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- No
Howdy y’all! I’d like to make a suggestion for a skin for the F8F-1B in the form of the Beetle Bomb!
The F8F “Beetle Bomb” was an aggressor aircraft use by the USN Blue Angels demonstration team. It was introduced in 1949 replacing an older SNJ Texan. It was used in mock dogfights during airshows to show the capabilities of the F8F and dazzle crowds of thousands of people. Even though the Angels had just acquired this aircraft it did not see much time with them, as the rest of the team was moving on to the F9F Panther. With this transition the Beetle Bomb was moved to a solo act, flown by Robert “Bob” Longworth, flown before the main airshow would take place. Unfortunately, it would crash on takeoff during a training show in Pensacola on 24 April 1950, killing its pilot. This would be the end of aggressor aircraft for the Blue Angels.
The Beetle Bomb parked, Blue Angels F9F’s numbers 5 and 6 in the background
Blue angles F8F Beetle bomb
F8F Beetle Bomb with other Blue Angels F8Fs in the background