| 词条 | Thomas J. Lynch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 |
|name= Thomas Joseph Lynch |image= Thomas J. Lynch and P-38.jpg |image_size= 250 |alt= |caption= Captain Thomas J. Lynch in March 1943 |nickname= Tommy |birth_date= {{birth date|1916|12|09}} |birth_place= Hazleton, Pennsylvania |death_date= {{death date and age|1944|03|08|1916|12|09}} |death_place= near Aitape, Papua New Guinea |placeofburial= |allegiance= United States |branch= United States Army Air Forces |serviceyears= 1940–1944 |rank= Lieutenant Colonel |unit= 35th Fighter Group |commands= 39th Fighter Squadron |battles= World War II |awards= Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross (6) Purple Heart (2) Air Medal (10) |relations= |laterwork= }} 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. 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 lifeLynch 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 careerLynch 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 IILynch 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.{{sfn|Bradley|2008|p=24}} 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.[7] He claimed two more Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes on 31 December during a bomber escort mission to Lae.{{Sfn|Stanaway|2014|p=28}} 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.{{Sfn|Bradley|2008|p=77}} Lynch downed a Ki-43 while escorting Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks on their way to bomb the Lae convoy on the next day.{{Sfn|Bradley|2008|p=81}} On 3 March, he claimed{{sfn|Newton|Senning|1978|p=119}} another Zero during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.[1] On 24 March, Lynch became commander of the 39th Fighter Squadron.[8] 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.{{Sfn|Stanaway|2014|p=40}} 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.{{sfn|Newton|Senning|1978|p=119}} Lynch took a 30-day leave in October,[4] marrying his college girlfriend, Rosemary Fullen, in Swissvale on 23 October.[9] 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.{{sfn|Newton|Senning|1978|p=119}} DeathOn 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 decorationsLynch earned the following decorations:
Aerial victory creditsThe data in the following table is from Newton and Senning (1978).{{sfn|Newton|Senning|1978|p=119}}
LegacyThere 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.[10] BibliographyNotes1. ^1 2 3 4 {{Cite web|url=http://acepilots.com/usaaf_lynch.html|title=Thomas Lynch – C.O. 39th Fighter Squadron|last=Sherman|first=Stephen|date=28 June 2011|website=acepilots.com|publisher=|access-date=2016-11-24}} 2. ^{{Cite web|url=https://www.fold3.com/image/124630952|title=US Federal Census 1930 Enumeration District 39–56|last=|first=|date=1930|website=fold3.com|publisher=Ancestry.com|page=4B|access-date=21 November 2016|subscription=yes}} 3. ^{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/140354972/|title=Lt. Col. Thomas Lynch, Air Hero, Killed in New Guinea|last=|first=|date=13 March 1944|work=The Plain Speaker|subscription=yes|access-date=25 November 2016|via=Newspapers.com}} 4. ^1 2 {{Cite news|url=http://www.entnet.com/~personal/rocketeer/html/13thaaf/13thlynch.html|title=Lt. Col Thomas J. Lynch Killed in air duel in S. Pacific, Bride informed; Catasauqua stunned by death of ace|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=|via=}} 5. ^1 {{Cite news|url=http://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/377/Article/592025/wings-history-gives-powmia-day-bigger-impact.aspx|title=Wing's history gives POW/MIA day bigger impact|last=Kee|first=Zachary|date=20 September 2013|work=|publisher=35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs|access-date=24 November 2016|via=}} 6. ^1 2 {{Cite news|url=http://articles.mcall.com/1984-03-04/features/2403213_1_lynch-bethlehem-steel-air-ace|title=History Buff Researches Career Of Valley's World War Ii Ace|last=Whelan|first=Frank|date=4 March 1984|work=Sunday Call-Chronicle|access-date=25 November 2016|via=}} 7. ^{{Cite web|url=http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=6135|title=Valor awards for Thomas Joseph Lynch|website=valor.militarytimes.com|access-date=2016-11-26}} 8. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.afhra.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/434071/39-flying-training-squadron-afrc/|title=39 Flying Training Squadron (AFRC)|last=Haulman|first=Daniel L.|date=11 December 2007|website=|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=26 November 2016}} 9. ^{{Cite news|url=http://articles.mcall.com/2004-03-08/news/3519975_1_fighter-ace-lynch-eagle-scout|title=WWII ace cut down within reach of the top|last=Devlin|first=Ron|date=8 March 2004|work=The Morning Call|access-date=26 November 2016|via=}} 10. ^{{Cite news|url=http://www.mcall.com/news/local/whitehall/mc-hokey-bridge-opening-1203-20151203-story.html|title=After years of delays, Hokey Bridge opens again|last=Shortell|first=Tom|date=3 December 2015|work=The Morning Call|access-date=24 November 2016|via=}} Sources
14 : 1916 births|1944 deaths|American World War II flying aces|American military personnel killed in World War II|Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|People from Hazleton, Pennsylvania|Aviators killed by being shot down|Aviators from Pennsylvania|United States Army Air Forces officers|United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II|University of Pittsburgh alumni|Recipients of the Air Medal|Recipients of the Silver Star |
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