Three bomber jets and a Super Bowl - the numbers matched in 'happy coincidence,' Air Force says

The synchronicity between numbers for the Super Bowl on Sunday and the military bomber jets that flew above the playoff stadium were an unplanned "happy coincidence," according to the Air Force.

The flyover consisted of three bomber aircraft – a B-52, a B-1 and a B-2 – whose numbers add up to 55, the same number as this year's championship game. The bombers flew in formation over Super Bowl LV during the National Anthem at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Military buffs went abuzz over spotting the "secret code." 

"It was an ah-ha moment when I figured it out," said Nebraska based fan Andrew Smith, who said it "just came to me."

Fans on the Facebook page for Air Force Global Strike Command, which supplied the bombers, posted equations showing that 52 + 2 + 1 = 55.

The numerical synchronicity was serendipity, said a spokesperson for Global Strike Command.

"It's something we noticed during planning," Lt. Kaylin Hankerson told Just the News. "We didn't plan it that way, but when we noticed it, it was a happy coincidence."

The command picked the aircraft to represent the bomber force, she said.

The trifecta was the first of its kind, Handkerson said. It included a B-1B Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., a B-2 Spirit from Whiteman AFB, Mo., and a B-52H Stratofortress from Minot AFB, N.D.