Blue Angels facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue AngelsU.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron |
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Blue Angels insignia
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| Active | 24 April 1946–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Role | Aerobatic flight demonstration team |
| Size | Navy: 13 officers Marine Corps: 4 officers Navy & Marine Corps: 100+ enlisted personnel |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida NAF El Centro, California (Winter Facility) |
| Nickname(s) | The Blues |
| Colors | "Blue Angel" blue "Insignia" yellow |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
CDR Adam L. Bryan |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Navy: F/A-18E Super Hornets (single seat) (Demonstrations use F/A-18Es #1 to 6; backup is a pair of F/A-18Fs #7) |
| Transport | Marine Corps: 1 C-130J Super Hercules |
The Blue Angels, officially known as the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a special team of pilots from the United States Navy. They perform amazing aerial shows! Formed in 1946, they are one of the oldest flight demonstration teams in the world. The team includes six Navy pilots and one Marine Corps pilot. They fly powerful Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet jets and a Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport plane.
The Blue Angels usually put on at least 60 air shows each year. They visit about 30 places across the United States and sometimes Canada. Millions of people watch their shows from March through November. Team members also visit schools, hospitals, and community events. They have performed for over 505 million spectators since 1946!
Contents
Their Mission
The Blue Angels' main goal is to show the pride and skill of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. They want to inspire people to be excellent and serve their country. They do this through their exciting flight demonstrations and by connecting with communities.
Amazing Air Shows
The Blue Angels perform at different kinds of airfields, including military bases and major cities. Their shows often include locations in Canada too.
During their shows, the six-jet team flies F/A-18 Hornets. Four jets fly in a tight Diamond formation (Blue Angels 1 through 4). The other two are the Lead and Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). The show switches between maneuvers by the Diamond formation and the Solos.
The Diamond formation flies very close together, often at speeds around 400 miles per hour (640 km/h). They perform loops, rolls, and change formations. The Solos show off how fast and agile their jets are. They do high-speed passes, slow passes, and tight turns. The fastest speed in a show is about 700 miles per hour (1,126 km/h), which is almost the speed of sound! The slowest speed is about 126 miles per hour (203 km/h). Sometimes, both Solos perform together, like flying towards each other or flying upside down next to each other. Near the end of the show, the Solos join the Diamond for more maneuvers in a large delta formation.
The team adjusts their show based on the weather. In clear weather, they do a "high" show. If there are clouds, they do a "low" show. If visibility is limited, they perform a "flat" show. Each show needs a certain amount of clear space above and around them to be safe.
Their Aircraft
The Blue Angels flew the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet for 34 years, from 1986 to 2020. Now, they fly the newer and more powerful Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet.
These Super Hornets are specially changed for the Blue Angels. They remove the weapons and add a tank for smoke oil, which creates the cool smoke trails you see during shows. The control stick is also made stiffer for more precise flying. Even with these changes, each jet can be quickly turned back into a combat aircraft if needed. The team started using these new Super Hornets in 2021, for their 75th anniversary.
The team's narrator flies Blue Angels No. 7, which is a two-seat F/A-18F Hornet. This jet is used as a backup and to give special rides to important visitors.
The United States Marine Corps also provides a large transport plane called "Fat Albert." This Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules carries spare parts, equipment, and support staff to air show locations.
Team Members
Since the Blue Angels started, many pilots have been part of the demonstration team.
All Blue Angels team members, both officers and enlisted personnel, come from regular Navy and United States Marine Corps units. The pilots are experienced Navy and Marine Corps Naval Aviators. Pilots usually serve for two or three years. Other officers on the team include an events coordinator, C-130 pilots, and officers for maintenance, supplies, and public relations. Enlisted members handle all the maintenance and support tasks. They serve for three to four years. After their time with the Blue Angels, members return to their regular Navy or Marine Corps jobs.
To become a Blue Angel pilot, you need a lot of flight experience. F/A-18 pilots need at least 1,250 hours flying tactical jets and must be qualified to land on aircraft carriers. C-130 pilots need 1,200 flight hours. Applicants visit the team at air shows to see how they work and make sure they fit in. The team members vote secretly on new officers, and the choice must be unanimous!
The Flight Leader (No. 1) is the team's commanding officer. This person always holds the rank of commander.
- Current Flight Leader/Commanding Officer
Captain Alexander P. Armatas is from Skaneateles, New York. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2002. He joined the Blue Angels in August 2022. He has flown over 4,100 hours and made 911 carrier landings.
- Flight Team
Pilots for numbers 2–7 are usually Navy lieutenant commanders or lieutenants, or Marine Corps majors or captains. The No. 7 pilot often narrates for a year, then flies as Opposing Solo, and then Lead Solo in the following years. The No. 4 pilot is the safety officer because of their view from the formation.
Since 2008, several female officers have joined the team. LCDR Amanda Lee became the first woman to be named as an F/A-18 demonstration pilot in 2022. MAJ Katie Higgins Cook USMC was the first female C-130 pilot. The team has also had minority flight officers, including CAPT Donnie Cochran, the first African American to command the Blue Angels.
Training and Routine
The Blue Angels do their winter training in NAF El Centro, California. New and returning pilots practice their skills there. They fly two practice sessions a day, six days a week, to complete 120 training missions. This helps them perform safely. They gradually reduce the distance between their jets and their maneuver altitude over two months. In March, they return to their home base in Pensacola, Florida, and keep practicing during the show season.
During a typical week, they practice in Pensacola on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. On Thursday, they fly to the air show location for the weekend. They do a "practice" air show on Friday, which is often open to the public. The main air shows are on Saturdays and Sundays. The team flies back to Pensacola on Sunday evenings. Monday is a day off for the pilots and road crew, while the maintenance team works on the jets.
Blue Angel pilots do not wear special G-suits. Instead, they tense their muscles to prevent blood from rushing away from their brains during high-G maneuvers. This helps them stay conscious.
History Highlights
The Blue Angels started in April 1946 as the Navy Flight Exhibition Team. They changed their name after seeing an ad for a New York nightclub called "The Blue Angel." The name "Blue Angels" was first used during an air show in July 1946.
Their first jets were dark blue with gold letters. The famous blue and yellow colors we see today were adopted in August 1946. The original Blue Angels insignia was designed in 1949. The aircraft shown on the insignia changes as the team gets new planes.
The Blue Angels started flying jet aircraft in August 1949. They began wearing special leather jackets and colored flight suits with the Blue Angels insignia in 1952.
On December 10, 1973, the team was officially named the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron.
Early Years (1946–1949)
The Blue Angels were created on April 24, 1946, by Admiral Chester Nimitz. The goal was to show public support for naval aviation. Rear Admiral Ralph Davison chose Lieutenant Commander Roy Marlin Voris, a World War II pilot, to lead the team. Voris picked three other experienced pilots. They practiced their maneuvers in secret over the Florida Everglades.
Their first show with Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat aircraft was on May 10, 1946. The first public air show was on June 15, 1946, in Jacksonville, Florida. The team used a North American T-6 Texan plane, painted to look like a Japanese Zero, for mock aerial combat. This plane was called the "Beetle Bomb."
The team impressed crowds with their close formations and low-flying maneuvers. On July 19–21, 1946, at an air show in Omaha, Nebraska, the team was introduced as the Blue Angels. After ten shows, the Hellcats were replaced by faster F8F-1 Bearcats on August 25.
In May 1947, Lt. Cmdr. Bob Clarke became the new leader. The team moved to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. On June 7, in Birmingham, Alabama, four Bearcats flew in the famous diamond formation for the first time.
In 1949, the team got a Douglas C-47 Skytrain for logistics. They also started flying the jet-powered Grumman F9F-2B Panther and added a sixth pilot.
The Jet Age (1950s)
The Blue Angels continued to perform in 1950. However, when the Korean War started on June 25, all Blue Angels pilots volunteered for combat. The team was temporarily disbanded, and its members were sent to fight.
On October 25, 1951, the Blue Angels were ordered to restart. Lt. Cdr. Voris returned to assemble the team again. In May 1952, they began performing with F9F-5 Panthers. In 1953, they started using the F9F-6 Cougar.
In 1954, the first Marine Corps pilot joined the team. The Blue Angels also moved to their current home at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. They began using the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar. They also started winter training at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California.
In September 1956, a sixth jet was added to the show for the Opposing Solo position. They also performed outside the United States for the first time in Toronto, Canada.
In 1957, the Blue Angels upgraded to the supersonic Grumman F11F-1 Tiger. In 1958, they added the Six-Plane Delta Maneuvers to their show.
Expanding Horizons (1960s)
In July 1964, the Blue Angels performed in Mexico City, Mexico, for an estimated 1.5 million people.
In 1965, they toured the Caribbean and then Europe, including the Paris Air Show. They were the only team to receive a standing ovation there! They toured Europe again in 1967.
In 1969, the team switched to the two-seat McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. This was the only plane flown by both the Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds.
New Aircraft and Focus (1970s)
In 1970, the Blues received their first Lockheed KC-130F Hercules, known as "Fat Albert," flown by an all-Marine crew. That year, they went on their first South American tour.
In 1971, they had their first Far East Tour, performing in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Guam, and the Philippines.
In 1974, the Blue Angels switched to the Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II. Their mission was also updated to focus more on Navy recruiting.
Starting in 1975, "Fat Albert" sometimes performed special short aerial demonstrations before the main show. This included a Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO), where rockets helped it take off quickly. This special JATO demonstration ended in 2009.
Modern Era (1980s–Present)
In 1986, LCDR Donnie Cochran became the first African-American Naval Aviator to join the Blue Angels. He later commanded the team in 1995 and 1996.
On November 8, 1986, the Blue Angels celebrated their 40th anniversary by introducing their new aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. This jet allowed them to perform new maneuvers, like a slow, high "tail sitting" and a "dirty" (landing gear down) formation loop.
In 1992, the Blue Angels went on a month-long European tour. They were the first foreign flight demonstration team to perform in Russia!
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In July 2014, Marine Corps C-130 pilot Capt. Katie Higgins Cook, became the first female pilot to fly "Fat Albert" for the Blue Angels.
"Fat Albert" (BUNO 164763) was retired in May 2019 after 30,000 flight hours. The Blue Angels replaced it with a newer Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules (BUNO 170000).
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the Blue Angels flew over many US cities. These flights were a special tribute to healthcare and other essential workers.
The Blues officially switched to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets on November 4, 2020.
In July 2022, Lt. Amanda Lee was announced as the first woman to serve as a demonstration pilot in the Blue Angels.
Aircraft Timeline
The Blue Angels have flown ten different types of demonstration aircraft and six types of support aircraft.
- Demonstration aircraft
- Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat: June – August 1946
- Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat: August 1946 – 1949
- Grumman F9F-2 Panther: 1949 – June 1950 (first jet); F9F-5 Panther: 1951 – Winter 1954/55
- Grumman F9F-8 Cougar: Winter 1954/55 – mid-season 1957 (swept-wing)
- Grumman F11F-1 (F-11) Tiger: mid-season 1957 – 1968 (first supersonic jet)
- McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II: 1969 – December 1974
- Douglas A-4F Skyhawk: December 1974 – November 1986
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet (F/A-18B as #7): November 1986 – 2010
- Boeing F/A-18A/C (B/D as #7) Hornet: 2010-2020
- Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet (F/A-18F as #7): 2020–present
- Support aircraft
- JRB Expeditor (Beech 18): 1949–?
- Douglas R4D-6 Skytrain: 1949–1955
- Curtiss R5C Commando: 1953
- Douglas R5D Skymaster: 1956–1968
- Lockheed C-121 Super Constellation: 1969–1973
- Lockheed C-130 Hercules "Fat Albert": 1970–2019 (JATO usage stopped in 2009)
- Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules "Fat Albert": 2020–present
- Miscellaneous aircraft
- North American SNJ Texan "Beetle Bomb" (used to simulate a Japanese A6M Zero aircraft in demonstrations during the late 1940s)
- Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (Used during the 1950s as a VIP transport aircraft for the team)
- Vought F7U Cutlass (two were used for side demonstrations in 1953 but were not part of the main team).
Commanding Officers
Here are some of the leaders who have commanded the Blue Angels:
- Roy Marlin Voris – 1946, 1952
- Arthur Ray Hawkins – 1952 to 1953
- Richard Cormier – 1954 to 1956
- Edward B. Holley – 1957 to 1958
- Zebulon V. Knott – 1959 to 1961
- Kenneth R. Wallace – 1962 to 1963
- Robert F. Aumack – 1964 to 1966
- William V. Wheat – 1967 to 1969
- Harley H. Hall – 1970 to 1971
- Don Bently – 1972
- Marvin F. "Skip" Umstead – 1973
- Anthony A. Less – Oct 1973 to Jan 1976
- Keith S. Jones – 1976 to 1978
- William E. Newman – 1978 to 1979
- Hugh D. Wisely – Dec 1979 to 1982
- David Carroll – 1982 to 1983
- Larry Pearson – 1983 to 1985
- Gilman E. Rud – Nov 1985 to Nov 1988
- Gregory Wooldridge – 1990 to 1992, 1996
- Robert E. Stumpf – 1993 to 1994
- Donnie Cochran – Nov 1994 to May 1996
- George B. Dom – Nov 1996 to Oct 1998
- Patrick Driscoll – Oct 1998 to 2000
- Robert Field – 2000 to Sept 2002
- Russell J. Bartlett – Sept 2002 to Sept 2004
- Stephen R. Foley – Sept 2004 to Nov 2006
- Kevin Mannix – Nov 2006 to 2008
- Gregory McWherter 2008 to 2010, 2011
- David Koss – Fall 2010 to spring of 2011
- Gregory McWherter – 2011 to 2012
- Thomas Frosch – 2012 to 2015
- Ryan Bernacchi – 2015 to 2017
- Eric D. Doyle – 2017 to 2019
- Brian C. Kesselring – 2019 to 2022
- Alexander P. Armatas – 2022 to present
Notable Members
Here are some other important members of the Blue Angels squadron:
- Capt Roy "Butch" Voris, World War II pilot and the first Flight Leader.
- Charles "Chuck" Brady Jr., an astronaut and doctor.
- Donnie Cochran, the first African-American Blue Angels pilot and commander.
- Edward L. Feightner, a World War II pilot and Lead Solo.
- Arthur Ray Hawkins, a World War II pilot.
- Bob Hoover, a World War II pilot and flight instructor, an honorary Blue Angel member.
- Anthony A. Less, the first Commanding Officer of the Blue Angels squadron.
- Robert L. Rasmussen, an aviation artist.
- Raleigh Rhodes, a World War II and Korean War pilot and third Flight Leader.
- Patrick M. Walsh, a pilot who later became a high-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy.
- Katie Higgins Cook, the first female Blue Angels pilot (flying Fat Albert).
- Amanda Lee, the first female Blue Angels demonstration pilot (flying the F/A-18).
In the Media
- The Blue Angels was a TV show from 1960–1961 inspired by the team.
- Threshold: The Blue Angels Experience is a 1975 documentary film about the team.
- To Fly!, a short IMAX film at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, shows footage from a camera on a Blue Angels jet.
- In 1986, the Blue Angels were featured in the music video for "Dreams" by the band Van Halen.
- In 1996, the Blue Angels appeared in the IMAX film The Magic of Flight.
- In 2005, the Discovery Channel aired a documentary series called Blue Angels: A Year in the Life.
- In 2009, MythBusters worked with the Blue Angels to test if a sonic boom could shatter glass.
- In 2024, the Blue Angels appeared in the IMAX film The Blue Angels, showing their 2022 training and show seasons.
See also
In Spanish: Blue Angels para niños
- List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
- United States Air Force Thunderbirds
- United States Marine Corps Aviation
