Complete List Of Planes Used By The Blue Angels Since 1946-With Beautiful Historical Pictures
Airman Magazine
Things Have Definitely Changed.
The Blue Angels have been around for over a half century. Although their tremendous discipline and flawlessness in the air have remained the same, their aircraft, of course, have not.
Starting out in 1946, this Navy display team went through 8 different demonstration aircraft. We say “demonstration” because they also had a handful of support aircraft responsible for parts and personnel transport.
Here they are from the most recent to the oldest.
8.McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornet
Dates used:
November 1986 – present
7.Douglas A-4F Skyhawk
Dates used:
December 1974 – November 1986
6.McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II
Dates used:
1969 – December 1974
5.Grumman F11F Tiger
Dates used:
mid-season 1957 – 1968
4. Grumman F9F-8 Cougar
Dates used:
Winter 1954/55 – mid-season 1957
3.Grumman F9F-2 Panther
Dates used:
1950 – Winter 1954/55
2.Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat
Dates used:
August 1946 – 1949
1.Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat
Dates used:
June–August 1946
This last one’s not a historical photo. Since Hellcats were used so long ago and for such a short amount of time, we weren’t able to find any actual pictures of the Blue flying in them. This one is a good reference of what they looked like though.
