In September 1942 Bong finally received a posting for a front line combat unit: the 9th Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group in the Pacific Theatre. In the interests of maintaining good relations with the civilian populace, Bong was ordered to visit the woman’s house to re-wash her laundry and mow her lawn. A local housewife issued a formal complaint when Bong’s fighter blew her laundry off her washing line.
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During his time flying the P38 from Hamilton Field, he carried out a series of showy and daring low level aerobatic maneuvers over San Francisco Bay, including flying underneath the famous bridges. Carrying out advanced flying training in the North American AT-6 at Luke Field in Arizona, Bong again stood out from his peers – so much so that in January 1942, after earning his pilot’s brevet and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was ordered to remain at Luke Field as a gunnery instructor.Īfter only a few months Bong converted to Lockheed’s new long-range fighter and the aircraft with which he would become forever associated with – the P38 Lightning. After basic flying training at Gardner Field, California, Bong’s potential was recognised and he was selected to be trained for fighters. His fascination in aviation growing with each flight, Bong signed up for the US Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program in 1941.
More importantly for his future vocation he was an excellent shot with a rifle during his regular hunting trips and was fascinated by aviation, spending many hours building model aircraft.Įntering college at Wisconsin in 1938, Bong also began flying lessons with both the US Government funded Civilian Pilot Training Program, and privately. Entertaining a wide variety of extra-curricular interests, Bong also played the clarinet and sang in his church choir. An academically gifted youth, Bong excelled in his studies but also played for the school’s baseball, basketball and hockey teams. +30% RP gain while flying P-38G 'Lightning'īorn on September 24th 1920, Richard Bong was the son of a Swedish immigrant and grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin. There may be some problems with news display in specific browser versions.įrom 12.00 GMT on September 24th to 12.00 GMT on September 25th Attention! This news was published on the old version of the website.