Quoting from Edwards Park’s book “Angels Twenty” about his days flying P39s and P47s with the 35th FG in the Pacific.
“Another indication of our winning the war was an airshow put on by our great ace, Richard Bong, right there at Gusap. The purpose was originally to bolster the confidence of new pilots in the aircraft they were assigned for missions. Dick Bong demonstrated that his P38, which had the reputation of handling like a Mack truck, could do wonderful things, even on one engine if you understood her and loved her.
So here he was at Gusap with a visiting movie starlet crammed into a makeshift seat behind him, because she wanted very badly to be able to tell her friends in Hollywood that she’d flown with the great ace. Some of us watched, not just to see Dick fly, which was old stuff, but to catch a glimpse of the starlet, a radiant little thing with perfume that nailed us half a mile away.
Extremely mindful of his soft, aromatic cargo, Bong edited his usual wild-ass performance down to a most gentlemanly flight, only one loop and a couple of easy barrel rolls. Then he came in for his usual showboat landing, designed to quell the fears of P38 kids who doubted the capabilities of the big plane if and when an engine quit.
He howled over the strip, down on the deck, then pulled up sharply, killing both engines and feathering the props. On momentum alone, he coasted up and gradually over in a lazy, eerily silent loop. While inverted, the plane sprouted wheels and flaps, then whistled on down in a controlled dive toward the end of the strip. With a couple of sideslips and a fishtail, Bong killed off his speed and kissed the matting. His plane rolled along the runway slowing fast. It had just enough life left to turn toward the assembled brass, gathered outside the alert tent. And as it finished its roll, Bong touched the brakes so the nose bobbed down, making a little bow to us fans.
It was quite a show, even though most of us had seen it before. We gave Dick a big hand as he climbed out. Then he turned to offer help to the beautiful creature from Hollywood.
She wouldn’t get out of her seat. Not until, she explained, the crowd had gone. Major Bong had caused her to wet her lacy little panties and she refused to arise until she could scurry off unseen. I suppose it cooled her interest in Bong”
Must have been fun to see
Wonder if you could do it with an AH 38?
Dan/Slack
