Saint John Hawke

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Saint John Hawke (pronounced "Sinjin") is a fictional character on the American action adventure television series Airwolf (1984-87). During the series' first three seasons, Hawke (played by American actor Christopher Connelly) appeared in flashback cameos only. During the series' fourth and final season, however, Hawke (now played by actor Barry Van Dyke) became the central character of the series, replacing his brother Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) as the primary pilot of the Airwolf helicopter.

The son of U.S. Army pilot Alan Hawke, Saint John and his brother Stringfellow were orphaned at a young age when their parents drowned in a boating accident. The Hawke brothers were subsequently raised by Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine), a friend and fellow military aviator of their father's. Upon reaching adulthood, both Saint John and Stringfellow enlisted in the U.S. Army and were dispatched to the front lines of the Vietnam War during the late 1960s. Both Hawke brothers proved their valor and aviation skills during the conflict.

In 1970, Saint John was separated from his brother and the rest of their unit during a mission. For the next seventeen years, Saint John would be a prisoner of war in Southeast Asia. During this time, Saint John’s brother Stringfellow would become involved with the U.S. intelligence agency known as the Firm. By the early 1980s, Stringfellow had become the test pilot for an experimental espionage/combat helicopter known as Airwolf. In 1984, Stringfellow recovered Airwolf from its creator, Dr. Charles Henry Moffett (David Hemmings), who had stolen it and was using it in the employ of the Libyan government. After recovering Airwolf, Stringfellow did not return the aircraft to the Firm, but kept it hidden, agreeing to return Airwolf to the Firm only if the agency located Saint John, dead or alive. Over the next two years, Stringfellow flew Airwolf (with the assistance of Santini as flight engineer) on a number of national security missions for the Firm.

Stringfellow Hawke made several attempts to locate and rescue his brother during the mid-1980s, but none of these attempts came to fruition. Finally, in 1987, Stringfellow learned that Saint John had been taken to Cambodia under the custody of a mercenary known as Buchard (codenamed “Blackjack”). Before Stringfellow could act upon this information, however, he was critically injured by a helicopter explosion that killed Dominic Santini. In the midst of his post-traumatic delirium, Stringfellow was nevertheless able to reveal the location of Airwolf to Jo Santini (Dominic’s niece), with whom he pleaded to take the supersonic helicopter to rescue Saint John. Jo and Firm agents Jason Locke and Mike Rivers proceeded to Cambodia aboard Airwolf, successfully rescuing Saint John and returning him to the United States at long last.

Saint John reunited with his severely injured brother immediately upon his return to the U.S. With the loss of Stringfellow Hawke and Dominic Santini to injury and death, the Firm needed a new crew for Airwolf. Saint John Hawke duly became the new primary pilot of Airwolf, with Jo Santini (Michele Scarabelli), Mike Rivers (Geraint Wyn Davies) and Jason Locke {Anthony Sherwood) as his regular support crew, and continued the national security missions with Airwolf that his brother had begun several years earlier.