Hutchins was born in Albany, New York, September 12, 1904, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1926, the same class as Henry C. Bruton, Charles L. Carpenter, Howard Gilmore, Lofton Henderson, Fitzhugh Lee, Max Leslie, Wade McClusky, Robert B. Pirie, and John Sylvester.

During the early 1930s Hutchins flew fighters from Saratoga, scout planes from Concord, and studied aeronautical engineering at the California Institute of Technology.

During fleet exercises, on February 2, 1938, off the coast of southern California, Lieutenant Hutchins' seaplane collided in mid-air with another PBY.

Lieutenant Hutchins lost his life in the crash and received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

His citation for the Medal of Honor reads: Although his plane was badly damaged, Lieutenant 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.