And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
The skin on that bird was 2 sides of stainless steel face sheet autoclave brazed to stainless steel honeycomb core. Highly heat resistant but they never quite worked out paint adhesion. The survivor is in the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. (at least that's where it was last time I saw it)
it was an awesome aircraft and design, but to far beyond the mid 50s manufacturing technology of that time to make it work. they could make it fly now, or even then if they had of had Kelly Johnson at the helm.
It worked just fine. It was purely a high-altitude bomber, though, and when SAMs were able to knock down a U-2, the writing was on the wall for high-altitude bombers, no matter how fast. No SAMs were able to catch an SR-71, but if the B-70 had been fielded as a nuclear bomber, you can bet the Soviets would've spent the money to develop faster, longer-ranged SAMs.
WOW!
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ReplyDeleteThe skin on that bird was 2 sides of stainless steel face sheet autoclave brazed to stainless steel honeycomb core. Highly heat resistant but they never quite worked out paint adhesion. The survivor is in the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. (at least that's where it was last time I saw it)
it was an awesome aircraft and design, but to far beyond the mid 50s manufacturing technology of that time to make it work. they could make it fly now, or even then if they had of had Kelly Johnson at the helm.
DeleteIt worked just fine. It was purely a high-altitude bomber, though, and when SAMs were able to knock down a U-2, the writing was on the wall for high-altitude bombers, no matter how fast. No SAMs were able to catch an SR-71, but if the B-70 had been fielded as a nuclear bomber, you can bet the Soviets would've spent the money to develop faster, longer-ranged SAMs.
DeleteThat's the last thing Joe Walker saw.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCORwUxlNQo
Yes - this is in the USAF museum - I took the photo a month ago. Well worth a visit and thanks for posting it!
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