Valkyrie: North American's Mach 3 Superbomber

by Dennis R. Jenkins, Tony R. Landis

The Valkyrie is an icon of modern aviation, which is curious considering that only two were built and they flew just 164 times. Like the maiden of Norse mythology that it was named for, the Valkyrie awed those around it. Beautiful in form, and almost unbelievable in function, the B-70 would have been the ultimate incarnation of Curtis LeMay s vision of a strategic bomber. The half-million pound aircraft was capable of flying over 2,000 miles per hour in excess of 80,000 feet, and doing it for hours at a time. Fantastic as the Valkyrie appeared, it was not to be. The political and fiscal climate that existed during the 1960s strangled then killed the aircraft almost before it was born.
This is the story of the largest Mach 3 aircraft ever flown the North American Aviation XB-70A Valkyrie. Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony R. Landis have conducted extensive research in military, NASA, and company archives to find previously uncovered aspects of this fascinating program. Includes descriptions of the proposed bombing and navigation systems, defensive armament, electronic countermeasures, and early attempts at stealth technology. Accompanied by over 250 photos and dozens of illustrations, this in-depth history covers the entire B-70 program, not just the two aircraft that ultimately flew.

Genres: Aviation

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2005

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book from the hoard that it's taken me forever to get to. When I was a kid, the vibe about this plane, was "what if," though I don't remember the sort of vehement resentment that the cancellation of the British TSR.2 or the Canadian CF-105 Arrow generated. There is a little bit of wistfulness in this book from the authors, but it's heavily tempered by the understanding that the operational requirement was almost impossible to meet within a reasonable timeframe, and that this plane only made sense in a force structure where there were "Mach 3" fighters, along with "Mach 3" bombers, and that world didn't happen. There were just easier and more efficient ways to maintain a nuclear strike force.

As for work itself, it's very nuts-and-bolts, as the authors take you through the technology incorporated in the plane; the visual documentation is great. The development path of the plane also turns out to have been very convoluted as, to a certain degree, the Valkyrie was a parallel option to building a nuclear-powered bomber (speaking of shudder-inducing technology). Frankly, having read about most of the very-fast aircraft of this period, several generations after the fact they look like dead-end efforts, where the technology needed to operationalize these machines really didn't keep up with the aerodynamics. There's a book to be written on materials science, metallurgy, and high-performance aircraft.

About the only down-side to this book is that the hardcover is an expensive collector's item if you need to own it, though it does seem readily available if you live in the United States and go the inter-library loan route.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though designed for the casual yet interested reader, this is an amazingly detailed, comprehensive, look at one of the most complex and amazing aircraft development projects ever taken on by the USAF and its contractors. The Valkyrie is stuff of both legend and tragedy and the blood, sweat, and tears involved in its design and testing come across in this volume.

[Norbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

very very detailed and complete

A book about the XB-70. But also about nuclear jet engines, the xf.108 interceptors and more