Thomas J. Lynch

Thomas Joseph Lynch (9 December 1916 – 8 March 1944) was a United States Army Air Forces lieutenant colonel and a flying ace of World War II. After joining the United States Army Air Corps in 1940, Lynch flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra with the 39th Pursuit Squadron. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron was deployed to Australia and then to Port Moresby in early 1942.

Thomas Joseph Lynch
Nickname(s)Tommy
Born(1916-12-09)December 9, 1916
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
DiedMarch 8, 1944(1944-03-08) (aged 27)
near Aitape, Papua New Guinea
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army Air Forces
Years of service1940–1944
RankLieutenant Colonel
Unit35th Fighter Group
Commands held39th Fighter Squadron
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross
Silver Star
Distinguished Flying Cross (6)
Purple Heart (2)
Air Medal (10)

Lynch downed three Japanese planes while flying the P-39, and in June the squadron (now redesignated the 39th Fighter Squadron) was selected to be the first Fifth Air Force squadron to be reequipped with the new Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Lynch claimed two more victories in late December to become an ace. He became commander of the squadron in March 1943. By October Lynch had 16 victories. He went back to his hometown of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, and married. Returning to the Pacific, Lynch claimed four more victories, and was killed while strafing Japanese barges on 8 March 1944.[1]

Early life
Captain Thomas J. Lynch and his P-38 (March 1943)

Lynch was born on 9 December 1916 to Irish immigrants William and Alice Lynch in Hazleton,[2] where his father owned a milk business.[3] His family soon moved to Catasauqua. Lynch was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Catasauqua High School in 1936.[4]

In 1937, he entered the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a chemical engineering degree in 1940.[5][6]

Military career

Lynch joined the United States Army Air Corps and after completing pilot training was assigned to the 39th Pursuit Squadron in March 1941 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, flying the Bell P-39 Airacobra.[1] The squadron spent most of the year training.[6]

World War II
Aces of the 39th FS at Schwimmer Airfield, May 1943, in front of squadron commander Thomas J. Lynch's P-38 number 10. Kneeling, left to right: Captain Charles P. O'Sullivan, Captain Thomas J. Lynch, 1st Lieutenant Kenneth C. Sparks. Standing, left to right: Captain Richard C. Suehr, 1st Lieutenant John H. Lane, 1st Lieutenant Stanley O. Andrews.

Lynch was sent to Australia with the squadron in early 1942. The squadron (redesignated the 39th Fighter Squadron on 15 May) soon moved up to Port Moresby. On 20 May, Lynch claimed his first two victories. A third followed on 26 May, while Lynch and other pilots from the squadron escorted a troop transport flight.[7] On 15 June, Lynch was forced to bail out after his plane was heavily damaged by Japanese aircraft, breaking his arm in the process.[6] In June, the squadron was selected to become the first Fifth Air Force P-38 squadron, and after reequipping with the new aircraft was back in combat from November, operating out of Laloki airfield. On 27 December, Lynch became an ace after he shot down two Nakajima Ki-43 Oscars over the Buna beachhead. For this action, which resulted in the breaking up of an attempted Japanese bombing raid, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.[8] He claimed two more Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes on 31 December during a bomber escort mission to Lae.[9]

On 6 January 1943, P-38s from the squadron bombed a Japanese reinforcement convoy bound for Lae. Lynch claimed a possible bomb hit on one ship.[10] Lynch downed a Ki-43 while escorting Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks on their way to bomb the Lae convoy on the next day.[11] On 3 March, he claimed[12] another Zero during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.[1]

On 24 March, Lynch became commander of the 39th Fighter Squadron.[13] On the afternoon of 8 May, he shot down a "Hamp".

Lynch claimed another victory on 12 June. He was promoted to major in July.[4] While on a bomber escort mission to Wewak, he claimed two Kawasaki Ki-45 Nicks on 20 August.[14] On 21 August, he downed another Japanese aircraft. Lynch became one of the first in the South West Pacific to shoot down a Kawasaki Ki-48 Lily bomber on 4 September over the Huon Gulf.[1] On 16 September he claimed his sixteenth victory.[12] Lynch took a 30-day leave in October,[4] marrying his college girlfriend, Rosemary Fullen, in Swissvale on 23 October.[15]

Lynch returned to combat in January, assigned to V Fighter Command alongside fellow top-scoring ace Richard Bong. Bong and Lynch were allowed to "free-lance" for the next months. On 10 February 1944, Lynch claimed a victory in the Wewak area. On 15 February Lynch covered Bong while he downed a Kawasaki Ki-61 Tony on a flight back from an escort mission to Kavieng. On 28 February, he also covered Bong while he destroyed a Japanese transport possibly carrying senior officers on the Wewak runway.

After this mission, Lynch was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He claimed two more victories on 3 March. Lynch claimed his twentieth and last victory on 5 March.[12]

Death

On 8 March, Lynch and Bong strafed barges in Aitape harbor. After setting one on fire on their first pass, they returned for a second pass when Lynch's P-38 was hit in the engine. Lynch's plane began to burn and he bailed out too close to the ground for his parachute to deploy.[1] His remains were never found.[5]

Military decorations

Lynch earned the following decorations:

Army Air Forces Pilot Badge
Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star
 Distinguished Flying Cross with silver oak leaf cluster
 Purple Heart with bronze oak leaf cluster
 Air Medal with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Medal (second ribbon required for accouterment spacing)
 Air Force Presidential Unit Citation with bronze oak leaf cluster
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
 Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze campaign stars
World War II Victory Medal

Aerial victory credits

The data in the following table is from Newton and Senning (1978).[12]

Date Credits
20 May 1942 2
26 May 1942 1
27 December 1942 2
31 December 1942 2
7 January 1943 1
3 March 1943 1
8 May 1943 1
12 June 1943 1
20 August 1943 2
21 August 1943 1
4 September 1943 1
16 September 1943 1
10 February 1944 1
3 March 1944 2
5 March 1944 1

Legacy

There is a cenotaph placed for him at Calvary Cemetery in North Catasauqua, Pennsylvania.

The Hokendauqua-North Catasauqua Bridge was renamed the Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lynch Memorial Bridge after its December 2015 reopening.[16]

Bibliography

Notes
  1. Sherman, Stephen (28 June 2011). "Thomas Lynch – C.O. 39th Fighter Squadron". acepilots.com. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  2. "US Federal Census 1930 Enumeration District 39–56". fold3.com. Ancestry.com. 1930. p. 4B. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  3. "Lt. Col. Thomas Lynch, Air Hero, Killed in New Guinea". The Plain Speaker. 13 March 1944. Retrieved 25 November 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Lt. Col Thomas J. Lynch Killed in air duel in S. Pacific, Bride informed; Catasauqua stunned by death of ace".
  5. Kee, Zachary (20 September 2013). "Wing's history gives POW/MIA day bigger impact". 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  6. Whelan, Frank (4 March 1984). "History Buff Researches Career Of Valley's World War Ii Ace". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  7. Bradley 2008, p. 24.
  8. "Valor awards for Thomas Joseph Lynch". valor.militarytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  9. Stanaway 2014, p. 28.
  10. Bradley 2008, p. 77.
  11. Bradley 2008, p. 81.
  12. Newton & Senning 1978, p. 119.
  13. Haulman, Daniel L. (11 December 2007). "39 Flying Training Squadron (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  14. Stanaway 2014, p. 40.
  15. Devlin, Ron (8 March 2004). "WWII ace cut down within reach of the top". The Morning Call. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  16. Shortell, Tom (3 December 2015). "After years of delays, Hokey Bridge opens again". The Morning Call. Retrieved 24 November 2016.

Sources
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