Thomas J. Lynch
United States Army Air Force pilot (1916–1944) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 | |
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Nickname(s) | "Tommy" |
Born | (1916-12-09)December 9, 1916 Hazleton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | March 8, 1944(1944-03-08) (aged 27) near Aitape, Papua New Guinea |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army Air Forces |
Years of service | 1940–1944 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit | 35th Fighter Group |
Commands held | 39th Fighter Squadron |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Distinguished 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]