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From: carey@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (Charles Carey (SVER))
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: blue angels
Keywords: none
Message-ID: <1991Jun29.012818.29116@cbnews.cb.att.com>
Date: 29 Jun 91 01:28:18 GMT
References: <1991Jun27.013045.26591@cbnews.cb.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.cb.att.com (william.a.thacker)
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Lines: 20
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: carey@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (Charles Carey (SVER))
In article <1991Jun27.013045.26591@cbnews.cb.att.com>, stump@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Robert E Mitchell) writes...
> 
> 
>   Hi there.  Sorry to bother you all with such mundane requests, but my friend
>and I got into a "discussion" over what the Blue Angels flew before the F-18.

The Blue Angels did fly A-4s before the current F-18, then (I think) F-4s 
before that and F-11s before that. On the A-4s I have no doubt, I saw them!
The Thunderbirds did fly F-4E s in the early 70s, after F-105s but before
T-38s. They put on quite a show!
As a sidelight, when I served with the 4TFW, we had two of the former T'bird
F-4s. THey were NOT standard F-4E: no gun, no Weapons Release Computer. THey
could drop bombs visually and launch missiles. The smoke generator was removed
but the control panel was still in the cockpit. They had been repainted in
standard SEA lizard-flage when I saw them.

Charlie