Blue Angels

The team is split into "the Diamond" (Blue Angels 1 through 4) and the Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). Most of their display alternates between maneuvers performed by the diamond, and those performed by the solos. The diamond performs maneuvers in tight formation, usually at lower speeds, such as formation loops and barrel rolls or transitions from one formation to another. The opposing solos usually perform their maneuvers just under the speed of sound, and show off the capabilities of their individual F/A-18s through the execution of high-speed passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. Some of the maneuvers include both solo F/A-18s performing at once, such as opposing passes (where the solos fly towards each other in what appears to be a collision course, and then narrowly miss one another) and mirror formations (the two F/A-18s being flown back-to-back or belly-to-belly; in such formations, one of the aircraft is often inverted). At the end of the routine, all 6 aircraft join in formation and execute the team's signature "fleur-de-lis" closing maneuver.

The parameters of each show must be tailored to the local visibility: in clear weather the "high" show is performed, in overcast conditions it is the "low" show that the spectators see, and in limited visibility (weather permitting) the "flat" show is presented. The "high" show requires an 8,000 foot ceiling and visibility of three nautical miles from the show's centerpoint. "Low" and "flat" ceilings are 3,500 and 1,500 feet respectively.

History

The first Blue Angel Flight Demonstration Squadron, 1946–1947 (l to r): Lt. Al Taddeo, Solo; Lt. (J.G.) Gale Stouse, Spare; Lt. Cdr. R.M. "Butch" Voris, Flight Leader; Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll, Right Wing; Lt. Mel Cassidy, Left Wing.

On April 24, 1946 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz issued a directive ordering the formation of a flight exhibition team (the first such official venture by any of the Armed Services) to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation. However, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget. In April of that year, Rear Admiral Ralph Davison personally selected Lieutenant Commander Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, a World War II fighter ace, to assemble and train a flight demonstration squadron, naming him Officer-in-Charge and Flight Leader. Voris selected two fellow instructors to join him (Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll and Lt. Mel Cassidy, both veterans of the War in the Pacific), and the three spent countless hours developing the show. The group perfected its initial maneuvers in secret over the Florida Everglades so that, in Voris' words, "...if anything happened, just the alligators would know." The team's first demonstration before Navy officials took place on May 10, 1946 and was met with enthusiastic approval.

On June 15 Voris led a trio of Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats, specially modified to reduce weight and painted sea blue with gold leaf trim, through their inaugural 15-minute-long performance at the Southern Air Show at Jacksonville, Florida's Craig Field. The group, known simply as the "Navy Flight Exhibition Team," thrilled spectators with low-flying maneuvers performed in tight formations, and (according to Voris) by "...keeping something in front of the crowds at all times. My objective was to beat the Army Air Corps. If we did that, we'd get all the other side issues. I felt that if we weren't the best, it would be my naval career." The Blue Angels' first public demonstration also netted the team its first trophy, which sits on display at the team's current home in Pensacola.

On August 25, 1946 the Blue Angels transitioned to the Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat and introduced the famous "diamond" formation at the World Air Carnival in Birmingham, Alabama.

The team soon became known worldwide for its spectacular aerobatic stunts. During a trip to the "Big Apple," Lt. Wickendoll came across an advertisement in The New Yorker for the city's popular "Blue Angel" nightclub. Voris liked the name and on July 19 officially made it the team's moniker. On August 25 the squadron upgraded their aircraft to the F8F-1 Bearcat. Though Voris left the team on May 30, 1947 the "Blues" continued to perform nationwide until the start of the Korean War in 1950, when (due to a shortage of pilots) the team was disbanded and its members were ordered to combat duty. Once aboard the aircraft carrier USS Princeton the group formed the core of VF-191, Satan's Kittens.

The Blue Angels were officially recommissioned on October 25, 1951, and reported to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. Lt. Cdr. Voris was again tasked with assembling the flight team (he was the first of only two commanding officers to lead the group twice). By the end of the 1940s, the Blue Angels were flying their first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther, but now would be utilizing the newer and faster version of the Panther, the F9F-5. The Blue Angels remained in Corpus Christi until the winter of 1954, when they relocated to their present home at NAS Pensacola, Florida. It was here that they progressed to the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar. The ensuing 20 years saw the Blue Angels transition to two more aircraft, the Grumman F11F-1 Tiger (1957) and the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II (1969), the only plane to be flown by both the "Blues" and the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

All six Blue Angel A-4F Skyhawks fly in delta formation with "smoke on."

In December, 1974 the Navy Flight Demonstration Team began flying the McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II and was reorganized into the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. This reorganization permitted the establishment of a commanding officer, a flight leader, added support officers, and further redefined the squadron's mission emphasizing the support of recruiting efforts. Commander Tony Less was the squadron's first official commanding officer.

On November 8, 1986 the Blue Angels completed their 40th anniversary year during ceremonies unveiling their present aircraft, the sleek McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, the first dual-role fighter/attack aircraft now serving on the nation's front lines of defense. The Blue Angels also operate a C-130T Hercules nicknamed "Fat Albert" to provide support and (at selected venues) put on a show of its own with a jet-assisted take off (JATO) before the "Blues" begin their demonstration. "Fat Albert Airlines" flies with an all-Marine crew of three officers and five enlisted personnel.

The Blue Angels perform more than 70 shows at 34 different locations throughout the United States each year, where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques in their aerial displays as they did back in 1946. Since their inception, the "Blues" have flown for more than 260 million spectators worldwide.

Timeline

• 1946: The "Navy Flight Exhibition Team" is formed and takes the name Blue Angels.

The "Blues" support crew watches the team perform in the Grumman F9F-2 Panther jet fighter.

• 1950: The team is ordered to Combat Duty Status in response to the Korean Conflict.
• 1951: Lt. Cdr. Johnny Magda is the first Blue Angel killed in combat over Korea. The team is reactivated in October.
• 1952: Two aircraft collide during a demonstration in Corpus Christi, Texas; one pilot is killed, but the team resumes its performances two weeks thereafter.
• 1954: "Blues" pilot Lt. Cdr. Hawkins becomes the first naval aviator to survive an ejection at supersonic speeds. The first Marine Corps pilot, Capt. Chuck Hiett, joins the team.
• 1956: The team gives its first-ever performance outside the United States in Toronto, Canada.
• 1965: The Blue Angels are the only team to receive a standing ovation during the four-day Paris Air Show.
• 1968: Lt. Mary Russell becomes the first woman assigned to the "Blues."
• 1973: Cdr. Harley Hall (1970 team leader) is shot down over Vietnam, and is officially listed as Missing In Action.
• 1974: The team transitions to the McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II and is reorganized to add support officers and redefine the squadron’s mission, which emphasizes the support of recruiting efforts.
• 1986: The Blue Angels complete their 40th anniversary year and unveil their present aircraft, the sleek McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
• 1992: The Blue Angels become the first foreign flight demonstration team to perform in Russia. More than a million spectators witness the "Blues" performances during a month-long European tour.
• 1998: Cdr. Patrick Driscoll makes the first "Blue Jet" landing on a "haze gray and underway" aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).
• 2000: Show season attendance tops 15 million spectators.

Blue Angels Creed

The Blue Angels fly their F-4J Phantoms cross-country between show sites in a line abreast formation.

''Today is a very special and memorable day in your military career that will remain with you throughout your lifetime. You have survived the ultimate test of your peers and have proven to be completely deserving to wear the crest of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

''The prestige of wearing the Blue Angels uniform carries with it an extraordinary honor — one that reflects not only on you as an individual, but on your teammates and the entire squadron. To the crowds at the air shows and to the public at hospitals and schools nationwide, you are a symbol of the Navy and Marine Corps' finest. You bring pride, hope and a promise for tomorrow's Navy and Marine Corps in the smiles and handshakes of today's youth. Remember today as the day you became a Blue Angel; look around at your teammates and commit this special bond to memory. "Once a Blue Angel, always a Blue Angel," rings true for all those who wear the crest of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Welcome to the team.

Trivia

Water vapor comes off a Hornet during a tight maneuver.

• The "Blues" aircraft are completely combat-ready, and could be repainted and armed for combat service in just 48 hours.
• The Blue Angels was a short-lived dramatic television series inspired by the team's exploits and filmed with the cooperation of the Navy, that aired from September 1, 1960 to March 20, 1961.
• In 2005, the Discovery Channel aired a documentary miniseries, "Blue Angels: A Year in the Life", focusing on the intricate day-to-day details of that year's training and performance schedule.
• The video for the American rock band Van Halen's 1986 release "Dreams" is comprised of Blue Angels performance footage. The video was originally shot featuring the Blues in the McDonnell-Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. It was later reshot after the transition to the F/A-18 Hornet.
• The Blue Angels have a place in the local culture of many of the locations in which they fly. They are exceptionally popular in Seattle, being a staple of the city's Seafair celebration during the summer.
• The Blue Angels don't wear G-suits, because the air bladders inside them would repeatedly deflate and inflate. That would interfere with the control stick between a pilot's legs. Instead, Blue Angel pilots tense their stomach muscles and legs to prevent blood from rushing from their heads, rendering them unconscious.
• The squadron leader, traditionally known as "Boss," uses his radio to guide his fellow pilots. To the uninitiated, it sounds as though the Boss is singing on the air when, in fact, his voice, his cadence -- even a single syllable -- combine to help guide the pilots. Otherwise, the jets would move in sequence, not simultaneously, and ruin the effect.
• If you see a jet flying in formation but without a smoke trail, that means the pilot is off position, however slightly. The pilot will try to correct that during his next flight. The Blue Angels try to be in position exactly, every time, by "flying paint" -- looking over at the next jet and aligning to a position down to some letter or spot on that plane.
• Pilots in the Blue Angels are some of the only personnel in the United States Armed Forces to be saluted by officers of a higher rank than themselves.

References

• (2005). "The First Blue Angel." Miramar 50th Air Show Special Commemorative Program 18.
• (2005). "The Blue Angels History." Miramar 50th Air Show Special Commemorative Program 22.
• [Blue Angels Timeline (1946–1980)] accessed November 10, 2005.
• ["First Blue: Monterey resident Butch Voris formed the nation’s most-loved aviation team"] article by Brett Wilbur in the April 1, 2004 edition of the Monterey County Weekly — accessed October 16, 2005.
• ["Grumman and the Blue Angels"] article by William C. Barto at the [Grumman Memorial Park] official website — accessed October 15, 2005.

External links

The solos make a "knife-edge" pass.

• [Explore the Navy: Blue Angels] official website.
• [The Blue Angels] — show schedules and other information.
• [First Blue Angel] story of World War II Ace Butch Voris and the Creation of the Blue Angels.
• [The Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron: The Blue Angels] U.S. Navy official website.
• [U.S. Navy Blue Angels Alumni Association] official website.
• [RTP-TV Aerospace Show on the Blue Angels] (online video).

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