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Donald Losey (Fallhiker), MM1
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Stimpson, Charles (Skull), LT.
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Contact Info
Last Address Salt Lake City
Date of Passing Aug 20, 1983
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One of only four Navy fliers to "make ace" in both the Wildcat and Hellcat
Born in Salt Lake City on Aug. 24, 1919, Charlie Stimpson grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and graduated from Pomona College. He completed Navy flight training in June, 1942, and was assigned to the newly established VF-11 "Sundowners" at San Diego. They arrived at Guadalcanal in April, 1943, by which time Stimpson was a Lt.(jg). In only three combat missions in the Solomons, Stimpson scored six confirmed victories in Wildcats, four coming on June 16, his first combat mission when the Japanese staged their last big raid on Guadalcanal. Flying a Hellcat with the carrier Hornet'sVF-11, Lt. Stimpson, nicknamed "Skull" because of his emaciated appearance, scored 5 kills on October 14, 1944, during the big raids on Formosa. Stimpson was one of eight Hellcats under the leadership of Lt. Jimmy Savage, assigned to the Hornet's CAP. They took off and climbed to 20,000 feet. Shortly after detecting the enemy, Lt. Savage discovered a defective compass; Stimpson took over the lead role. Stimpson's division went after the fighters; Savage's for the bombers. Stimpson's division surprised the enemy; all four of them (Stimpson, his wingman Blair, Dayhoff, and Zink) all scored on the first pass. Stimpson quickly brought down another two Hamps, as did Zink, but this time the Japs struck back, downing both Dayhoff and Zink. Savage's division had also been cut up. Very quickly only Stimpson, Blair, and Savage remained in the battle. Stimpson intercepted a Zero threatening a wounded pilot; his deflection shot caught the Zero perfectly. It exploded for Stimpson's fourth victory of the day. He scored one more kill that day, but not without the loss of his wingman Blair.
Stimpson had another big day on Nov.5, getting three kills over Manila's Clark Field.
He finished with war with 16.33 confirmed kills.
1942-1945, VF-111 Sundowners
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3 distinct Navy squadrons have called themselves ‘Sundowners’. The U.S. Navy frequently has given the same designation to two or more aviation units, leading to lasting confusion. Officially, the US Navy does not recognize a direct lineage with disestablished squadrons if a new squadron is formed with the same designation.[1] Often, the new squadron will assume the nickname, insignia, and traditions of the earlier squadrons.
In 1985, VF-111 was one of several NAS Miramar based squadrons to participate in the filming of the film Top Gun. Some VF-111 and VF-51 aircraft were repainted in fictitious squadron markings for the film. To be able to film the sequences, the F-14s were fitted with cameras mounted in pods attached to the underbelly Phoenix pallets and the under wing pylons, as well as using ground mounted cameras. Also, one of the fictional RIOs in the film, played by Clarence Gilyard, uses the callsign "Sundown" and wears a VF-111 styled helmet and squadron patch on his flight suit.
VF-111 made seven Viet Nam combat cruises since 1964, flying over 12,500 missions over North and South Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. In 1967-68 the squadron sent a detachment, OMAR's ORPHANS,to USS INTREPID's Air Wing TEN to provide fighter escort for the attack and photo aircraft embarked. A SUN DOWNER from the 1968 Det scored the Navy's 19th CRUSADER MIG kill when Lt, Tony Nargi shot down a MIG-21. In addition to numerous individual citations, FITRON ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN earned the Navy Unit Commendation for seven deployments, and the Meritorious Unit Citations for the 1969 cruise aboard USS TICONDEROGA.
