Submitted Photo

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE – Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong’s photo of lightning striking behind a B-52H Stratofortress at Minot Air Force Base has won top honors recently.

The photo, called “Thunderstruck,” was featured in Air Force Week In Photos and Department of Defense Week In Photos last week. This week the photo was voted Airman magazine Top Shot.

Armstrong, from Detroit, Mich., explained how the photo came about.

“Around 11 p.m. I saw flashes of lightning along the horizon. It was keeping me awake, so I decided to put on my uniform, grab my camera gear and go out to the flightline in hopes of capturing a good image.

“After an hour or two of trying, I managed to capture this image. I think this photograph emphasizes the capability and power of Air Force Global Strike Command’s airmen and aircraft. Sights like this make me proud to be stationed at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.”

Armstrong has been a photojournalist with the Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs Office for two and a half years.

The B-52 in the photo is named Ghost Rider.

“This B-52H Stratofortress, serial number 1007 aka Ghost Rider, spent more than seven years in the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona,” Armstrong said. For more about Ghost Rider, this is the link to his story “Out of the Boneyard, Into the Fight: Ghost Rider Flies Again” https://www.dvidshub.net/news/211038/out-boneyard-into-fight-ghost-rider-flies-again.