James H. Flatley
James Henry Flatley Jr. | |
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Fighting Squadron 10 (VF-10) Carrier Air Wing 5 (CAW-5) USS Block Island (CVE-106) USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) | |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards |
Early life
Flatley was born in
World War II
At the opening of hostilities in December 1941, Flatley was serving aboard USS Lexington (CV-2). However, his squadron did not see combat in the early raids, as VF-2 was beached from 25 January 1942 in order to transition from the F2A Buffalo to the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Their place, in the meantime, was taken by the Grumman-equipped Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3).
In late April, 1942, just prior to the Battle of the Coral Sea, Flatley was dispatched to USS Yorktown (CV-5) with orders to take command of Fighting Squadron 42 (VF-42). However, on arrival, he discovered that his academy classmate, Lieutenant Commander Charles R. Fenton, had already been appointed CO by the ship's captain. After a few days, the issue was sorted out: Fenton was recognised as VF-42's commander, and Flatley was ordered back to the United States to form a new fighter squadron. However, he managed to get permission to stay for the coming battle, and was thus retained as VF-42's executive officer.
On 7 May, Flatley led a group of
After Coral Sea, he returned to the United States to form
During the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942, Flatley led several F4F Wildcat fighters to escort Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from VT-10 in a strike on Japanese carriers. En route, the US and Japanese strike forces passed each other. Nine A6M Zeros from Zuihō led by Lieutenant Moriyasu Hidaka abandoned their escort duty and attacked the US strike. In the following fight, several TBF Avengers and F4F Wildcats were shot down, as well as several A6M Zeros. Flatley received one shared kill credit in this engagement. The strike force he was escorting could not locate the main IJN carrier force and instead attacked a cruiser. Flatley and his F4F Wildcats strafed it in order to support the torpedo planes, but all torpedoes missed the target. Later that day, his division of four F4F Wildcats encountered A6M Zeros from the carrier Jun'yō at higher altitude and deployed Thach Weave defensive tactics when they attacked. One of the attackers was Lieutenant Yoshio Shiga, who gave up after he made several runs.[1]
During the
Following his tour as
He received a
Post-war
Flatley remained in the Navy after the war and became a key figure with the Navy's postwar air-training program. After commanding the
After the war he was training director of the
Tactician
During the attack on the Shōhō, Flatley observed numerous torpedo and dive bombers wasting their ordnance on an already finished carrier, instead of diverting to other intact ships. Based on this observation, he later proposed that a designated strike coordinator be assigned during future operations to assign targets.
Flatley criticized the practice of launching numerous small strikes piecemeal, as happened at the 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
The expression "Thach Weave" did not come into the lexicon until Flatley named it in his after action report for the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. He recounted how Lieutenant Commander John S. Thach’s "beam defense tactic" had allowed him to escape almost certain destruction during the battle. Flatley wrote: ". . . the four-plane division is the only thing that will work, and I am calling it the Thach Weave."
Flatley later received a commendation for his bravery in retrieving wounded personnel after the carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) was hit by kamikazes on May 11, 1945.
Awards and honors
His awards include:[3]
Badge | Naval Aviator insignia
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1st Row | Navy Cross[5] | Navy Distinguished Service Medal | Combat "V"
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2nd Row | Distinguished Flying Cross w/ two 5⁄16" gold stars |
Bronze Star Medal w/ Combat "V" |
Air Medal | ||||||||||||
3rd Row | Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Combat "V" |
Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ 3⁄16" silver star |
Fleet clasp
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4th Row | American Campaign Medal | World War II Victory Medal
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5th Row | Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ 'Japan' clasp |
National Defense Service Medal | Philippine Liberation Medal w/ 3⁄16" bronze star |
- Lieutenant Commander James Flatley
- U.S. Navy
- Date Of Action: 7 and 8 May 1942
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander James Henry Flatley, Jr., United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane and Executive Officer of Fighting Squadron FORTY-TWO (VF-42), attached to the U.S.S. YORKTOWN (CV-5), in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 and 8 May 1942. As leader of the fighter escort for our own planes attacking an enemy Japanese carrier on 7 May, Lieutenant Commander Flatley fearlessly engaged enemy fighters, destroying one and assisting in the destruction of another with no loss to his escort group. That evening, he led a division on combat air patrol in a fierce attack and resultant dispersal of a formation of enemy scouting planes, assisting in the destruction of two of them. On 8 May, fighting persistently and at great odds, he again led a division of the combat air patrol in a courageous attack against enemy aircraft attacking our surface forces and destroyed an enemy fighter harassing our anti-torpedo plane patrol and assisted in the destruction of two others. On all these occasions, Lieutenant Commander Flatley displayed the highest qualities of leadership, aggressiveness and complete disregard for his own personal safety.[5]
Legacy
- USS Flatley (FFG-21)
- Admiral Flatley Park in Green Bay.
- The Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for aviation safety is awarded each year to one aircraft carrier and amphibious ship, along with their embarked air wing and Marine expeditionary unit.[6]
- United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC) VADM James H. Flatley Jr. Division, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- His son, James H. Flatley III, became a naval aviator and test pilot, eventually achieving the rank of rear admiral[7]
- His grandsons, James H. Flatley IV and Joseph F. Flatley, became naval officers and aviators[8]
References
- Notes
- ^ Lundstrom 2005b, pp. 436–438.
- ^ "Naval Aviation News 2/2004"
- ^ a b "Vice Admiral James H. Flatley, Jr., U.S. Navy", Biographies in Navy History, Naval History and Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/flatley_jamesh.htm Retrieved on September 27, 2012.
- ^ "Flatley, James Henry". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ a b "Military Times Hall of Valor: Awards for James Henry Flatley". militarytimes.com. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Rear Admiral James H. Flatley III, BS, MBA, DFC, LM, SS, DSM". New Westminster College of Caucasus University. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ "James H. Flatley III, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)" (PDF). Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association. April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- Sources
- Lundstrom, John B. (2005a). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-471-X.
- Lundstrom, John B. (2005b). First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-472-8.
- Ewing, Steve. "Reaper Leader: The Life of Jimmy Flatley". Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2002.
External links
- USNSCC VADM James H. Flaley Jr. Div., Green Bay Wisconsin
- James H. Flatley biography by Naval History Command