Now THAT'S The Way You Do It!
On November 22, 1953, then Naval Air Station Miramar hosted its
first large-scale military air show. Planners expected upwards of
100,000 attendees.
Public response was enthusiastic. More than 300,000 ultimately
showed up to participate in what has become one of the most
successful and lauded aerial demonstrations of its time.
Commemorating a half-century of powered flight from the Wright
brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903, many 1953
Miramar Air Show attendees remarked that the event was truly a
special occasion.
"It was the most thrilling and spectacular event we have ever
seen," said one member of the San Diego community in a news story
following the event. "The response from the people of San Diego
will help in making Miramar a permanent air base."
The 1953 air show also featured what has become a frequent and
favored attraction for military air shows across the nation and the
world: the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, who
first performed for audiences in 1946 to showcase Naval
aviation.
The Blue Angels first flew F6F Hellcats before transitioning to
F8F Bearcats in 1946, accord to the team's web site. During the
1950s, the team again made a transition, this time to jet-powered
aircraft.
In 1953, the "Blues" team flew the improved F9F-5 Panther, now a
relic of jet-powered Naval aviation.
Today, Miramar is home to an F9F-5 (below) now on display at the
Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation and Aviation Museum.
"It was one of the more dependable fighters of its time," said
Walter F. Gebel, volunteer, Flying Leatherneck Museum, Marine Corps
Air Station Miramar. "Jets were just beginning to gain popularity
during that time. It is a singular beautiful thing to see a jet
like this preserved after all of these years."
Other attractions from the historical event included a fly over
from an entire Navy carrier air group, as well as remarkable
performances from an F7U Cutlass batwing interceptor, a B-47
Stratojet, F-86 Sabrejets, an F-94 Starfire interceptor, an F-89
Scorpion all-weather fighter and Marines from MCAS El Toro, Calif.,
staging an assault from the air by helicopter.
After 1953, Miramar's next air show event was Oct. 29, 1955. It
was also a large event that proved to be highly successful. During
the 1960s and early 1970s, Miramar's air show was sparsely held due
to the Vietnam War, seeing annual aerial demonstration events in
the years 1962, 1965, 1969, 1970-71 and 1974.
Since 1974, when the Blue Angels began performing in the A-4F
Skyhawk, Miramar has hosted an annual air show almost without
interruption, with the only cancellation being in Oct. 2001
following the Sept. 11 attacks.
(ANN salutes Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke, USMC)