Saturday 12 July 2008

Big Bugger wasn't it.....



H/T Marc Cote

3 comments:

Not a sheep said...

The only remaining North American Aviation's B-70 Valkyrie. Planned and designed in the 1950s it was designed to reach Mach 3 and did but "problems" meant it never entered into service.

Anonymous said...

Nice pic. Theo, note that there is an Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy in the distance right above the B-70's stbd vertical stabilizer! Nice treat for those who appreciate British aviation! Also, interesting single-engine a/c next to the T-33 just across the near taxyway. Looks like it has tricycle gear. P-39 variant perhaps even tho prop has 4 blades? cheers chuck

steveH said...

"Problems" being the development of adequate or better SAMs.

Since the Valkyrie's job was high-altitude penetration of enemy airspace at Mach 3, it wasn't going to work.

Too bad, it was gorgeous.

Our 11th-grade physics class got to make a field trip from our high school to Edwards AFB, and one of the things we got to see, as in touching distance, was the XB-70A1 in its hangar. Utterly fantastic.