A blade for a gas turbine engine, said blade having an inner end adapted for mounting on a hub and a blade tip located opposite the inner end, and wherein at least a portion of the blade tip is coated with a thermally sprayed coating of a high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder, said thermally sprayed coating having a density greater than 88% of the theoretical density, in the tetragonal crystallographic form, with a plurality of vertical macrocracks, wherein a vertical macrocrack is a crack in the coating if extended to contact the surface of the substrate, e.g., blade, will form an angle of from 30° to 0° with a line extended from said contact point normal to the surface of the substrate, the vertical macrocracks being substantially homogeneously dispersed throughout the coating in which a cross-sectional area of the coating normal to the blade tip exposes a plurality of vertical macrocracks extending at least half the coating thickness in length up to the full thickness of the coating and having from 5 to 200 vertical macrocracks per linear inch (2.54 cm) measured in a line parallel to the surface of the blade tip and in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the blade tip, and said high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder comprising from 0 to 0.15 weight percent impurity oxides, from 0 to 2 weight percent hafnium oxide (hafnia), from 6 to 25 weight percent yttrium oxide (yttria) or from 10 to 36 weight percent ytterbium oxide (ytterbia), and the balance zirconium oxide (zirconia), characterized in that: said impurity oxides comprise: from 0 to 0.01 weight percent silicon dioxide (silica), from 0 to 0.002 weight percent aluminum oxide (alumina), from 0 to 0.005 weight percent calcium oxide, from 0 to 0.005 weight percent ferric oxide, from 0 to 0.002 weight percent magnesium oxide, and from 0 to 0.005 weight percent titanium dioxide; wherein the high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder comprises from 55 to 95 volume percent of a first high purity yttria or ytterbia partially stabilized zirconia powder having up to 0.15 weight percent impurity oxides, from 0 to 2 weight percent hafnium oxide (hafnia), from 6 to 8 weight percent yttrium oxide (yttria) or from 10 to 14 weight percent ytterbium oxide (ytterbia), and the balance zirconium oxide (zirconia), and from 5 to 45 volume percent of a second high purity yttria or ytterbia fully stabilized zirconia powder having up to 0.15 weight percent impurity oxides, from 0 to 2 weight percent hafnium oxide (hafnia), from 16 to 22 weight percent yttrium oxide (yttria) or from 25 to 33 weight percent ytterbium oxide (ytterbia), and the balance zirconium oxide (zirconia) from 0 to 0.01 weight percent silicon dioxide (silica), from 0 to 0.002 weight percent aluminum oxide (alumina), from 0 to 0.005 weight percent calcium oxide, from 0 to 0.005 weight percent ferric oxide, from 0 to 0.002 weight percent magnesium oxide, and from 0 to 0.005 weight percent titanium dioxide; wherein the high purity yttria or ytterbia stabilized zirconia powder comprises from 55 to 95 volume percent of a first high purity yttria or ytterbia partially stabilized zirconia powder having up to 0.15 weight percent impurity oxides, from 0 to 2 weight percent hafnium oxide (hafnia), from 6 to 8 weight percent yttrium oxide (yttria) or from 10 to 14 weight percent ytterbium oxide (ytterbia), and the balance zirconium oxide (zirconia), and from 5 to 45 volume percent of a second high purity yttria or ytterbia fully stabilized zirconia powder having up to 0.15 weight percent impurity oxides, from 0 to 2 weight percent hafnium oxide (hafnia), from 16 to 22 weight percent yttrium oxide (yttria) or from 25 to 33 weight percent ytterbium oxide (ytterbia), and the balance zirconium oxide (zirconia)