Swept Wings

For a brief period in late 1954, the Blues operated their first swept-wing aircraft, the F9F-6 Cougar, essentially a Panther with swept wings. Its cockpit was nearly identical to the Panther’s, making transition easy, and the “dash six” Cougar actually had better carrier handling characteristics than the Panther. But the F9F-6 had been rushed into service – during the Korean War, the Navy lacked a swept-wing fighter comparable to the Air Force

Its cockpit was nearly identical to the Panther’s, making transition easy, and the “dash six” Cougar actually had better carrier handling characteristics than the Panther. But the F9F-6 had been rushed into service – during the Korean War, the Navy lacked a swept-wing fighter comparable to the Air Force

F-86 Sabre or Soviet MiG-15 – and early examples had a variety of minor technical issues, including poor latitudinal and longitudinal control. A modification to control surfaces solved the problem in the fleet, but the Blue Angels reverted to the F9F-5 Panther briefly and in December 1954, began flying the much-modified and more robust F9F-8 version of the swept-wing Cougar.

The first Marine Corps pilot, Capt. Chuck Hiett, joined the Blue Angels, and they relocated to their current home at Pensacola, Fla., in 1954. According to an official history of the Blue Angels, in August 1954, “team leader Lt. Cmdr. Ray Hawkins became the first naval aviator to survive an ejection at supersonic speeds when his F9F-6 became uncontrollable on a cross-country flight.” Looking back, it is easy to wonder how an F9F-6 could have reached supersonic speed.

In 1956, the team made its first performance outside the United States – in Canada.

In 1956, the team made its first performance outside the United States – in Canada.

In 1957, the team made the transition to the F11F-1 Tiger. Built around the 7,000-pound thrust Wright J65 axial-flow turbojet engine, a license-built Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire, the Tiger was one of the Navy’s first supersonic fighters, but was very much a modest, interim aircraft unlike the F-100 Super Sabre the Air Force’s Thunderbirds were flying. The Blue Angels flew the Tiger in two configurations, the short- and long-nosed models. When Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara overhauled the system for designating U.S. military aircraft on Oct. 1, 1962, the F11F-1 became the F-11A.

As the United States became embroiled in Southeast Asia, the Navy resisted any urge to return the Blue Angels to combat status. Some Blues pilots were quoted as wishing they were in Vietnam, and some got their wish. For reasons unclear, the team stayed with the F-11A Tiger long after it ceased to be an operational fleet warplane.

 

Enter the Phantom

The F-4 Phantom II owned all of the superlatives in the world of the 1960s and it was inevitable, perhaps, that the Blue Angels would make the transition to this new aircraft – following the example of the Air Force Thunderbirds. With its two 17,845-pound afterburning General Electric J79-GE-17A axial-flow turbojet engines and maximum weight of 55,000 pounds, the Phantom II had been designed as a fleet defense interceptor and was not the easiest machine to fling around the sky, especially in close-quarters maneuvers near large crowds. The Blues learned how to perform their act in the Phantom II and embellished it: A favorite maneuver, not possible in previous aircraft, was the “dirty loop,” in which a Phantom II took off, left the gear and flaps down, and climbed directly into a loop.

The Blues learned how to perform their act in the Phantom II and embellished it: A favorite maneuver, not possible in previous aircraft, was the “dirty loop,” in which a Phantom II took off, left the gear and flaps down, and climbed directly into a loop.

In 1970, after operating a variety of logistics aircraft, including a C-54 Skymaster and C-121 Super Constellation, the Blues received their first KC-130F Hercules transport, nicknamed “Fat Albert,” operated by a Marine Corps crew. Today’s version of  “Bert” is a C-130T model.

At the end of their 1973 season, with Cmdr. Tony Less newly in charge, the Blue Angels retired their F-4J Phantoms and began training for 1974 with the A-4F Skyhawk, called the “Foxtrot Hotrod” by some for its light weight and agility. The change was a reflection of the fuel crisis of the era, the single-engine A-4F with its 7,000-pound thrust Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408 being much less of a gas guzzler than the Phantom. Initially, eight A-4Fs were modified for Blue Angels use, with removal of the “humpback” avionics pod, installation of a drag chute, a control stick “load feel” device, a smoke generator, and a self-contained, foldable cockpit access ladder.

As with the Phantom previously, they were again able to perform a slow, high angle of attack “tail sitting” maneuver, and to fly the “dirty loop” in formation with gear down – a maneuver not performed by the Thunderbirds.

On Nov. 8, 1986, marking their 40th anniversary, the Blue Angels converted to the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter. As with the Phantom previously, they were again able to perform a slow, high angle of attack “tail sitting” maneuver, and to fly the “dirty loop” in formation with gear down – a maneuver not performed by the Thunderbirds. Also in 1986, Lt. Cmdr. Donnie Cochran became the Blue Angels’ first African-American aviator; he returned in 1994 to lead the team.

 Angels in Hornets

Cmdr. David E. “Mongo” Koss, the Blue Angels’ commander for the 2011 and 2012 season and a looming 6-foot, 3-inch former squadron commander with 3,000 flight hours and 740 carrier landings, told reporters he has “the best job in the world.” The Blue Angels

have now had 34 commanders and 242 demonstration pilots. The Blues began their latest training season on Jan. 3, 2011, at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif., the team’s winter home base.

As they thrill air show crowds, lure recruits, and showcase naval aviation in the year of its 100th anniversary, the Blue Angels carry on a rich tradition. The squadron’s six demonstration pilots fly the Hornet in about 70 shows at 34 locations throughout the United States each year, where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in their aerial displays in 1946.

As they thrill air show crowds, lure recruits, and showcase naval aviation in the year of its 100th anniversary, the Blue Angels carry on a rich tradition. The squadron’s six demonstration pilots fly the Hornet in about 70 shows at 34 locations throughout the United States each year, where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in their aerial displays in 1946. Since their inception, the Blues have performed for approximately 427 million spectators worldwide.

This article first appeared in Air Power at Sea: A Century of U.S. Naval Aviation.