A Total Failure: The XB-70 Valkyrie was an experimental U.S. nuclear bomber developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a potential replacement for the B-52. Designed to fly at Mach 3 speeds and altitudes ...

XB-70 Bomber Can Be Explained in 3 Words A Total Failure: The XB-70 Valkyrie was an experimental U.S. nuclear bomber developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a potential replacement for the B-52.

North American XB-70A Valkyrie just after collision. Note the F-104 is at the forward edge of the fireball and most of both XB-70A vertical stabilizers are gone.

The maiden flight of the XB-70A ended with tire blowout and fire. With a planned cruise speed of Mach 3 and operational altitude of 70,000 feet, the B-70 Valkyrie was slated to be the ultimate ...

The XB-70 takes off in August 1965. NASA The first XB-70 Valkyrie built, the XB-70A, had handling at speeds greater than Mach 2.5, and only got above Mach 3 once.

While the XB-70A is cruising at Mach 3, its fuel will circulate, cooling the interior, absorbing enough heat every minute to evaporate four gallons of water.

The Valkyrie was a plane decades ahead of its time, pushing the aeronautical engineering of the early 1960s well beyond what had been thought possible. It was even slated to become the world’s ...

North American XB-70A Valkyrie - The Valkyrie’s six large turbojet engines together provided an impressive 180,000 pounds of thrust. (U.S. Air Force photo circa 1964) comments powered by Disqus.

A Total Failure: The XB-70 Valkyrie was an experimental U.S. nuclear bomber developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a potential replacement for the B-52. Designed to fly at Mach 3 speeds and altitudes ...