|
Naval
aviation played a significant role in achieving victory
in World War II. As a means of letting the American
public know about the skills and prowess of these
fliers, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, then the Chief of
Naval Operations, ordered the formation of a flight
demonstration team in 1945. Led by Lieutenant Commander
Roy “Butch” Voris, this squadron flew Grumman F6F
Hellcats for their first flight exhibition the next
year. The squadron’s schedule quickly began to fill and,
as they prepared for an air show in New York, one of the
pilots chanced across the name of a nightclub there—the
Blue Angel. The other aviators thought it would be a
good name for the squadron and the title stuck.
|
In the
coming decades, the Blue Angels would obtain some of the
best pilots, ground crew, and support staff that the
Navy and Marine Corps would have to offer. Transitioning
through seven more types of aircraft, the squadron would
thrill audiences around the world with their precision
flight maneuvers, including the now famous “Diamond
Formation”, first used in 1947. As high-profile
ambassadors of the Navy-Marine Corps team, the squadron
drew more than 17 million spectators to its shows in
2005. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for
more than 414 million fans.
|
