The F9F Panther entered service in 1949. It was the first Grumman jet fighter, first Carrier-Borne Navy jet fighter in combat, first USN jet to shoot down an enemy airplane, first jet aircraft used by the Blue Angels. A total of 1,382 F9Fs were made. VF-781 was the first squadron to volunteer for combat in Korea and were 100% volunteers earning them the name “Pacemakers”. Ironically Russia was also making this engine under license for their Mig-15 that would be one of the F9F’s main Korean adversaries. The F9F flew 78,000 sorties with VF-781 flying 2,721 of them without a single loss of life. The US Marines flew the Panther until 1957 with some Reserve Units continuing to fly them a few years longer. Some aircraft were used for advanced pilot training and some became drones.

In 1825 the US Government realized the importance of Pensacola’s location and the vast timber supply available in the region. The President ordered a Navy yard be built on the spot where NAS Pensacola is located today. Over the years the base was destroyed and rebuilt only to be destroyed again or abandoned. These things came about during the American Civil War, a hurricane and tidal wave and an outbreak of yellow fever. In 1911 with the first successful landing of an airplane on a ship and the later development of a mechanism to catapult launch an airplane the US Navy realized the potential of the airplane and in 1914 ordered the creation of the first Naval Air Station at Pensacola. Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, known as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation" has been responsible for training thousands of aviators for WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

It was through these training units located at Pensacola and elsewhere that pilots learned more about aircraft and the weapons available to them. The Gulf of Mexico provided a large area for weapons testing. Most of the aircraft used here were outdated as far as front line service was concerned but still provided valuable training.