| “ | Abraham Simpson: Back then, I was known as Sergeant Simpson, and I commanded the Flying Hellfish-- the fighting squad in the fightintest company in the third-fightintest battalion in the army and we were all from Springfield. There was police chief Wiggum's father, Iggy Wiggum. Iggy Wiggum: Um, if anybody finds a grenade without a pin, that's mine. Abraham Simpson: Our radioman, Sheldon Skinner. Sheldon Skinner: All right, very funny. Well, I didn't join the servide to make friends. Abraham Simpson: And watching our backs was private fifth class Arnie Gumble. Arnie Gumble: (loud belch) Abraham Simpson: Then there was also Griff, Asa, Ox and Etch. But every unit has a troublemaker. Ours was a cocky little private named Montgomery Burns. Mr. Burns: (yawns) Haven't you wont the war yet? Ox: Duh, hey, you said you was dead. Mr. Burns: Yes, dead tired. But I'm quite refreshed now. Thank you. |
„ |
| ~ Abraham Simpson describing the Flying Hellfish to Bart Simpson. |
| “ | Ox was the first to go. He got a hernia carrying the crate out of the castle. Five more men died in the Veterans' Day float disaster of '79. Now, with Asa gone, it's down to me and Burns. | „ |
| ~ Abraham Simpson explaining to Bart the dissolution of the Flying Hellfish, what happened to the members until he and Mr. Birns were the last of the military unit. |
The Flying Hellfish are posthumous protagonists from the TV animated series The Simpsons, serving as the overarching protagonists from the episode "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"".
It's a military unit led by Commander Flanders and by Abraham Simpson as a sergeant, their only goal is to liberate a region of France called the Ardennes from Germans.
History
Presumably, the Flying Hellfish was first dispatched to Normandy for the Invasion of Normandy.
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 out of the castle. Five more were killed in a parade float accident in 1979. After Asa Phelps died, only Burns and Abe 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 rightful owner's descendant, Baron von Herzenberger. Simpson accepts it as he said that Baron deserves them more than he does.
Members
- Abraham Simpson : Master Sergeant (formerly; retired)
- Private Charles Montgomery Burns : Private Soldier (formerly; traitor)
- Sheldon Skinner : Radio Operator (deceased)
- Arnie Gumble : Fifth Private Class (deceased)
- Nedwynn Flanders : Commanding Officer (deceased)
- Asa Phelps (deceased)
- Iggy Wiggum (deceased)
- Milton Haas (deceased)
- Etch Westgrin (deceased)
- Griff McDonald (deceased)
- Private Soldier like as Homer Simpson (non-canon; deceased)
- Private Soldier like as Bart Simpson (non-canon; deceased)
Trivia
- Iggy Wiggum, Sheldon Skinner, Arnie Gumble and Nedwynn Flanders are the only four members of the military unit to have family ties, despite Abraham and Mr. Burns being young at the time. While Griff, Asa, Ox, and Etch's family ties are never mentioned.
- Nedwynn Flanders is the only member of the Flying Hellfish not to appear in the animated series, but her name was mentioned by Abraham Simpson while he was a sergeant and his portrait was seen in the Flanders family tree.
- Mr. Burns is the only member of the Flying Hellfish to orchestrate the tontine that turned into villainy. Although their sergeant, who serves as the head of this military unit, has an intolerance for thefts from civilians. Later, when Baron von Herzenberger managed to recover the paintings after 50 years of research, this proved an indication that Mr. Burns was responsible for the painting theft that orchestrated this tontine, and not Abraham Simpson.
- All members of the Flying Hellfish are male.
