James H. Flatley

Videos

Vice Admiral James Henry Flatley Jr. was a World War II naval aviator and tactician for the United States Navy. He became a fighter ace credited with shooting down six enemy aircraft in aerial combat.

Flatley [then Commander] in the cockpit of a Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat on board USS Yorktown (CV-10), October 1943

Commander Flatley as Commander Air Group 5 (CAG-5) in his F6F-3 Hellcat on the flight deck of USS Yorktown (CV-10) before takeoff during the Marcus Island raid on 31 August 1943. This raid was featured in the 1944 film The Fighting Lady.

Statue of Flatley in Admiral Flatley Park in Green Bay

Naval Aviator Badge

John Thach

Videos

John Smith Thach was a World War II Naval Aviator, air combat tactician, and United States Navy admiral. Thach developed the Thach Weave, a combat flight formation which could counter enemy fighters o

James H. Flatley

…Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, since he felt strongly that one large force could accomplish much more than several small ones. Flatley – along with John S. Thach and Butch O'Hare – was instrumental in communicating tactical advice throughout naval aviation, and changing the perception that the F4F Wildcat was…

Official Navy portrait of Admiral John S. Thach

LCDR John S. Thach wearing M-450 helmet, AN6530 goggles and inflatable life vest, 1942

Thach (right) teaches new pilots.

Captain John S. Thach (right) as commanding officer of the escort aircraft carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118) during the Korean War, discussing a mission with two United States Marine Corps pilots, Major Robert P. Keller (center) and First lieutenant Roland B. Heilman (left), from his ship while aboard Sicily off the Korean Peninsula