In 1978 he attended the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, commonly known as " TOPGUN", the Navy Fighter Weapons School.
Snodgrass' callsign in the Navy was "Snort". He was the first student selected to begin flying the F-14 Tomcat right out of flight school. Snodgrass graduated first in his flight school in 1974. Snodgrass graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1972. Īfter high school, Snodgrass attended the University of Minnesota on a Navy ROTC scholarship and was also an All-American swimmer. Snodgrass grew up in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York with his three sisters. His father had been a World War II Marine aviator flying F4U Corsairs in the Pacific and later became a Grumman engineering test pilot. Snodgrass was born in Long Island, New York, to Reuben and Virginia Snodgrass.
He was called "The Real Top Gun" or the real "Maverick" in reference to Tom Cruise's character in the movie, Top Gun. Snodgrass was the "highest time Tomcat pilot," after having accumulated more than 4,800 hours in the F-14 and more than 1200 arrested carrier landings, both more than any other pilot. Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3)ĭale Snodgrass (– July 24, 2021) was a United States Navy aviator and air show performer who according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review was considered one of the greatest fighter pilots of all time.
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