THE BLUE ANGELS
The Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team was formed at NAS Jacksonville on April 24, 1946. The members of the initial team are, from left to right, Lt. Al Taddeo (solo pilot), Lt. (jg.) Gales Stouse (flying Beetle Bomb and spare pilot), Lt. Cmdr. Roy M. “Butch” Voris (flight leader), Lt. “Wick” Wickendoll (right wing), and Lt. Mel Casidy (left wing).
The first aircraft assigned to the Blue Angels were these F6F Hellcats. Note there are no dots after the U and the S in front of the name Navy on the sides of the aircraft. The letters were made of gold leaf, a very expensive process at a time when the military was winding down after World War II. The aircraft are seen here at Craig Field in Jacksonville just prior to their first public demonstration on June 15, 1946. (Photograph by Mernard Norton.)
The second aircraft assigned to the Blue Angels were Grumman F8F Bearcats. This photograph was taken at Craig Field in Jacksonville during the 1947 air show. The Bearcats were much more maneuverable than the Hellcats and were well liked by the early Blue Angel pilots. Both Butch Voris and Al Taddeo of the original Blue Angels team have come back to visit the station for recent air shows. (Photograph by Mernard Norton.)
An SNJ was initially assigned to the Blue Angels to simulate a Japanese fighter. On August 26, 1946, it was replaced by this F8F Bearcat, named Beetle Bomb. Its job was to initially attack the Blue Angels aircraft, which would split into two formations to engage. Beetle Bomb would simulate being hit, with smoke and a dummy thrown out of the back of the plane to simulate a “kill.” This part of the demonstration ended in 1949 and Beetle Bomb faded into history when it crashed while taking off at a show in Pensacola in 1950.
The Blue Angels team walks away from its aircraft after a practice at NAS Jacksonville on June 17, 1947. The men are, from left to right, Lt. Robert Thilen, Lt. Charles Knight, Lt. Robert Clark, Lt. Cmdr. R.E. “Dusty” Rhodes (flight leader), and Lt. (jg.) W.C. May. The Blue Angels were based at NAS Jacksonville until November 8, 1948, when they were relocated to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Blue Angels fly by the station in their F9F-5 Panthers during an air show on January 9, 1954. The Panther jet was first flown by the team in 1949 and continued to fly off and on through the 1954 season. An updated Cougar jet was used starting in 1955.
Miss Jacksonville contestants greet the Blue Angels pilots before their performance at NAS Jacksonville’s 23rd Open House Anniversary on October 11, 1963. The Blue Angels were flying the F11-F-1 Tiger jets when this photograph was taken.
