Editing Blue Angels (section)

===1946–1949===
[[File:Voris and 1st Blue Angel team 1946.jpg|thumb|left|The first Navy "Blue Angels" Flight Demonstration Squadron (1946–1947), assembled in front of one of their [[Grumman F6F Hellcat]]s (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]]

The Blue Angels were established as a Navy flight exhibition team on 24 April 1946 by order of Chief of Naval Operations [[Admiral Chester Nimitz]] to generate greater public support of naval aviation. To boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget. Rear Admiral [[Ralph E. Davison|Ralph Davison]] personally selected [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[Roy Marlin Voris|Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris]], a World War II [[fighter ace]], to assemble and train a flight demonstration team, naming him Officer-in-Charge and Flight Leader. Voris selected three fellow instructors to join him (Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll, Lt. Mel Cassidy, and Lt. Cmdr. Lloyd Barnard, veterans of the War in the Pacific), and they 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 first four pilots and those after them were some of the best and most experienced aviators in the Navy.<ref name="aug55">{{cite web |title=Blue Angels Article, August 1955 |url=http://www.blueangels.org/NANews/Articles/Aug55/Aug55.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525110523/http://www.blueangels.org/NANews/Articles/Aug55/Aug55.htm |archive-date=25 May 2024 |access-date=4 March 2019 |publisher=Naval Aviation News}}</ref>

[[File:F6F-5 Blue Angels NAN10 46.jpg|thumb|right|Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats in 1946]]
The team's first demonstration with [[Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat]] aircraft took place before Navy officials on 10 May 1946 and was met with enthusiastic approval. The United States Navy's Blue Angels performed their first air show at what is now JaxEx (formerly Craig Municipal Airport, one of 6 airports in the Jacksonville, FL area developed for military training), on June 15, 1946.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.flyjacksonville.com/content.aspx?id=1002 | title=Jacksonville International Airport}}</ref> The exhibition team flew three Gruman F6F Hellcat Fighter planes (a fourth F6F-5 was held in reserve). On 15 June, Voris led the three Hellcats (numbered 1–3), specially modified to reduce weight and painted sea blue with gold leaf trim, through their inaugural 15-minute-long performance.<ref name="OFFICIAL" /> The team employed a [[North American T-6 Texan|North American SNJ Texan]], painted and configured to simulate a [[Japanese Zero]], to simulate aerial combat. This aircraft was later painted yellow and dubbed the "Beetle Bomb". This aircraft is said to have been inspired by one of the [[Spike Jones#Murdering the Classics|Spike Jones]]' ''Murdering the Classics'' series of musical satires, set to the tune (in part) of the [[William Tell Overture|''William Tell'' Overture]] as a thoroughbred horse race scene, with "Beetle Bomb" being the "trailing horse" in the lyrics.

The 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 at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola|NAS Pensacola]]. During an air show at [[Omaha, Nebraska]] on 19–21 July 1946, the Navy Flight Exhibition Team was introduced as the ''Blue Angels''.<ref name="Blue Angels History">{{cite web |url=https://aerobaticteams.net/en/resources/i39/Blue-Angels-History.html |title=Blue Angels History |publisher=Aerobatic Teams |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref> The name had originated through a suggestion by Right Wing Pilot Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll, after he had read about the Blue Angel nightclub in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine. After ten appearances with the Hellcats, the Hellcats were replaced by the lighter, faster, and more powerful F8F-1 Bearcats on 25 August.<ref name="Blue Angels History"/> By the end of the year the team consisted of four Bearcats numbered 1–4 on the tail sections.

In May 1947, flight leader Lt. Cmdr. Bob Clarke replaced Butch Voris as the leader of the team. The team with an additional fifth pilot, relocated to [[Naval Air Station Corpus Christi|Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi]], Texas. On 7 June at [[Birmingham, Alabama]], four F8F-1 Bearcats (numbered 1–4) flew in [[diamond formation]] for the first time which is now considered the Blue Angels' trademark. A fifth Bearcat was also added that year. A SNJ was used as a Japanese Zero for dogfights with the Bearcats in air shows.

[[File:F8F-1 Blue Angels 1946.jpg|thumb|left|[[Grumman F8F Bearcat]]s in "diamond" formation, 1947]]
In January 1948, Lt. Cmdr. Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes took command of the Blue Angels team which was flying four Bearcats and a yellow painted SNJ with USN markings dubbed "Beetle Bomb"; the SNJ represented a Japanese Zero for the air show dogfights with the Bearcats. The name "Blue Angels" also was painted on the Bearcats.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://photorecon.net/seventy-years-strong-the-u-s-navys-blue-angels/ |title=Seventy Years Strong: The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels |first=Ken |date=24 March 2019 |last=Kula |journal=PhotoRecon |access-date=24 March 2016}}</ref>

In 1949, the team acquired a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Douglas R4D Skytrain]] for logistics to and from show sites. The team's SNJ was also replaced by another Bearcat, painted yellow for the air combat routine, inheriting the "Beetle Bomb" nickname. In May, the team went to the west coast on temporary duty so the pilots and the rest of the team could become familiar with jet aircraft.<ref name=aug55/> On 13 July, the team acquired, and began flying the straight-wing [[Grumman F9F Panther|Grumman F9F-2B Panther]] between demonstration shows.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pensacolathenandnow.com/military-in-pensacola-2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325211249/http://www.pensacolathenandnow.com/military-in-pensacola-2.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=25 March 2016 |title=Blue Angels |website=Military in Pensacola |access-date=5 March 2019}}</ref> On 20 August, the team debuted the panther jets under Team Leader Lt. Commander Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes<ref name="Blue Angels History"/> during an air show at [[Beaumont, Texas]] and added a sixth pilot.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/team-leader-lieutenant-commander-raleigh-dusty-rhodes-news-photo/50646271 |title=Raleigh Dusty Rhodes |website=Getty Images |access-date=18 March 2019 |archive-date=5 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805132228/https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/team-leader-lieutenant-commander-raleigh-dusty-rhodes-news-photo/50646271 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blueangelsassociation.org/flight-teams/ |title=Flight Teams, 1949 |website=Blue Angels Association |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-date=23 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323145156/http://blueangelsassociation.org/flight-teams/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The F8F-1 "Beetle Bomb" was relegated to solo aerobatics before the main show, until it crashed on takeoff at a training show in Pensacola on 24 April 1950, killing "Blues" pilot Lt. Robert Longworth. Team headquarters shifted from [[NAS Corpus Christi]], Texas, to [[Naval Air Station Whiting Field|NAAS Whiting Field]], Florida, on 10 September 1949, announced 14 July 1949.<ref>"''{{'}}Blue Angels{{'}} To Pensacola – Navy Flight Exhibition Team Is Transferred''". ''Playground News''. 14 July 1949. Volume 4, Number 24, page 2.</ref>