Carlton B. Hutchins

He held his damaged plane steady so his crew could parachute

On the night of 2 February 1938, Lieutenant Carlton Barmore Hutchins was flying a Navy PBY-2 Catalina in fleet exercises about 70 miles off southern California. Nine aircraft were flying in formation during a bombing run when a sudden rain squall reduced visibility. Hutchins’s seaplane collided with another Catalina. The second aircraft crashed immediately, killing all seven aboard; Hutchins’s damaged aircraft also began to fall from the sky.

Hutchins remained at the controls, trying to bring the plane down safely and keep it steady long enough for his crew to use their parachutes. Some escaped. Hutchins died when his aircraft crashed, and the disaster claimed 11 lives in all. His actions helped save the surviving airmen and earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.

Born in Albany, New York, in 1904, Hutchins graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1926. He served aboard the battleship Pennsylvania before entering flight training at Pensacola. Designated a naval aviator in 1929, he flew fighters and scout aircraft, studied aeronautical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, and served with patrol aviation in the Caribbean and at Patrol Squadron 11. A Navy destroyer later carried his name.

### Medal of Honor citation

“For extraordinary heroism as the pilot of the U.S. Navy seaplane PBY-2 No. 0463 (11-P-3) while engaged in tactical exercises with the U.S. Fleet on 2 February 1938. Although his plane was badly damaged, Lt. Hutchins remained at the controls endeavoring to bring the damaged plane to a safe landing and to afford an opportunity for his crew to escape by parachutes. His cool, calculated conduct contributed principally to the saving of the lives of all who survived. His conduct on this occasion was above and beyond the call of duty.”

### Sources

- Naval History and Heritage Command. “Hutchins (DD-476).” Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. - Naval History and Heritage Command. “United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995,” appendix 13, Medal of Honor awards in naval aviation. - U.S. Naval Academy. “Carlton Barmore Hutchins.” Notable Graduates. - Congressional Medal of Honor Society. “Carlton Barmore Hutchins.” Recipient profile and citation.