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)

FMI: www.blueangels.navy.mil