Blue Angels - Origin of Squadron Name, Insignia and Paint Scheme

Origin of Squadron Name, Insignia and Paint Scheme

When initially formed, the unit was called the Navy Flight Exhibition Team. The squadron was officially redesignated as the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron in December 1974. The original team was christened the Blue Angels in 1946, when one of the pilots came across the name of New York City's Blue Angel Nightclub in The New Yorker magazine; the team introduced themselves as the "Blue Angels" to the public for the first time on 21 July 1946, in Omaha, Nebraska.

The official Blue Angels insignia was designed by then team leader Lt. Cmdr. R.E. "Dusty" Rhodes and approved by Chief of Naval Operations in 1949. It is nearly identical to the current design. In the cloud in the upper right quadrant, the aircraft were originally shown heading down and to the right. Over the years, the plane silhouettes have changed along with the squadron's aircraft. Additionally, the lower left quadrant, which contains the Chief of Naval Air Training insignia, has occasionally contained only Naval Aviator wings.

Originally, demonstration aircraft were navy blue (nearly black) with gold lettering. The current shades of blue and yellow were adopted when the team transitioned to the Bearcat in 1946. For a single year in 1949, the team performed in an all-yellow scheme with blue markings.