James H. Flatley III

James Henry Flatley III (born January 9, 1934),[1] is a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy. A naval aviator, fighter pilot, and test pilot, he is the son of Vice Admiral James H. Flatley.[2]

Rear Adm. Flatley in 1985

Education

Flatley is a 1956 graduate of the United States Naval Academy.[3] He later received an MBA from Auburn University.[4]

Career
Flatley's KC-130F Hercules aboard the USS Forrestal (1963). The aircraft is now displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

While a lieutenant at the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, Flatley and his fellow crew members, Walter "Smokey" Stovall and Ed Brennan, made history when they completed 21 full-stop landings and takeoffs in a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal; it was the largest plane, with the heaviest load, ever to successfully land on a carrier. Flatley later commanded the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. While serving as the commanding officer of the USS Saratoga in 1980, he completed his 1,500th arrested landing in an F-4 Phantom. He retired in 1987.[3]

Awards he received during his career include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.[4] He has also been inducted into the U.S. Naval Aviation Carrier Hall of Fame and the South Carolina Aviation Hall of Fame.[5]

Recent times

In a June 2017 tribute article, Flatley discussed his history in the field of aviation and reflected on his and the Flatley family's legacy, estimating that the "extended Flatley family has accumulated more than 6,100 incident/accident-free arrested carrier landings."[6]

References
  1. "PN849". U.S. Congress. November 19, 1981. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2010-09-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "James H. Flatley III, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)" (PDF). Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association. April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. "Rear Admiral James H. Flatley III, BS, MBA, DFC, LM, SS, DSM". New Westminster College of Caucasus University. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. "Rear Admiral James H. Flatley, III (Ret) - South Carolina Aviation Association". Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  6. Lucas, Jake (2017). "Tales of Valor - A special kind of family." Moultrie News (June 28, 2017). Retrieved October 26, 2019.
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