By the end of the 1940's the Blue Angels were flying their first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther. In response to the demands placed on naval aviation in the Korean Conflict, the team reported to the aircraft carrier USS Princeton as the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191), Satan's Kittens, in 1950. The team reorganized the next year and reported to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, where they began flying the newer and faster version of the Panther, the F9F-5. The Blue Angels remained in Corpus Christi until the winter of 1954 when they relocated to their present home base at NAS Pensacola, Florida. It was here that they progressed to the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar.
Why don't the Blue Angels fly the Grumman F-14 Tomcat? The F-14 is too large, is less fuel efficient, and more expensive than the F/A-18. It would be difficult to fly in the close formations particular to Blue Angel maneuvers. The F-14s are being retired and replaced by F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets.