Blue Angel

HMS Blue Angel - 16-gun naval cutter, Lancer-class
Captain: Lewis McLain

Commandeered: Oct. 9th, 1720.

Refit and recomissioned: Dec. 15th, 1720

Stationed: Port Royal.

Acting Leftenant McLain commandeered the patrol cutter Blue Angel shortly after he arrived in Jenny Bay with what was left of the corvette HMS Typhon. The little cutter stood up in rigorous patrols and briefly in some major actions in the Windward Passage before McLain put her in drydock in Port Royal. Partly out of sentimental fondness for his first command, and perhaps more out of a need for a light, quick and handy sloop-o'-war for anti-piracy patrols, McLain ordered the Blue Angel stripped down, rebuilt to naval standards, outfitted to careful specifications and recommissioned. This will keep the Blue Angel in service and hopefully seeing action for some time to come.

Major Actions
Action - 1720 - October 10 - off of Matthew Town - McLain's first major action saw the Blue Angel in a supporting role in a short series of fights.

Picture Gallery
The Blue Angel hunting for pirates.

Modern Namesake
All of Captain McLain's commands are named in part after modern combat aircraft.

The Blue Angels are the US Navy's flight demonstration squadron. Formed in 1946, they have flown many different aircraft over the last six decades including the F6F Hellcat, F9F Panther, F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk, and most recently the F/A-18 Hornet. With their dazzling displays of high-speed maneuvers, the Blue Angels have inspired many a young boy to become an aviator, or an aviation buff.