2023 Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show will celebrate '50 Years of Women in Naval Aviation'

Naval Air Station Pensacola, home to the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show, announced Wednesday that 2023's theme will recognize the contributions of women in naval aviation since the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 was signed.

In a news release, NAS Pensacola said the theme of the 2023 Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show, which will run Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, is "50 Years of Women in Naval Aviation."

The air show "is designed to honor and recognized the significant contributions women have made to naval aviation since the enactment of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, which removed restrictions previously prohibiting women from serving in combat-related roles and ultimately opened the door for women to pursue careers as naval aviators."

The Homecoming Air Show will also feature performances by the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels; the U.S. Air Force’s F-16 Viper Demonstration Team; the U.S. Air Force’s F-35A Demonstration Team; Brian Correll Air Shows; Adam Baker Airshows; RAD Aerosports; the Stearman Flight Team; and the Third Strike WingWalkers. Additionally, the Budweiser Clydesdales are scheduled for appearances atthe airshow.

The 2023 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show is one of Pensacola's largest events, attracting more than 220,000 spectators during the two-day event.

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Lt. Amanda Lee becomes first Blue Angels demonstration jet pilot

The Blue Angels, formed in 1946, have had hundreds of women serve with the team in various capacities over the decades, but never as a demonstration jet pilot, but in July 2022 they announced Lt. Amanda Lee would be the first to pilot the F/A-18E/F jet during their show season.

Before the team made the historic announcement, the physical demands of a Blue Angels pilot were frequently brought up whenever anyone asked why a woman hadn’t been picked to serve as a flight demonstration jet pilot over the years.

In 2019, Lee flew in the first ever all-female flyover that was part of the funeral service for retired Navy Capt. Rosemary Mariner, one of the first female Navy jet pilots and the first woman to command an operational naval aviation squadron.

Previously in Pensacola, Katie Higgins Cook made history when the then U.S. Marine captain was selected to the Blue Angels team in 2015 and became the first woman to be selected to pilot the team's C-130 Fat Albert transport plane.

Some of the other women performing at the 2023 Homecoming Air Show include Capt. Aimee Fiedler – the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demonstration Team commander and pilot who leads the 8-member Viper Demonstration Team and showcases the Viper's exceptional maneuverability for millions of spectators each year – and Melissa burns, a professional aerobatic pilot and display skydiver who in 2006, at age 22, became the youngest female member of the United States Unlimited Aerobatic Team in history.

For a complete list of performers and other information about the NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow, individuals are encouraged to visit the NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow page.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Blue Angels 2023 Homecoming Air Show them celebrates female aviators