WW2 plane found in Madang



The wreckage of a plane named ‘Marge’ belonging to famous US WW2 air ace Richard Bong has been found in Madang, 80 years after it went missing.

Major Richard Bong is credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft during World War II.

He famously plastered a blow-up of his girlfriend Marge Vattendahl’s portrait on the nose of his Lockheed ‘Lightning’ P-38 fighter plane, as shown in our main photo.

During WW2, Bong shot down more planes than any other American pilot. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s highest decoration, by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1944.

But Bong wasn’t at the yoke when his plane went down.

Another pilot, Thomas Malone was flying Bong’s plane in March 1944 when it encountered engine failure over Madang, forcing Malone to bail out before the plane crashed in the jungle.

Bong’s aircraft wreckage was only recently discovered, on May 15, after two days of trekking by a search team led by Pacific Wrecks Director Justin Taylan.

According to The Associated Press quoting Taylan, the wreckage was found in a ravine. At the top of the ravine, they found two aircraft engines sticking out of the ground, indicating the plane went in nose-first and buried itself in the ground. 

Taylan says the wreckage was identified “beyond a doubt” by markings consistent with the plane’s serial number and a piece of metal stamped with “Model P-38 JK.” 

(Image: promotional artwork from Pacific Wrecks’ Facebook page)

Is Marge another Swamp Ghost?

Those in Papua New Guinea would remember Justin Taylan and Pacific Wrecks from the ‘Swamp Ghost’ affair.

Swamp Ghost was a US Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress that ditched during the War in the Agaiambo swamp in Oro Province, earning its nickname. 

Swamp Ghost was salvaged in 2006 and moved to Lae wharf by Justin and his team where it remained ‘bogged-down’, this time in red tape, waiting for permission to be transferred to the United States. By February 2010, the wreck had been cleared for import to the US. 

According to Wikipedia, Swamp Ghost was received by the Pacific Aviation Museum in Pearl Harbor on April 10, 2013 where it underwent restoration.

It was only a year ago that PNG's Post-Courier newspaper reported that the fully restored Swamp Ghost is now in a museum in Long Beach California “wooing thousands of war relic enthusiasts from all over the world”.

According to the Post-Courier article of June 20, 2023, there are cries to bring Swamp Ghost back to PNG.

The harsh reality is, if not for Justin Taylan and his team, these wrecks would still be rusting away in swamps and jungles in Papua New Guinea.

Justin Taylan’s discovery of war relics has attracted positive worldwide media attention for Papua New Guinea, as younger generations learn to appreciate and honour their wartime heritage.

With the country’s beautiful environment and rich culture, Papua New Guinea has the potential to capitalise on this, becoming one of the world’s prime destinations for wartime tourism.

Think Kokoda magnified ten times, because Rabaul, Milne Bay, Lae, Manus, Port Moresby, and many other provinces and locations in Papua New Guinea lie in wait, ready to surrender their war history, with a whole new generation around the world ready and waiting to learn from it.

Further reading and learning

Major Richard Bong

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bong

Justin Taylan and Pacific Wrecks

https://apnews.com/article/richard-bong-marge-plane-new-guinea-expedition-76381a450191cc56dc96a88c6ad23daf

https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a60928467/missing-world-war-ii-plane-discovered-after-80-years/

https://pacificwrecks.com/

Swamp Ghost

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_Ghost

https://www.postcourier.com.pg/we-want-ourswamp-ghost-back/

WW2 History and other stuff about Papua New Guinea

https://www.tiktok.com/@happy.g_files





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