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Navy’s Blue Angels streak across Boston skyline

A flock of gold-and-blue Navy jets soared over Boston on Tuesday.

Six F/A-18 Hornet jets from the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, flew over the city at about noon. The Navy said the jets took to the skies for a photo shoot.

The jets can reach speeds just under Mach 2, almost twice the speed of sound, or about 1,400 miles per hour. They can climb 30,000 feet per minute, according to the Blue Angels’ website.

A seventh jet joined the others to serve as a photo platform.

Sixteen officers voluntarily serve with the Blue Angels, whose purpose is to “showcase the pride and professionalism of the Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach,” their website said.

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The squadron, which is based in Pensacola, Fla., flew its first air show in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1946.

In 2015, the Blue Angels are scheduled to fly in 68 performances at 35 locations. The next year, Commander Ryan Bernacchi, a military fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will succeed Captain Thomas Frosch as leader of the squadron.

Images and videos of the flyover Tuesday afternoon:


Aneri Pattani can be reached at aneri.pattani@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @apattani95.