View allAll Photos Tagged ThunderOverMI
After taking off with passengers on-board, this B-25 is raising its landing gear.
Rosie’s Reply (N3774), is a combat veteran, having flown eight combat missions during April and May, 1944. According to b-25history.org, this is just one of three surviving B-25s that have flown combat missions. Warbird News also stated in 2013 that this was the only B-25D flying at that time.
The Michigan Flight Museum, the organizer of the airshow, owns and operates Rosie’s Reply. The aircraft’s name honors the “amazing women who came together to help win a war while shaping the future of women in the work place.” The aircraft displays the livery and markings it wore around 1943.
North American Aviation built this B-25D-35-NC in Kansas City, Kansas in 1943. She was assigned to the 12th AF 57th Bomb Wing, 340th Bomber Group and based in Corsica during April and May, 1944. Later that year, she was transferred to the Royal Air Force and assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force to support training. After a variety of roles with the RCAF, she was sold to a private owner in 1962. After a series of owners, the aircraft was sold to the Yankee Air Force, predecessor to the Michigan Flight Museum, in 1988.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
GhostWriter is an upgraded DeHavilland Chipmunk, a Super Chipmunk, that has been customized for airshow aerobatics and skywriting.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This Ford Trimotor is providing rides to airshow visitors. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Trimotors helped revolutionize passenger air travel.
This Tri-Motor is a model 5-15-B, serial number 8. It was built in 1928, and is owned by the Liberty Aviation Museum, Port Clinton, Ohio.
This Trimotor has the livery of Transcontinental Air Transport (T-A-T). In 1929 T-A-T started using Trimotors to provide transcontinental passenger service in the form of a 48-hour trip from New York City to Los Angeles. Passengers traveled by train at night and Trimotor during the day.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The paint scheme represents the 353rd Fighter Group, 352nd Fighter Squadron.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The pilot, Skip Stewart, is flying mostly horizontally and cutting ribbons with his wing. I think his lower wing tip is less than 15 feet above the ground.
The plane is a modified Pitts S-2S.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The U.S. Navy West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team making a fast pass.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
There are many stories associated with this aircraft.
The first Curtiss P-40 flew in 1938. While its reputation is sometimes overshadowed by later World War II fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang, the P-40 was a successful design flown by most Allied countries during World War II (who referred to it by various names, including Warhawk, Tomahawk, and Kittyhawk). P-40s remained in frontline service until the end of the war. By that time, it was the third-most produced U.S. fighter, after the Mustang and the P-47 Thunderbolt.
This P-40N-5 (serial number 42-104977, registration NL977WH) was built in 1942. It displays the paint scheme of the Flying Tigers, a volunteer U.S. unit formed in the early 1940s to oppose the Japanese invasion of China. The paint scheme includes a shark face and the unit’s insignia, a flying tiger (designed by Walt Disney).
This P-40 originally served with the U.S. Army Air Forces. In New Guinea in 1943 Lt. Joel Thorvaldson flew this aircraft and joined six other aircraft to intercept dozens of Japanese fighters and bombers. After he disabled a “Zeke” fighter, a “Zero” damaged Thorvaldson’s engine. Thorvaldson landed the plane on its belly and survived for five days in the wilderness before being rescued by Australian soldiers.
Thorvaldson continued his military service and had a long career in the Army and the Air Force, serving in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He flew 44 different kinds of aircraft, including more than 400 combat missions. He retired as a Colonel, then helped design and facilitate the adoption of the A-10 Warthog.
The wreckage of Thorvaldson’s P-40 was recovered in the 1990s and taken to Australia for restoration. The aircraft flew again in 2008.
This P-40 is owned and flown by Thom Richard. Born in Sweden, as a young man Richard immigrated to the United States and later became a citizen to pursue his life-long interest in aviation. His career includes racing aircraft, aerobatic routines, and sharing his love of warbirds. He purchased this P-40 in 2018 and named it “American Dream.”
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This is a Navy Legacy Flight, honoring naval aviators past and present through a flight demonstration by examples of current and past U.S. Navy aircraft. This demonstration included a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair and a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet. Both models are very successful multi-role fighters of their time and have been used by multiple countries. The Corsair entered service in 1942 and the Super Hornet entered service in 1999.
Goodyear produced this Corsair in 1945. It was shipped by boat to New Zealand and served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It has been reported that this is one of three surviving World War II-era RNZAF Corsairs.
The F/A-18 is with the U.S. Navy F/A-18 West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team, part of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122).
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This is the Jack Aces P-51 Demonstration Team, flying Mad Max and The Little Witch.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This is the Jack Aces P-51 Demonstration Team, flying Mad Max and The Little Witch.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue team demonstrated deploying and recovering this rescuer and a rescue litter while the helicopter was hovering.
This Eurocopter MH-65E Dolphin helicopter belongs to the U.S. Coast Guard Motor City Search-Rescue unit, which is based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit, Michigan. Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan airshow.
In the foreground, pilots have started P-51s Mad Max and The Little Witch and are preparing to take off for a flight demonstration. In the background are P-51 Double Trouble Two and a Spitfire.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The Jack Aces P-51 Demonstration Team, flying Mad Max and The Little Witch, performed maneuvers in close formation.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demo Team.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
Left to right, a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, North American P-51 Mustang, and Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. Preceding photos show individual views of each fighter.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This year is the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the F-16 prototype. To honor the occasion the U.S. Air Force’s demo team for the F-16, the Viper Demo Team, replaced its snake-themed paint-scheme. (See the first comment below for a picture of that paint scheme.) The new red, white and blue paint scheme is a copy of the paint scheme that was used for the first flight of the F-16 prototype 50 years ago.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation operates this Douglas C-54D Skymaster, named “Spirit of Freedom”, to preserve the memory and legacy of the Berlin Airlift. Spirit of Freedom shares the story of the airlift in two ways.
First, Spirit of Freedom is a flying museum. Visitors can walk through the Spirit of Freedom and view exhibits and artifacts that explain the Soviet Union’s 1948-1949 blockade of West Berlin and how the residents of the city, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries responded. Soviet leadership expected the blockade to force West Berlin, the U.S., the U.K., and France to capitulate to Soviet demands, but after 10 months the success of the airlift in providing food, fuel, and hope to West Berlin helped convince the Soviet Union to end its blockade. During the airlift’s 15 months of operation, it made 277,569 flights into Berlin and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo.
Second, visitors see one of the main types of aircraft in the airlift. C-54s were essential to moving enough cargo to meet the needs of Berliners, and this aircraft was one of those C-54s. A C-54 could carry three times as much as a C-47 Skytrain while being able to be loaded and unloaded in the same amount of time—due to the level floor the C-54 provided with its tricycle landing gear.
I had previously seen the Spirit of Freedom in 2009. When I saw the plane again in 2024 I was surprised to learn that today’s Spirit of Freedom is not the same aircraft I had visited in 2009. The previous Spirit of Freedom was severely damaged by a tornado in 2020. The Foundation was able to acquire another C-54 that had flown in the airlift and worked for a couple years to make it airworthy.
Douglas Aircraft Company delivered this C-54D (serial number 22178) to the U.S. Army Air Corps in September 1945. During 1948 and 1949 it was assigned to three units based in Germany that participated in the airlift: the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) based in Rhein Main, the 317th TCS in Celle, and the 313th TCS in Fassberg. After decades in the U.S. Air Force, this aircraft was flown for commercial operations including firefighting and cargo hauling before being acquired by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI #BAHFvittles
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation operates this Douglas C-54D Skymaster, named “Spirit of Freedom”, to preserve the memory and legacy of the Berlin Airlift. Spirit of Freedom shares the story of the airlift in two ways.
First, Spirit of Freedom is a flying museum. Visitors can walk through the Spirit of Freedom and view exhibits and artifacts that explain the Soviet Union’s 1948-1949 blockade of West Berlin and how the residents of the city, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries responded. Soviet leadership expected the blockade to force West Berlin, the U.S., the U.K., and France to capitulate to Soviet demands, but after 10 months the success of the airlift in providing food, fuel, and hope to West Berlin helped convince the Soviet Union to end its blockade. During the airlift’s 15 months of operation, it made 277,569 flights into Berlin and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo.
Second, visitors see one of the main types of aircraft in the airlift. C-54s were essential to moving enough cargo to meet the needs of Berliners, and this aircraft was one of those C-54s. A C-54 could carry three times as much as a C-47 Skytrain while being able to be loaded and unloaded in the same amount of time—due to the level floor the C-54 provided with its tricycle landing gear.
I had previously seen the Spirit of Freedom in 2009. When I saw the plane again in 2024 I was surprised to learn that today’s Spirit of Freedom is not the same aircraft I had visited in 2009. The previous Spirit of Freedom was severely damaged by a tornado in 2020. The Foundation was able to acquire another C-54 that had flown in the airlift and worked for a couple years to make it airworthy.
Douglas Aircraft Company delivered this C-54D (serial number 22178) to the U.S. Army Air Corps in September 1945. During 1948 and 1949 it was assigned to three units based in Germany that participated in the airlift: the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) based in Rhein Main, the 317th TCS in Celle, and the 313th TCS in Fassberg. After decades in the U.S. Air Force, this aircraft was flown for commercial operations including firefighting and cargo hauling before being acquired by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI #BAHFvittles
This F-16 is with the U.S. Air Force Viper Demo Team.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
A Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft demonstrate formation flying for a refueling. This is as close as the two aircraft approached for this demonstration.
These aircraft were with the U.S. Air Force Altus Joint Demo team, part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing based at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The Wing is part of the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, which trains flight crews.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
A World War II TBM-3E Avenger and the Blue Angels wait their turns to fly at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. Both aircraft types were premier naval attack aircraft of their time.
I believe the gentleman in the flight suit is Brad Deckert, pilot and co-owner of the Avenger. From March to September of 1945 the Avenger was assigned to the Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 234 (VMTB 234), flew off the U.S.S. Vella Gulf, and conducted strikes on the islands of Pagan and Rota in the Marianas and on Okinawa. After the war, it was converted to a fire bomber in Canada and then later restored.
This helicopter belongs to the U.S. Coast Guard Motor City Search-Rescue unit, which is based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit, Michigan. Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This is the Jack Aces P-51 Demonstration Team, flying Mad Max and The Little Witch.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The Viper Demo Team pilot reaches for the sky with the F-16’s afterburner.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
Thom Richard flying his P-40 Warhawk “American Dream” in an airshow.
Richard was born in Sweden. At the age of 7 an article about historic fighter aircraft racing at Reno, Nevada, inspired Richard to want to fly historic fighters. When he was 16 he obtained a glider pilot’s license. A year later he immigrated to the United States to pursue his passion for aviation. Since then he has built an aviation business, purchased and flown historic aircraft, won aircraft races, performed aerobatic demonstrations, instructed others how to fly historic aircraft, and learned to skydive.
After flying a P-40 Warhawk for a museum and performing aerobatic demonstrations in the P-40 at airshows, Richard decided he’d like to own a P-40 trainer model (with a second seat) so he could share his love of the P-40 with others. Airworthy P-40 trainers are rare, but in 2018 Richard found one to purchase. He named the aircraft “American Dream.” Its paint scheme honors the famous Flying Tigers, which flew P-40s in World War II opposing the Japanese invasion of China.
This particular P-40 was built in 1942 and was flown by the U.S. Army Air Forces in New Guinea during World War II. In 1943 a bullet from a Japanese fighter disabled the P-40’s engine during an aerial encounter, and the P-40’s pilot was able to safely land the plane on its belly in the wilderness. The damaged plane was recovered in the 1990s and taken to Australia for restoration. The aircraft flew again in 2008, and Richard purchased it in 2018.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The plane is a modified Pitts S-2S, flown by Skip Stewart.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
A U.S. Air Force airman with the Viper Demo Team signals the team’s Viper to stop. The Viper is arriving at the Thunder Over Michigan airshow for a performance.
F-16 Fighting Falcons are informally known as “Vipers”. This year is the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the F-16 prototype. The Viper Demo Team is honoring the anniversary with a special paint scheme (later photos will show that more clearly) and logo, which is visible on the back of the airman’s uniform.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
One nickname for a Corsair is “hose nose”, chosen because of its long nose. This photo illustrates how long the nose is—the pilot’s seat is aft of the wing. On many other fighters of the same era the pilot’s seat is in line with the wings.
The long nose made it difficult for pilots to see an aircraft carrier’s deck while landing on the carrier. That issue contributed to a slow deployment of the Corsair to U.S. Navy carriers. Fortunately, the Royal Navy adopted changes in the aircraft and operating procedures that made it much easier for Corsair pilots to make a carrier landing, and the U.S. Navy adopted those changes. Since the U.S. Marines flew from fixed landing strips, they were able to adopt the Corsair more quickly than the U.S. Navy.
The cockpit in the prototype of the Corsair was further forward. However, the production Corsair incorporated more guns in the wings, which did not leave room for wing fuel tanks. To compensate, an additional fuel tank was placed in the fuselage. To maintain an appropriate center of gravity, that fuel tank was placed in front of the pilot, shifting the cockpit aft 32 inches (0.8 m).
This Goodyear FG-1D Corsair was built in July, 1945 and left military service in 1956. It joined the Confederate Air Force (forerunner to the Commemorative Air Force) in 1960. Its paint scheme depicts a plane with Marine Fighter Squadron 312 (VMF-312), the “Checkerboards”.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The F-22 Raptor Demo Team pilot displays the Raptor's main weapons bay and two side weapons bays.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This is a Navy Legacy Flight, honoring naval aviators past and present through a flight demonstration by examples of current and past U.S. Navy aircraft. This demonstration included a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair and a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet. Both models are very successful multi-role fighters of their time and have been used by multiple countries. The Corsair entered service in 1942 and the Super Hornet entered service in 1999.
Goodyear produced this Corsair in 1945. It was shipped by boat to New Zealand and served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It has been reported that this is one of three surviving World War II-era RNZAF Corsairs.
This F/A-18 is with the U.S. Navy F/A-18 West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team, part of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122).
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
Three Avengers at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow.
The aircraft in front is Doris Mae.
From the Commemorative Air Force’s Capital Wing:
Doris Mae is a TBM-3E Avenger, built under license by General Motors in New Jersey during the final weeks of World War II. Delivered on August 2, 1945, she was transferred to the Marine Corps and used in postwar training roles. Later, she served in the Royal Canadian Navy as an anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and eventually became a forest firefighting aircraft in Canada before being acquired by the CAF in 2001.
In 2008, the CAF Capital Wing began a full restoration of the aircraft, meticulously returning her to a World War II configuration and honoring the TBM’s original mission. She now flies in the colors of VMTB-143, a Marine squadron that operated from the USS Gilbert Islands during the summer of 1945.
A Lockheed C-130J-30 with the Rhode Island Air National Guard.
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
From March to September of 1945 this Avenger was assigned to the Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 234 (VMTB 234), flew off the U.S.S. Vella Gulf, and conducted strikes on the islands of Pagan and Rota in the Marianas and on Okinawa. After the war, it was converted to a fire bomber in Canada and then later restored.
The box towards the end of the left wing is labeled "Torpedo Training Camera."
Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The engine has two rows of cyclinders. The engine plate states that it is a Wright Cyclone 14, also described as an R-2600-20. Wikipedia states that the engine produces 1700-1900 horsepower. Seen at the 2025 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The aircraft is named Doris Mae.
From the Commemorative Air Force’s Capital Wing:
Doris Mae is a TBM-3E Avenger, built under license by General Motors in New Jersey during the final weeks of World War II. Delivered on August 2, 1945, she was transferred to the Marine Corps and used in postwar training roles. Later, she served in the Royal Canadian Navy as an anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and eventually became a forest firefighting aircraft in Canada before being acquired by the CAF in 2001.
In 2008, the CAF Capital Wing began a full restoration of the aircraft, meticulously returning her to a World War II configuration and honoring the TBM’s original mission.
U.S. Navy West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
Two outstanding U.S. World War II fighters. Both of these aircraft were built in 1945 and are operated by the Commemorative Air Force’s Airbase Georgia.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
After the Viper Demo aircraft arrived at the airshow, airmen spring into action before the Viper Demo pilot can reach the ground.
The photo also captures some miscellaneous tidbits about the Viper Demo Team’s routine (all of these are marked on the photo with notes):
* Since there isn’t room in a fighter’s cockpit for luggage, a transport/cargo pod mounted under the aircraft is used. An airman is removing items from the pod.
* After getting a close-up view of the aircraft’s nose (see previous photo), the airman who marshaled the aircraft hung his noise-canceling headphones on the pitot tube.
* The airmen have a spray bottle of automotive “quik wax” and a package of cloths. I suspect those are for helping the aircraft literally shine before its performance.
* The ladder for exiting the cockpit is very minimalist.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation operates this Douglas C-54D Skymaster, named “Spirit of Freedom”, to preserve the memory and legacy of the Berlin Airlift. Spirit of Freedom shares the story of the airlift in two ways.
First, Spirit of Freedom is a flying museum. Visitors can walk through the Spirit of Freedom and view exhibits and artifacts that explain the Soviet Union’s 1948-1949 blockade of West Berlin and how the residents of the city, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries responded. Soviet leadership expected the blockade to force West Berlin, the U.S., the U.K., and France to capitulate to Soviet demands, but after 10 months the success of the airlift in providing food, fuel, and hope to West Berlin helped convince the Soviet Union to end its blockade. During the airlift’s 15 months of operation, it made 277,569 flights into Berlin and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo.
Second, visitors see one of the main types of aircraft in the airlift. C-54s were essential to moving enough cargo to meet the needs of Berliners, and this aircraft was one of those C-54s. A C-54 could carry three times as much as a C-47 Skytrain while being able to be loaded and unloaded in the same amount of time—due to the level floor the C-54 provided with its tricycle landing gear.
I had previously seen the Spirit of Freedom in 2009. When I saw the plane again in 2024 I was surprised to learn that today’s Spirit of Freedom is not the same aircraft I had visited in 2009. The previous Spirit of Freedom was severely damaged by a tornado in 2020. The Foundation was able to acquire another C-54 that had flown in the airlift and worked for a couple years to make it airworthy.
Douglas Aircraft Company delivered this C-54D (serial number 22178) to the U.S. Army Air Corps in September 1945. During 1948 and 1949 it was assigned to three units based in Germany that participated in the airlift: the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) based in Rhein Main, the 317th TCS in Celle, and the 313th TCS in Fassberg. After decades in the U.S. Air Force, this aircraft was flown for commercial operations including firefighting and cargo hauling before being acquired by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI #BAHFvittles
This is Thom Richard in his Curtiss P-40 Warhawk "American Dream."
Richard was born in Sweden. At the age of 7 an article about historic fighter aircraft racing at Reno, Nevada, inspired Richard to want to fly historic fighters. When he was 16 he obtained a glider pilot’s license. A year later he immigrated to the United States to pursue his passion for aviation. Since then he has built an aviation business, purchased and flown historic aircraft, won aircraft races, performed aerobatic demonstrations, instructed others how to fly historic aircraft, and learned to skydive.
After flying a P-40 Warhawk for a museum and performing aerobatic demonstrations in the P-40 at airshows, Richard decided he’d like to own a P-40 trainer model (with a second seat) so he could share his love of the P-40 with others. Airworthy P-40 trainers are rare, but in 2018 Richard found one to purchase. He named the aircraft “American Dream.” Its paint scheme honors the famous Flying Tigers, which flew P-40s in World War II opposing the Japanese invasion of China.
This particular P-40 was built in 1942 and was flown by the U.S. Army Air Forces in New Guinea during World War II. In 1943 a bullet from a Japanese fighter disabled the P-40’s engine during an aerial battle, and the P-40’s pilot was able to safely land the plane on its belly in the wilderness. The damaged plane was recovered in the 1990s and taken to Australia for restoration. The aircraft flew again in 2008, and Richard purchased it in 2018.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was the military version of the Douglas DC-3. The C-47 was a mainstay of Allied air transport during World War II, and was also used during the Berlin Airlift and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the C-47 one of four “Tools of Victory” that won the war for the Allies (along with the atom bomb, the Jeep, and the bazooka).
This particular C-47 was built in early 1945 as a TC-47B-30-DK by Douglas in Oklahoma City, and later converted to a TC-47D. For the next 20 years it was assigned to a number of air force bases in the United States. Much of the latter half of that time was spent at a training facility in Michigan. In 1965, it began service with the University of Michigan, and was based at Willow Run Airport in Michigan for at least part of that time. In 1982 the plane was transferred to a foreign air carrier and was then acquired by the Yankee Air Force and returned to Willow Run Airport.
In 2018 the plane was repainted as “Hairless Joe”, a World War II C-47 assigned to the U.S. 319th Troop Carrier Squadron within the 1st Air Commando in the China-Burma-India Theatre. This was done to honor Dick Cole. He was Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot during the daring “Doolittle Raid” on Japan. Then Cole served with the 1st Air Commando Group during their push into Burma. In 2018 Cole was 103 years old and was the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders. The summer of that year he saw this plane at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The name “Hairless Joe” was selected by Cole’s crew and originates with a character from the popular Li’l Abner comic strip.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This Avenger, Bureau Number 91436, is operated by Lake Erie Warbirds. It was accepted by the U.S. Navy in August, 1945 and stricken from the Navy in 1956. Later uses included aerial spraying and fire fighting. It also had its outer wing panels removed and served as a wind machine for testing windows.
Power
[These photos are under a Creative Commons license. If you wish to license them for commercial purposes, want to purchase prints or are interested in commissioning me to take photos, please send me a Flickr mail or visit my website, www.memoriesbymike.zenfolio.com/, for contact information. Thanks.]
There are many stories associated with this aircraft.
The first Curtiss P-40 Warhawk flew in 1938. While its reputation is sometimes overshadowed by later World War II fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang, the P-40 was a successful design flown by most Allied countries during World War II. (Different countries referred to the P-40 by various names including Warhawk, Tomahawk, and Kittyhawk). P-40s remained in frontline service until the end of the war. By that time, it was the third-most produced U.S. fighter, after the Mustang and the P-47 Thunderbolt.
This P-40N-5 (serial number 42-104977, registration NL977WH) was built in 1942 and served with the U.S. Army Air Forces. In New Guinea in 1943 Lt. Joel Thorvaldson flew this aircraft and joined six other aircraft to intercept dozens of Japanese fighters and bombers. After he attacked a bomber and disabled a “Zeke” fighter, a “Zero” damaged Thorvaldson’s engine. Unable to return to his base, Thorvaldson landed the plane on its belly and survived for five days in the wilderness before being rescued by Australian soldiers.
Thorvaldson continued his military service and had a long career in the Army and the Air Force, serving in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He flew 44 different kinds of aircraft, including more than 400 combat missions. He retired as a Colonel, then helped design and facilitate the adoption of the A-10 Warthog.
The wreckage of Thorvaldson’s P-40 was recovered in the 1990s and taken to Australia for restoration. The aircraft flew again in 2008.
Thom Richard owns and flies the plane now. Richard was born in Sweden. At the age of 7 an article about historic fighter aircraft racing at Reno, Nevada, inspired Richard to want to fly historic fighters. When he was 16 he obtained a glider pilot’s license. A year later he immigrated to the United States to pursue his passion for aviation. Since then he has built an aviation business, purchased and flown historic aircraft, won aircraft races, performed aerobatic demonstrations, instructed others how to fly historic aircraft, and learned to skydive.
After flying a P-40 Warhawk for a museum and performing aerobatic demonstrations in the Warhawk at airshows, Richard decided he’d like to own a P-40 trainer model (with a second seat) so he share his love of the P-40 with others. Airworthy P-40 trainers are rare, but in 2018 Richard found one to purchase. He named the aircraft “American Dream.” Its paint scheme honors the famous Flying Tigers, which flew P-40s in World War II opposing the Japanese invasion of China.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI
This aircraft is with the U.S. Navy F/A-18 West Coast Super Hornet Demonstration Team. The team is part of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122). The squadron’s nickname is the “Flying Eagles”, hence the graphic on the intake covers.
The raised area on the top of the nose (marked with a note on the photo) led to the Super Hornet being nicknamed “Rhino”. That raised area houses an AN/APX-111 identification, friend or foe antenna.
I think it’s interesting how all of the slanted pieces appear to have a similar angle from vertical—the vertical stabilizers, exterior sides of the intakes, main landing gear struts, and main landing gear doors. I expect that the vertical stabilizers and intakes are designed to reduce radar cross section. What about the other slanted pieces? Coincidence or some attention to aesthetics in the design of this highly optimized machine?
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI