The US Navy remained without an aerobatic display team until 1927 when, with the help of US Marine officer Lt. D. W. Tomlinson, the first official US Naval aerobatic team was created from VB-2B Squadron at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego.
This team performed its first demonstration in January 1928, flying three Boeing F2B-1 and F2B-2 fighters in San Francisco. Because of their seemingly risky performance, the public called them the "Suicide Trio". They soon received an official name of the "Three Sea Hawks". Under this name, their first public performances were from 8-16 September 1928, during the National Air Races week at Mines Field (now Los Angeles International Airport).
The Boeing F2B-1 fighter was unable to fly inverted without the engine quitting but Lt. Tomlinson fixed this problem by modifying the carburetors, enabling the aircraft to safely fly inverted. At the end of 1929, the team's pilots received new assignments, so the "Three Sea Hawks" team was disbanded.
