Richard Bong’s Lost P-38

Richard Bong’s name is closely associated with the P-38 Lightning and the aircraft called Marge. But the particular P-38 identified in Papua New Guinea in 2024 was being flown by Thomas Malone when it was lost in March 1944. Malone bailed out and survived; Bong did not die in that crash. This documentary follows the distinction between a famous pilot’s career and the history of one airframe. Bong flew more than one aircraft, so his credited total of 40 aerial victories should not be assigned to a single machine. The identification of Marge relied on surviving physical evidence, including markings linked to its serial number. The search also involved people and knowledge in Papua New Guinea alongside the investigating team. Records from Pacific Wrecks and the Bong Center explain how a known crash location became an identified aircraft. The story is richer when discovery, identification and later recovery are treated as separate events. Sources and further reading: Major Richard I. Bong: Aircraft flown and assigned https://pacificwrecks.com/people/veterans/bong/aircraft.html Thomas E. Malone, 421st Night Fighter Squadron https://pacificwrecks.com/people/veterans/malone/index.html P-38J-15-LO Marge, serial number 42-103993 https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-38/42-103993.html Mission Marge https://bongcenter.org/mission-marge/