Arthur Ray Hawkins

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Arthur Ray Hawkins
National Museum of Naval Aviation

Arthur Ray "Hawk" Hawkins (12 December 1922 – 21 March 2004) was an American naval aviator and flying ace of World War II. He was the United States Navy's tenth leading ace with 14 aerial victories to his credit.

Early life

Hawkins was born in

United States Army Air Force
fighter pilot, who was shot down in the South Pacific.

Naval career

1940s

Hawkins was designated a

Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Cabot (CVL-28)
from January to October 1944.

While flying from Cabot in 1944, Hawkins was credited with 14 confirmed and three probable kills, all while flying

Philippine Islands, and four on 21 September during the Battle of Luzon
in the Philippines.

Hawkins volunteered for a second tour of duty aboard

Navy Cross three times, the Distinguished Flying Cross three times, and three Air Medals.[3]

After World War II,

Grumman F9F-2 Panther
jet fighter.

1950s

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Blue Angels were dissolved, with the majority of the pilots forming Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191), nicknamed "Satan's Kittens". Hawkins served as the squadron's executive officer, flying 40 combat missions from the deck of USS Princeton (CV-37), and participating in the first carrier-based jet bombing mission of the war.

After the Korean War, the Blue Angels were re-formed, and

supersonic aircraft.[4][5] He was inverted (upside down) and somewhere between 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) and 32,000 feet (9,800 meters) in altitude at the time he ejected. Since he could not reach the pre-ejection lever due to his inverted position, his canopy did not separate and he ejected through the canopy, possibly becoming the first pilot to do that as well.[6]

1960s–1970s

In the 1960s, Hawkins commanded

Naval Air Station Atsugi in Japan, where he worked to recover Japanese family artifacts lost during World War II. For this work, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class
by the Japanese government.

Later life and family

Hawkins retired from the U.S. Navy as a

National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida
, retiring in 1997 as its chief-of-staff.

Hawkins' daughter, Jill Hawkins Votaw, followed in his footsteps and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, graduating in 1980 from the United States Naval Academy as a member of the first class to graduate from the academy that included women. She retired from the Naval Reserve as a captain in 2010.[7][8]

In 1984, Hawkins was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and in 2001 into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2006, Captain Hawkins was inducted into the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor.

Hawkins died on 21 March 2004 in Pensacola, Florida.

References

  1. ^ acepilots.com
  2. ISBN 9781855325968
    . Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  3. ^ "Lieutenant Ray Hawkins Navy Ace with 14 aerial victories". vf31.com. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  4. ^ "2005". ejection-history.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  5. ISBN 9780312322496
    . Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  6. ^ "BLUE ANGEL EJECTS AT HIGH SPEED", Naval Aviation News October, 1952, republished at http://www.blueangels.org/NANews/Articles/Oct53/Oct53.htm
  7. ^ Dorr, Robert F. "Arthur “Hawk” Hawkins Was Navy Air Ace and Blue Angels Pioneer", Defense Media Network December 21, 2012 at http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/arthur-hawk-hawkins-was-navy-air-ace-and-blue-angels-pioneer/
  8. ^ "Jill Votaw | LinkedIn". linkedin.com. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Ray_Hawkins&oldid=1206273665"