|
As stated by LCDR. Scotty Ross, Maintenance Officer of the Blue Angels from
1963-1965, "In my opinion, Navy 7 was the most important aircraft the
Navy owned." This was for two reasons: 1) The team got eighty-five
percent of its publicity from work by Navy 7, and 2) Navy 7 served as "parts
runner" to maintain the six show planes since in the Tiger era, as with previous
years, there were no spare airplanes.
The Blue Angels had two F9F-8's. The first one (BuNo 147404) crashed
in Colorado Springs on April 10, 1960, killing the pilot and plane captain.
The second one (BuNo 142470) is now on the USS Lexington Museum Ship in
Corpus Christi, Texas.
 |
|
That is me
on top of the wing, and John Melita, the aircraft restorer on the USS
Lexington, that I am shaking hands with on one photo.
|
John Melita , the aircraft restorer, did a great job with the "Coug."
The basic differences: a refueling probe is missing and the ejection seat as changed from a Grumman to a
Martin-Baker Seat.
The third difference
became a trivia question on the Blue Angel Alumni Site (www.blueangels.org)
as it would probably only be spotted by a Blue or someone who knows them Team
well. The Blue Angel crest changes each time the Team changes show
aircraft, reflecting the type of plane currently being used. John had put a
"Cougar"
crest on the Cougar, but since it served with the Tiger show aircraft,
should have sported a "Tiger Crest." instead.
The refueling probe was taken off when the Coug was assigned to the
Training Command. To a modeler, this aircraft is an interesting subject by the
fact that there were so many different paint schemes used during the season -- from putting a "0" on the tail when it first got to the Blues to
a "7" when it left the Blues.
Also, the BA Crest, the "U.S. Navy" and
the "Blue Angels" script changed positions on the aircraft depending on what year it was in
service. This aircraft actually had three drop tanks. Two were
for fuel, and one was made for carrying cargo, such as spare parts for the F-11's.
It also was used to pick up personnel as the need arose. Grumman
Aircraft overhauled and painted the F-11's, so whenever one was ready, the "Coug"
would fly the pilot to pick up his airplane at Bethpage, NY (Grumman).
As far as I know, it never flew in any airshow, but Lt. Bob Cowles had me put red and blue dye in the wing tanks so we could fly over his hometown and
"show off."
 |
| Len
Mozey and a model of Blue Angels Navy 7 which is located at Trader Jon's
(a famous naval aviation watering hole in Pensacola, FL). |
For further
reference, there are more photos, and an entire article written by LCDR. Scotty Ross about the Cougar on the Blue Angels Alumni Association
Website.
Len Mozey, BAAA Webmaster
PS. If anyone
does a model of this (or maybe any) aircraft in Blue Angel colors, Len Mozey
would love for them to send/e-mail a photograph to the
Blue
Angels Alumni Association.
|
|
