At the end of the Second World War, Chester W. Nimitz, Chief of Naval Operations ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team. The Blue Angels performed their first display in June 1946 flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
By the end of the 1940s they were flying their first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther. After the Korean War the team reformed at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, remaining there until 1954 when they relocated to their present home at NAS Pensacola, Florida, progressing to the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar. The ensuing 20 years saw the Blue Angels transition to two more aircraft, the Grumman F11F-1 Tiger (1957) and the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II (1969). In December 1974, the Team began flying the McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk and was re-designated as the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron.
This limited edition model from Corgi is part of the highly collectable Aviation Archive range of die-cast model aircraft. Scales include 1:48, 1:72 and 1:144 and features aeroplanes from World War I, World War II and the modern era. Most models in the Aviation Archive range are limited editions.
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