B-70 Valkyrie (Wallpaper 2)
Monday, October 24, 2011
image dimensions : 1092 x 682
B-70 Valkyrie (Wallpaper 2)
Two . B-70 Valkyrie, Bomber Supersonic Aircraft. Photo, image, picture, wallpaper, review, specification.
The XB-70A had its genesis in Boeing Aircraft Corporation's Project MX-2145, in which the contractor conducted studies relating to the type of weapon system required to deliver high-yield special weapons. The contractor, along with the Band Corporation, considered various types of weapon system carriers. Among them were manned intercontinental bombers, delivering both gravity bombs and pilotless parasite bombers; manned bombers, air-refueled by tankers to attend their ranges and cover round-trip intercontinental distances; manned aircraft and drone bomber combinations; and unmanned bombers. During these studies Air Force Headquarters requested enlargement of the study program to include possible trade-off information; for example, the potential results of trading weight for speed, weight for range, or speed for range. Boeing presented the requested information on 22 January 1954, pointing out the possibilities of a bomber aircraft powered by chemically augmented nuclear powerplants. For the first time, it appeared feasible to develop a weapon system of a reasonable size possessing the unlimited range characteristics of nuclear propulsion,' plus a high-altitude, supersonic dash capability. The development of nuclear propulsion for aircraft or missiles originated in 1945. In May 1946, the Army Air Forces signed a "letter of intent" with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, thereby conferring on the highly classified NEPA (Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft) program a legal right to exist. While favoring the program, General LeMay, then Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development, said the work to be performed under NEPA would be somewhat speculative. In March 1954, Boeing presented promising data on a chemically augmented, nuclear-powered aircraft. At the same time, both the Convair Corporation and Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, under contracts with the Office of Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion, submitted similar data. In the fall of 1954, the Air Force Council endorsed 2 independent but simultaneous development programs, one for a nuclear bomber capable of short bursts of supersonic speed; the other, for a subsonic, chemically powered, conventional bomber. General Operational Requirement No. 81, issued in Match 1955, specifically called for the development of a nuclear-powered weapon system that would be capable of performing a strategic mission of 11,000 nautical miles in radius, of which 1,000 miles were to be traveled at speeds in excess of mach 2, at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet. The Air Force Council's announcement closely followed the October publication of General Operational Requirement No. 38. The document was brief. It simply called for an intercontinental bombardment weapon (a piloted bomber) that would replace the B-52 and stay in service during the decade beginning in 1965.
Two . B-70 Valkyrie, Bomber Supersonic Aircraft. Photo, image, picture, wallpaper, review, specification.
The XB-70A had its genesis in Boeing Aircraft Corporation's Project MX-2145, in which the contractor conducted studies relating to the type of weapon system required to deliver high-yield special weapons. The contractor, along with the Band Corporation, considered various types of weapon system carriers. Among them were manned intercontinental bombers, delivering both gravity bombs and pilotless parasite bombers; manned bombers, air-refueled by tankers to attend their ranges and cover round-trip intercontinental distances; manned aircraft and drone bomber combinations; and unmanned bombers. During these studies Air Force Headquarters requested enlargement of the study program to include possible trade-off information; for example, the potential results of trading weight for speed, weight for range, or speed for range. Boeing presented the requested information on 22 January 1954, pointing out the possibilities of a bomber aircraft powered by chemically augmented nuclear powerplants. For the first time, it appeared feasible to develop a weapon system of a reasonable size possessing the unlimited range characteristics of nuclear propulsion,' plus a high-altitude, supersonic dash capability. The development of nuclear propulsion for aircraft or missiles originated in 1945. In May 1946, the Army Air Forces signed a "letter of intent" with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, thereby conferring on the highly classified NEPA (Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft) program a legal right to exist. While favoring the program, General LeMay, then Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development, said the work to be performed under NEPA would be somewhat speculative. In March 1954, Boeing presented promising data on a chemically augmented, nuclear-powered aircraft. At the same time, both the Convair Corporation and Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, under contracts with the Office of Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion, submitted similar data. In the fall of 1954, the Air Force Council endorsed 2 independent but simultaneous development programs, one for a nuclear bomber capable of short bursts of supersonic speed; the other, for a subsonic, chemically powered, conventional bomber. General Operational Requirement No. 81, issued in Match 1955, specifically called for the development of a nuclear-powered weapon system that would be capable of performing a strategic mission of 11,000 nautical miles in radius, of which 1,000 miles were to be traveled at speeds in excess of mach 2, at an altitude of more than 60,000 feet. The Air Force Council's announcement closely followed the October publication of General Operational Requirement No. 38. The document was brief. It simply called for an intercontinental bombardment weapon (a piloted bomber) that would replace the B-52 and stay in service during the decade beginning in 1965.
Labels: B-70 Valkyrie
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