Jets for Europe

The Skyblazers were formed in 1949 by pilots of the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Wing, at Fürstenfeldbruck near Munich: Harry Evans, the identical twins Bill and Buck Pattillo, and soon afterwards Lawrence Damewood. United States Air Forces in Europe sanctioned the team in May 1949 to show European pilots and officials what jets could do, and it flew its first public display at Gütersloh in October 1949 in Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars.

Five fighter types

The team moved to the Republic F-84 Thunderjet in 1950 and by 1952 had flown some 260 demonstrations in 12 countries before an estimated ten million spectators. In May 1952 the founding member Capt John P. O’Brien was killed at RAF Manston, and all team events were suspended for a time. In 1953 the Pattillo twins left to help found the Thunderbirds. The team passed to the 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Chaumont in France, flying F-84Gs and then F-86F Sabres in red, white and blue.

Superfluous by 1962

In 1956 the Skyblazers returned to the 36th Wing, now at Bitburg, and converted to the F-100C Super Sabre, flying as a four-ship that toured Europe and North Africa and shared displays with Iran’s Golden Crown, a team its example had inspired. The Skyblazers were disbanded in January 1962, when USAF judged them superfluous because the air-refuelled Thunderbirds could now tour overseas.