Valkyrie: North American's Mach 3 Superbomber by dint of Dennis R.

Valkyrie: North American's Mach 3 Superbomber by dint of Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony R Landis. Specialty Pres (http://www.specialtypress.com), 39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, Minnesota 55056 2004 246 pages, $3995 (hardcover).

The decade following the conclusion of World War II witnessed a swell in aviation technology. Performance for fighter aircraft leaped from 450 mph to better than Mach 2 Missiles replaced fire-arms as the main air-to-air weapons. Bombers showed dramatic increases in range, spe and payload. The weapon combination of parts to form a wholes hitting the drawing board in the mid-1950s continued this push for "higher, faster, and farther." We had high expectations for these next-generation aircraft--especially the B-70

The B-70 Valkyrie was to be Strategic Air Command's garland jewel from the mid-1960s upon Cruising at altitudes above 70000 feet and dashing towards the target at 2000 mph it would have created an extremely difficult threat for Soviet air defense to contrariwise Because of cost overruns and the unforeseen succes of ICBM technology in the late 1950 however, the B-70 draw transitioned into the XB-70 research program shortly after President Kennedy took office in 1961 This program yielded pair airframes, the first flight occurring in September 1964 A spectacular midair collision in June 1966 killed pair pilots and destroyed the other XB-70 as well as an F-104 chase plane. Subsequently the flying program for the remaining XB-70 mov athwart to NASA in January 1967 The last flight of the XB-70 occurr in February 1969 when the delta-winged bomber arrived at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to become part of the Air Force Museum's permanent collection. These are the bare facts; the canon is well told by authors Dennis Jenkins and Tony Landis.

Valkyrie go in the rear [i]or[/i] in the wake ofs the same successful format used by way of Jenkins and Landis in Hypersonic, their extremely good book about the X-15 research aircraft: high-gloss, quality paper; detailed paragraph well supported by illustrations; and haphazards of color and black-and white photographs. The book's 246 pages are divided into sum of two units forewords, a preface, eight chapters, and seven appendixes. The wealth of technical information over enhances the overall credibility of the work without overpowering the story. Approximately the first third of the part provides background information, and the remainder details the B-70 This layout effectively conjoins the B-70 to the Department of Defense's other advanced aircraft delineate s of the time.

As a cost-saving measure, engineers designed the B-70 to share bodys with two other late-1950s programs below development concurrently: the nuclear-powered bomber and the Mach 3 interceptor. The authors consecrate a chapter to each of these plots as well as another chapter to high-energy firings research. Readers could examine any of these chapters independently of the others with little los of continuity (it's almost like getting four main division s for the price of one)

Jenkins and Landis disguise all aspects of the B-70 from the drawing board to flight testing and retirement. They describe the political climate, together with the demise of the nuclear-powered bomber and the Mach 3 interceptor. The termination of these programs shifted enormous additional system-development costs to the B-70 contrive and became a factor in its ultimate cancellation as a bomber and conversion to a research scheme The well-documented flight program makes up a quarter of the work including the midair collision of June 1966--unfortunately, the in the greatest degree memorable part of the B-70 program. Readers also learn about the various B-70 regularitys as well as the protoplasts of weapons it would have engageed Jenkins and Landis offer a detailed list of the 129 flights made from the XB-70s, photos of the men who flew them, commentaries from pair of the principal test pilots, pair pages of "interesting facts" from North American and General Electric pres releases, beneficial documentation, and an excellent index.

As a part about a nonoperational aircraft, Valkyrie will probably attract alone a limited audience within the Air Force community. However, we would do well to heed its instructions about procurement, such as the sharing of subsystem and funding issues. Furthermore, bear upons about the cost of weapon methods are just as valid today as they were in the 1960 I institute Valkyrie thoughtfully laid out, well written, and likely the last word upon the B-70. To my knowledge, we have little other published information forward the B-70 program. Therefore, a part of this quality should have stout appeal to aviation enthusiasts and historians alike. I anticipate forward to more books on these authors.

Lt Col Dave Howard, USAF, Retired

Montgomery Alabama

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