PAGE 10 JET OBSERVER September 7, 2006 JET OBSERVER September 7, 2006 PAGE 11

An all-Marine Corps crew of three officers andfive enlisted personnel operate the Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules, affectionately known asFat Albert Airlines. Fat Albert joined the team in1970 and flies more than 140,000 miles eachseason. It carries more than 40 maintenance andsupport personnel, their gear and enough spareparts and communication equipment to complete asuccessful air show.

Fat Albert cruises at a speed of more than 320knots (approximately 360 miles per hour) at27,000 feet. Four Allison turboprop engines, whichproduce more than 16,000 shaft-horsepower, pro-

vide Fat Albert Airlines with the power to land anddepart on runways as short as 2,500 feet.

At select show sites, Fat Albert demonstrates its jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) capability. Eight solid-fuelrocket bottles, four on each side, attached near therear paratrooper doors thrust the Hercules skyward.Fired simultaneously, the JATO bottles allow the mam-moth transport aircraft to takeoff within 1,500 feet,climb at a 45-degree angle, and propel it to an alti-tude of 1,000 feet in approximately 15 seconds.Getting Fat Albert airborne in minimal time and dis-tance simulates conditions in hostile environments oron short, unprepared runways.

Arriving in style on “Fat Albert”Role is to enhance, represent

2006 Blue Angels

t the end of World War II, Chester W. Nimitz,then the Chief of Naval Operations, ordered theformation of a flight demonstration team to keepthe public interested in naval aviation. The Blue

Angels performed their first flight demonstration less thana year later in June 1946 at their home base, NASJacksonville, Fla. Flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat, theywere led by Lt. Cmdr. Roy “Butch” Voris.

Only two months later on Aug. 25, 1946, the BlueAngels transitioned to the Grumman F8F Bearcat and oneyear later, the 1947 team, led by Lt. Cmdr. Robert Clarke,introduced the now famous “Diamond Formation.”

By the end of the 1940s the Blue Angels were flyingtheir first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther. Inresponse to the demands placed on naval aviation in theKorean Conflict, the team reported to the aircraft carrierUSS Princeton as the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191(VF-191), “Satan’s Kittens,” in 1950.

The team reorganized the next year and reported toNAS Corpus Christi, Texas, where they began flying thenewer and faster version of the Panther, the F9F-5. TheBlue Angels remained in Corpus Christi until the winter of

1954 when they relocated to their present home base atNAS Pensacola. It was here that they progressed to theswept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar.

The ensuing 20 years saw the Blue Angels transition totwo more aircraft, the Grumman F11F-1 Tiger (1957) andthe McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II (1969).

In December 1974, the Navy’s Flight DemonstrationTeam began flying the McDonnell Douglas A-4F SkyhawkII and was reorganized into the Navy FlightDemonstration Squadron. This reorganization permittedthe establishment of a commanding officer vice a flightleader (Cmdr. Tony Less was the squadron’s first officialcommanding officer), added support officers and furtherredefined the squadron’s mission, emphasizing the sup-port of recruiting efforts.

On Nov. 8, 1986, the Blue Angels completed their40th anniversary year during ceremonies unveiling theirpresent aircraft, the new sleek McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, the first dual-role fighter/attack aircraft nowserving on the nation’s front lines of defense.

In 1992, more than one million people viewed BlueAngel’s performances during a 30-day European deploy-ment to Sweden, Finland, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria,Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain. This was the firstEuropean deployment in 19 years.

The 2005 show season brought out more than 17 mil-lion spectators. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have per-formed for more than 414 million fans.

Cmdr. Steven Foley

The Blue Angels’ mission is to enhance Navyand Marine Corps recruiting efforts and to rep-resent the naval service to the United States, itselected leadership and foreign nations. TheBlue Angels serve as positive role models andgoodwill ambassadors for the U. S. Navy andMarine Corps.

A Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibitschoreographed refinements of skills possessedby all naval aviators. It includes the graceful aer-obatic maneuvers of the four-plane DiamondFormation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two solo pilots.

Finally, the team illustrates the pinnacle of pre-cision flying, performing maneuvers locked as aunit in the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

The team is stationed at Forrest ShermanField, NAS Pensacola, Fla., during the showseason. However, the squadron spendsJanuary through March training pilots andnew team members at Naval Air Facility ElCentro, Calif.

The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly nearly68 air shows at 35 locations, including NASOceana, in the United States, during the2006 season.

Lt. Anthony Walley Lt. Tom Winkler Major Matt Shortal Lt. Cmdr. Shaun SwartzLt. Kevin DavisLt. Cmdr. John AllisonLt. Cmdr. Ted Steelman

History of theBlue Angels

Official U.S. Navy photograph

CDR Roy “Butch” Voris returned to help the team reform after theKorean War in 1952. Voris was the first flight leader of the Blue Angelswhen the team organized in 1946.

Official U.S. Navy photograph

A Blue Angel pilot climbs out of a F8F Bearcat (circa late 1940’s).

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