Dobodura 4). That evening, he also flew a night searchlight mission for one hour and forty-five minutes. Mission History On September 6, 1943 took off from Horanda Airfield (Dobodura No. 4) piloted by Captain Richard I. Bong leading "Blue Flight" with wingman P-38G 42-12850 pilot 2nd Lt. James W. Fagan, element leader P-38 pilot 1st Lt. Hyland and element wingman P-38 pilot 1st Lt. Raymond A. Swift as part of formation of fifteen P-38s in the vicinity of Lae and Finschhafen. The weather was 3/10 cloud cover at 15,000' at Morobe with the weather clear and clouds building up over Lae. At 1:25pm at an altitude of 16,000' over Morobe spotted a Japanese formation of 18-20 G4M1 Bettys escorted by roughly 10 A6M Zeros. During the dog fight at 14,000', Bong made a quarter tail attack against one Betty and fired a long burst that left it smoking and fell out of formation loosing altitude rapidly. Next, he attacked another Betty from the stern and claimed hits on the fuselage and wings and saw it smoking heavily and dropped out of formation and lost altitude. Afterwards, P-38 pilot 1st Lt. Theron D. Prince observed both bombers at 4,000' still smoking and going down. Later, both Bettys were credited as probable victories to Bong. Sometime after 1:30pm, during the air combat, P-38G 42-12850 appeared to be having difficulty in dropping its right drop tank and went Missing In Action (MIA). During the air combat, Bong's right engine was damaged by gunfire from the bombers. Bong disengaged from combat, feathered the right propeller and requested to make an emergency landing at Tsili Tsili Airfield. While landing, the left engine seized as the plane touched down and without hydraulics and slid sideways, straitened out then ran off the runway and came to a rest in a ditch with the nose down and tail upward. Fates of the Pilot Bong was unhurt in the crash landing but shaken. Afterwards, a radio message was sent to the 9th Fighter Squadron (9th FS) to report that he was safe. Two days later, he was flown on a transport to Horanda Airfield and returned to duty. Afterwards, Bong was assigned P-38H Lightning 42-66847 and was also given squadron number 79. Letter to Mother Dora M. Bong from Richard I. Bong, September 8, 1943 "I've been a little busy lately and haven’t written for a week. I suppose you have seen my accounts of our doings in the papers. I got two more [aerial victory claims] on the 6th [September 1943] and collected a few move ventilation holes in my plane [battle damage]." Wreckage This P-38 was recovered by the 482nd Service Squadron using a truck with a chain and group of personnel pulling on the left boom near the tail. The recovery was photographed in a series of photographs. Likely, this P-38 was deemed too damaged to be repaired and was written off. Ultimate fate unknown, likely stripped for usable parts then scrapped or otherwise disappeared. References Note, some sources list Bong's force landing location as Marilinan Airfield, but was in fact Tsili-Tsili Airfield. 49th Fighter Group Combat Report, September 6, 1943 via AFHRA Richard I. Bong Flight Log September 6, 1943 "7-3 / P-38H-1 / Brought new plane from Moresby / Night searchlight mission" Richard I. Bong Flight Log September 6, 1943 "[The Japanese fighter] got my right engine, right tire, right trim tabs and [I] cracked up the plane... on landing." Credit for Destruction of Enemy Airplanes, 9th Fighter Squadron September 6, 1943 via Dear Mom: So We Have a War page 267-268 Certificate 1st Lt. Theron D. Prince [verification of Bong two victories on September 10, 1943 via Dear Mom: So We Have a War page 269 Letter to Mother Dora M. Bong from Richard I. Bong, September 8, 1943 "I've been a little busy lately and haven’t written for a week. I suppose you have seen my accounts of our doings in the papers. I got two more [aerial victory claims] on the 6th [September 1943] and collected a few move ventilation holes in my plane [battle damage]” The rest rest is about home stuff." 9th Fighter Squadron to 59th Fighter Group, September 10, 1943 Ace of Aces: The Dick Bong Story (1985) page 38 (photo, lower left) Dear Mom: So We Have a War (1991) pages 267-268 (Credit for destruction of enemy airplanes, September 6, 1943), 269 (Certificate 1st Lt. Theron D. Prince [verification of Bong two victories on September 6, 1943] September 10, 1943), 269-270 (recollections of Lt. Stanley Andrews) Protect and Avenge (1995) pages 190-191 "After his emergency signal, only Marilinan was ready to receive the crippled P-38. The ace gently took #79 down into the Watut River Valley... Minutes later, the long awaited P-38 was seen at the landing field's northern perimeter in its straight-on approach. In a routine single-engine landing, Dick Bong settled on to the narrow red strip only to have his left engine seize as the landing gear touched down. Without power and the hydraulics gone, #79 slid sideways immediately and then righted itself in a fast roll-out for the drainage ditch on the left side of the runway. Bong slumped down in the seat for protection just as his stricken P-38 slowed to a crawl at the brink of the gully. The nose wheel sank in the soft dirt at the runway's edge and the left gear quickly followed. The red loam gave way as the big fighter gently slumped over and stuck its left wingtip in the mud. With his right wing and tail pointing into the sky, there sat the leading ace of the Fifth Air Force. As the rain began to fall on Watut Valley, 8th FS CO Ernie Harris dispatched a message to Dobodura that Bong was safe. But the celebrity ace had been hit again in combat and this time, he was noticeably shaken. The weather socked Marilinan in and muddied the Eightball air field for two days before the errant Knight could catch a transport for Horanda." Ace of Aces - The Dick Bong Story by Mike O'Conner (2019) page 38 (photos, lower left captioned Marilinan) South Pacific Air War (2024) pages 421-422 (September 6, 1943) The Missions and P-38 Lightnings of Richard I. Bong: A Synopsis (2002) pages 18, 25-26 (September 6, 1943), 27 (Bong ferry P-38H-1 July 3, 1943), 28 (serial number 42-6????, footnote 12), 29 (photo Horanda) Contribute
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