Here is the "History" of the Thunderbirds from their website, which I
referred to above. As you can see, this starts with the first jet team.
What about earlier days?
--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


In 1947, while the jet age was still in its infancy, military aviation was
hurtled into the future with the creation of the U.S. Air Force as a
separate service. Just six years later, on May 25, 1953, the Air Force's
official air demonstration team, designated the 3600th Air Demonstration
Unit, was activated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.

The name "Thunderbirds" was soon adopted by the unit; influenced in part by
the strong Indian culture and folklore of the southwestern United States
where Luke is located. Indian legend speaks of the Thunderbird with great
fear and respect. To some it was a giant eagle . others envisioned a hawk.
When it took to the skies, the earth trembled from the thunder of its great
wings. From its eyes shot bolts of lightning. Nothing in nature could
challenge the bird of thunder, the story said, and no man could stand
against its might. The story of the Thunderbird was repeated,
voice-by-voice, across the generations, until at last, it assumed the
immortality of legend.

A more appropriate name couldn't have been selected, as it is with the same
commanding presence the Thunderbirds took to the skies.

Seven officers and 22 enlisted were selected for the first demonstration
team, most were handpicked from the cadre at Luke.

Maj. Dick Catledge, a training squadron commander at Luke, was chosen as the
team's leader. Twins Bill and Buck Patillo were selected and would fly left
and right wing, respectively. The Patillo's, both captains, were ideal
choices as both had been with the "SkyBlazers", a USAF/Europe demonstration
team, for the past 3 years. For the difficult position of slot, the position
sandwiched between both wingmen and behind the leader, Capt. Bob Kanaga was
selected, an instructor at Luke. The spare pilot would be Capt. Bob
McCormick. Like the Patillo brothers, he also had demonstration team
experience, having flown right wing with the "Sabre Dancers," a predecessor
to the Thunderbirds. 1st Lt. Aubrey Brown would serve as maintenance officer
for the team. He, with his senior enlisted man, MSgt. Earl Young, selected
21 enlisted men to help maintain the team's aircraft. Capt. Bill Brock was
the final officer selected for the team serving as the information services
officer and team narrator.

From these humble beginnings and this group of men, the Air Force
Thunderbird legend was born.

The first aircraft selected for the new demonstration team was the straight
wing F-84G Thunderjet built by Republic Aviation. Their straight wing
configuration was considered well suited for aerobatic maneuvers, and
although the aircraft could not exceed the speed of sound, like some
military aircraft, it easily met the needs of a demonstration aircraft.

The original demonstration sequence consisted of a series of formation
aerobatics lasting 15 minutes. The spare pilot took-off a few minutes in
advance of the Diamond to run a weather check, advise of any encroaching
traffic, reiterate the location of obstructions and then landed to be used
as a spare aircraft. As the season progressed, the opportunity was utilized
to perform 'solo' maneuvers with the spare aircraft while the Diamond burned
off fuel and repositioned out of sight of the crowd.

Mindful of their mission to show the Air Force's best aircraft, the Air
Force selected the swept wing F-84F Thunderstreak as their second aircraft
in 1955. The Thunderstreak was modified for the team by adding smoke tanks
for the first time, and red, white and blue drag chutes.

With the move from the F-84F to the F-100 Super Sabre in 1956, the
Thunderbirds became the world's first supersonic aerial demonstration team.
That same year, the Thunderbirds moved to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada,
simplifying logistics and maintenance for the aircraft.

Although never a routine part of the Thunderbird show in 1956, the solo
would fly supersonic at the request of the air show sponsor. Eventually, the
Federal Aviation Authority, a precursor to the Federal Aviation
Administration, banned all supersonic flight at air shows and consequently,
today's sequence is entirely subsonic.

Almost a footnote in the history of Thunderbird aviation, the Republic-built
F-105B Thunderchief performed only six shows between April 26 and May 9,
1964. Extensive modifications to the F-105 were necessary, and rather than
cancel the rest of the show season to accomplish this, the Thunderbirds
quickly transitioned back to the Super Sabre. While the switch back to the
F-100D was supposed to be temporary, the F-105 never returned to the
Thunderbird hangar. The F-100 ended up staying with the team for nearly 13
years.

The Thunderbirds started the 1969 training season still in the F-100Ds, but
in the spring of 1969 the team received the first of the new McDonnell
Douglas F-4E Phantom IIs and began the team's conversion.

The F-4's conversion was the most extensive in the team's history. Among
other modifications, paints that had worked on the F-100 made the F-4 look
patchy because of multicolored alloys used in the F-4 to resist heat and
friction at Mach II speeds. As a result, a polyurethane paint base was
developed and used to cover the problem. The white paint base remains a part
of today's Thunderbird aircraft.

Compared with its predecessors, the F-4 was immense. It was big. It was
heavy. It was powerful. With the earth-shaking roar of eight J-79 engines
from the four diamond aircraft, no demonstration aircraft accomplished the
mission of representing American airpower more impressively than the
Phantom.

1974 brought with it a fuel crisis and as a result a new aircraft for the
team, the sleek, swift and highly maneuverable Northrop T-38A Talon, the Air
Force's first supersonic trainer. Economically, the T-38 was unmatched. Five
T-38s used the same amount of fuel needed for one F-4 Phantom, and fewer
people and less equipment were required to maintain the aircraft.

Although the Talon did not fulfill the Thunderbird tradition of flying
front-line jet fighters, it did meet the criteria of demonstrating the
capabilities of a prominent Air Force aircraft.

The T-38A was used throughout the Air Force during this time period in a
variety of roles because of its design, economy of operation, ease of
maintenance, high performance and exceptional safety record. In fact, Air
Force fighter pilots still use this aircraft during undergraduate pilot
training today.

In honor of the nation's 200th birthday in 1976, the Thunderbirds were
designated as the official United States Bicentennial Organization. For the
Bicentennial year only, the aircraft numbers were moved to the fuselage and
the Bicentennial symbol replaced the numbers on the tail.

In 1983, the team returned to the tradition of flying a premier fighter
aircraft; transitioning to the General Dynamics, later Lockheed Martin's,
F-16A Fighting Falcon. To ready the F-16 involved removing the radar and
internally mounted 20mm cannon and installing a smoke-generating system.

Remaining true to its character to showcase the latest advancement in
America's fighter technology, in 1992 the team transitioned to Lockheed
Martin's advanced F-16C, the team's ninth aircraft. With the team's last
demonstration in the F-16A, the Thunderbirds were the last active duty unit
to use the A model.

The C model looks similar to its predecessor, but has upgraded avionics and
radar systems, making it superior to the A model. A true multi-role fighter,
the F-16C has an unequaled record in actual air-to-air combat.
Additionally, it is the only fighter to win both of the Air Force's premier
competitions - Gunsmoke, air-to-ground and William Tell, air superiority.

The F-16 has remained the choice of the Thunderbirds for the last 20 years,
the longest performance era of any one aircraft. It is a stellar performer
for the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force and the 24 other nations whose
boundaries it patrols and defends.