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Thunder Over Dover features Blue Angels, Thunderbirds
Four of the six Navy Blue Angels provide the thunder during this past weekend’s air show at Dover Air Force Base. RON MACARTHUR PHOTOS
May 25, 2022
Dover Air Force Base can add to its long history that it played host to the top two premier military aviation demonstration teams during the same air show. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds both took part in the Thunder Over Dover Air Show May 21-22. The first time the two squadrons performed in the same air show was in August 2021 during Thunder Over Michigan.
The event not only featured an air show but dozens of static displays of military vehicles, planes, jets and helicopters including an AV-8B Harrier jet, UH-1 Huey helicopter, Osprey helicopter, F-18 Hornet fighter jet, F-22 Raptor and a Black Hawk helicopter.
DAFB had a C-17 Globemaster, the largest cargo plane in the world, and a C-5M Super Galaxy open for tours.
Tens of thousands turned out both days to fill the air base parking area to capacity.
USAF Thunderbirds pilots fly tail-to-tail as they streak across the large air show crowd.
All six USAF Thunderbirds head skyward in formation. The Thunderbirds, formed in 1953, have their home base at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev.
A member of the Black Daggers U.S. Army Special Operations Command Parachute Demonstration Team drops in with an American flag.
In a very rare sight, both U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are lined up and ready for action during Thunder Over Dover.
A U.S. Air Force color guard presents the flags at the start of May 22 air show.
You have to look closely to see there are two Navy Blue Angels jets flying in this formation.
U.S. Navy Blue Angels pilots march in formation to their planes just before taking off.
Two Blue Angels fly in close formation at speeds more than 500 mph.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels head skyward over Dover during the air show. The Blue Angels have been flying in shows since 1946.
The USAF Thunderbirds ground crew is ready to do pre-flight checks.
The Thunderbirds drop smoke as they gain altitude very quickly.
The air show announcer told the crowd to get their cameras ready when the solo Thunderbird pilots do this spectacular fly over.
The USAF Thunderbirds diamond formation includes four of the F-16 Fighting Falcons jets.
The pilot of a MV-22 Osprey demonstrates its vertical landing and takeoff and hovering capabilities. The crew is from Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina.
With a connection to the Delaware Aviation Museum at Delaware Coastal Airport in Georgetown, Panchito, a B-25J Mitchell bomber takes part in a historical aircraft review. The original Panchito flew missions in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Explosions are part of the historical aircraft review as they simulate bomb drops.
The historic C-47 Skytrain was used extensively during World War II as a cargo and troop carrier. Nearly 2,000 C-47s were used during D-Day.
As the loudest jet at the air show, a United States Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier pilot shows the large Dover crowd how the jet can maneuver.
Ron Holland, in his MXS custom-built plane, leaves a trail of smoke behind as he pulls a lot of Gs.
Dover Air Force Base is the home of a squadron of C-17 Globemasters.
The C-5M Super Galaxy, housed at Dover Air Force Base, is the largest cargo plane in the world. It can be loaded from both ends and carry up to 281,000 pounds or 140 tons of cargo.
A C-5M Super Galaxy, the largest cargo plane in the world, dominates the air show display area at Dover Air Force Base.
A United States Coast Guard Dauphin helicopter based in Atlantic City, N.J., prepares for a search-and-rescue demonstration.
A Thunderbirds ground crew member is not far from the exhaust one of the F-16C Fighting Falcons used by the demonstration squadron.
Red smoke blows out on the runway to mark the landing zone for the Black Daggers parachute team
The Thunderbirds red, white and blue jets are highlighted by a deep blue sky.
An Osprey V-22 flies over U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds on the DAFB flight line.
Ron Holland, flying in his custom-built, carbon-fiber MXS-RH plane, has won numerous awards over his career, including several National Aerobatics Champion titles.
Thunderbirds pilot Staff Sgt. Kenneth Colon Otero is ready for the canopy to come down.
The solo Blue Angels pilots perform a double-inverted flyover.
The Thunderbirds solo pilots prepare to cross over each other less than two feet apart.
A USAF C-17 Globemaster from Dover Air Force Base, below, and a vintage C-47 Skytrain, used throughout World War II including the Normandy invasion, take part in a cargo heritage flight.
A youngster, aka mini Maverick, gets his photo taken in a jet. Movie-goers are looking forward to the new movie, “Top Gun: Maverick,” starring Tom Cruise starting this weekend. He’s reprising a role he had 36 years ago in “Top Gun.”
