Flying Hellfish

Flying Hellfish Insignia

The Flying Hellfish (also referred to as just "the Hellfish") was the military unit Abraham Simpson, Charles Montgomery Burns, and several other Springfieldians served in during World War II.

Flying Hellfish Members

List of members

• Unit Commander: Sergeant Abraham Simpson (Homer`s father)
• Private: Charles Montgomery Burns (expelled post-war for greed, repeated attempts to murder Abe by proxy, and attempt to murder Abe's grandson Bart)
• Radio Operator: Sheldon Skinner (Seymour Skinner's father) †
• Private Fifth Class Arnie Gumble (Barney Gumble's father) †
• Commander Flanders (Ned Flanders' Granduncle) †
• Asa Phelps  †
• Iggy Wiggum (Clancy Wiggum's father) †
• Milton Haas †
• Etch Westgrin  †
• Griff McDonald †
• Homer Simpson (The Simpsons Game)
• Bart Simpson (The Simpsons Game)

History

Sergeant Abe during WW2

Burns was always the unit's troublemaker. The Hellfish got stuck with Burns because he obstructed a probe from J. Edgar Hoover, thus resulting in his demotion. He faked his own death several times and even ruined Simpson's chance to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

At one point, near the end of the war, the unit stormed a German castle. While searching through it, Private Burns found a collection of stolen paintings. While discussing what they should do with them, Burns mentions the idea of tontine, where the members must enter into a contract of when the last surviving member inherits the paintings if the others pass away. The unit agrees for their own personal reasons (Gumble wanting to buy his way into high society, Abe not wanting to end up "in one of them old folk's homes"). Everyone signs and shakes on this prospect.

Ox was the first member to die because of a hernia he got while taking the crate with the paintings out of the castle. Five more were killed in a parade float accident in 1979. After Asa Phelps died, only Burns and Simpson remained. Later, Simpson gave Burns a dishonorable discharge from the Hellfish for trying to kill him and his grandson Bart, expelling him from the tontine and declaring himself the sole possessor of the paintings in default, much to Burns' dismay. Unfortunately for Grampa and Bart, their victory was cut short when the U.S. State Department arrive and took the paintings, as they have been searching for them for 50 years to avoid any international incidents with the German government. The State Department then returns the paintings to their rightfull owner, Baron von Herzenberger.

Trivia

• The name changes from Fighting Hellfish to Flying Hellfish throughout the episode "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"".
• In heaven, a tombstone has the words "Flying Hellfish" written on it, written over it is "Flying HeavenFish".
• Even though Ned's father is supposed to be a Major in the Army, Abraham Simpson explicitly referred to him as "Commander Flanders" when scolding Private Burns for trying to steal paintings.
• In the scene where Fernando shoots at Grandpa in the retirement home, an animation error occurs in which there are bullet holes in Grandpa's body, instead of the wall.
• Mr. Burns and Abe Simpson are the only living members in the battalion, as all the other members (with the exception of Asa Phelps) died prior to the series beginning.  
• As we find out in The Principal and the Pauper, Seymour Skinner is actually Armin Tamzarian and only assumed this identity when he failed to deliver the bad news of the real Seymour's supposed passing to his mother. But due to the fact that he still looks very much like Sheldon Skinner. This leads to the possibility that the real Seymour Skinner and Armin are in fact half-brothers.  

Appearances

• Episode – "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish""
• Episode – "The Regina Monologues"

• 1	The Simpsons Game

Video game – The Simpsons Game