Wingtip from downed fighter jet flown by ace pilot brought to US museum
Summary
A wingtip from a World War II fighter plane flown by American ace pilot Richard Bong has been brought back from Papua New Guinea to Wisconsin. The piece was recovered decades after the plane crashed in 1944 and is now displayed at the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center.Key Facts
- Richard Bong was a World War II pilot credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft.
- Bong flew a Lockheed P-38 Lightning plane nicknamed "Marge," named after his girlfriend Marge Vattendahl.
- The plane crashed in March 1944 in what is now Papua New Guinea after an engine failure.
- Bong was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1944 and died in a test flight crash in 1945.
- The wingtip was found in the jungles of Papua New Guinea’s Madang province by explorers in 2024.
- The recovery involved cooperation between the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center, Pacific Wrecks, Papua New Guinea officials, and the Wisconsin National Guard.
- The recovered wingtip was flown from Papua New Guinea to Wisconsin and displayed at an airshow before being placed in the museum.
- The wingtip is on a permanent loan to the U.S., while another part of the plane will remain with Papua New Guinea’s national museum.
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