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Roy Marlin Voris | |
|---|---|
 Blue Angels Flight Leader "Butch" Voris poses in the cockpit of an F9F-5 Panther fighter jet in 1952. | |
| Nickname(s) | "Butch" |
| Born | September 19, 1919 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | August 10, 2005 (aged 85) Monterey, California |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–1963 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | USS Enterprise (CV-6) USS Hornet (CV-8) USS Ranger (CVA-61) |
| Commands | Blue Angels (1946–47, 1951) |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross (3) Purple Heart Air Medal (11) |
| Other work | NASA consultant |
Captain Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris (September 19, 1919 – August 10, 2005) was an aviator in the United States Navy, a World War II flying ace, and the founder of the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels. During his 22-year naval career Voris flew everything from biplanes to jets, and afterward was instrumental in the development of the Navy's F-14 Tomcat strike fighter and NASA's Apollo Lunar Module (LM), both produced by the Grumman Aerospace Corporation.
Often called a "fighter pilot's fighter pilot" and ranked with other better-known American military aviation greats such as Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and Chuck Yeager, Voris was a big man with close-cropped hair, known for his even-temperedness and coolness in the cockpit. Owing to his superb piloting skills, he survived numerous accidents and emergency situations. Voris was nearly killed by a Japanese Zero that attacked his aircraft during the defense of Guadalcanal in what he later described as his first "real" dog fight (which earned him a Purple Heart).