Blue Angels

Founded in 1946 as the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron to retain public interest in Naval Aviation after World War II, the Blue Angels gave their first demonstration in June 1946 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, under Lieutenant Commander Roy "Butch" Voris flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat. The team transitioned to the Grumman F8F Bearcat on August 25, 1946, flew its first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther, by the end of the 1940s, and in 1950 reported to the aircraft carrier USS Princeton as the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191 "Satan's Kittens" in response to demands of the Korean Conflict. Reformed in 1951 under Voris at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, flying the F9F-5 Panther, the team relocated in 1954 to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, with swept wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougars, transitioned in 1957 to F11F-1 Tigers, in 1969 to the F4J Phantom II, and in December 1974 began flying McDonnell-Douglas A4F Skyhawk IIs while reorganizing into the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron under Commander Tony Less. On November 8, 1986, during its 40th anniversary year, the team unveiled the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, its present aircraft and the first dual role fighter/attack aircraft. By 2011, the Blue Angels had performed before more than 463 million fans, and the aircraft display was dedicated in memory of all Blue Angels aircrew lost in team flight operations on the 65th anniversary of the squadron's founding.

Annapolis, Maryland · United States