Thomas J. Lynch (aviator)

Thomas Joseph Lynch (9 December 1916 – 8 March 1944) was a United States Army Air Forces lieutenant colonel and a World War II flying ace. 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, becoming 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.

Early life
Lynch was born on 9 December 1916 to Irish immigrants William and Alice Lynch in Hazleton, where his father owned a milk business. His family soon moved to Catasauqua. Lynch was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Catasauqua High School in 1936. In 1937, he entered the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a chemical engineering degree in 1940. 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. The squadron spent most of the year training.

World War II
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. On 15 June, Lynch was forced to bail out after his plane was heavily damaged by Japanese aircraft, breaking his arm in the process. 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. He claimed two more Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes on 31 December during a bomber escort mission to Lae. 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. Lynch downed a Ki-43 while escorting Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks on their way to bomb the Lae convoy on the next day. On 3 March, he claimed another Zero during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

On 24 March, Lynch became commander of the 39th Fighter Squadron. 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. While on a bomber escort mission to Wewak, he claimed two Kawasaki Ki-45 Nicks on 20 August. 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. On 16 September he claimed his sixteenth victory. Lynch took a 30-day leave in October, marrying his college girlfriend, Rosemary Fullen, in Swissvale on 23 October.

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. 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. His remains were never found.

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