What a career!The late RADM James H. Flatley III was the son of famed WWII fighter leader ‘Jimmy’ Flatley, and besides a stellar combat career in his own right James is probably best known as the test pilot who in November 1963 conducted flight tests with a C-130 Hercules aboard CV-59 USS Forrestal.
James is depicted here in his Vietnam-era VF-31 'Tomcatters’ F-4J Phantom.This F-4 was originally created as part of my 2025 oil painting, The Flatleys ~ A Family Legacy of Naval Aviation (see the 'Paintings' section), which was commissioned by the Flatley family and hung in the admiral’s office until his passing in December 2025.
Completed 2026
Collection of Seamus Flatley
What a career! The late RADM James H. Flatley III was the son of famed WWII fighter leader ‘Jimmy’ Flatley, and besides a stellar combat career in his own right James is probably best known as the test pilot who in November 1963 conducted flight tests with a C-130 Hercules aboard CV-59 USS Forrestal.
James is depicted here in his Vietnam-era VF-31 'Tomcatters’ F-4J Phantom. This F-4 was originally created as part of my 2025 oil painting, The Flatleys ~ A Family Legacy of Naval Aviation (see the 'Paintings' section), which was commissioned by the Flatley family and hung in the admiral’s office until his passing in December 2025.