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.
Dad worked on the plant that was going to produce the special fuel for these planes. Let's just say mom was happy when that job went away, because there were explosions. I don't remember if there were any fatalities.
There is no bomb bay on the XB-70A. That’s because despite the name and “B” in its model designation, the two XB-70As were constructed and used only as supersonic test vehicles.
The B-70 bomber program was cancelled in 1961 due to the increasing threat of surface-to-air missiles. However the Air Force and NASA decided to build the first three prototypes to research supersonic flight and advanced manufacturing techniques, so there was no longer a requirement to carry bombs or missiles. The navigator and bombardier positions were eliminated, and all the associated weapons avionics and structures were deleted from the design. I believe the area between the main landing, or it was devoted to a fuel tank.
The first XB-70A, called Air Vehicle 1 or AV/1 first flew in May 1964, three years after the bomber program was cancelled. A/V 3 was cancelled in 1964 long before being built. AV/2, significantly improved with lessons learned on AV/1, first flew in July 1965 and was much faster; however it was the one lost in the mid-air accident in 1965. AV/2 continued flying until 1969, when itwas delivered to the National Museum of the USAF.
Now that’s a flying brick…
ReplyDeleteAnd it could still go Mach 3 in level flight.
DeleteBayouwulf
praying mantis
DeleteAwesomely powerful platform. B-58 Hustler was another one built for speed. Both favorites of mine.
ReplyDeleteDad worked on the plant that was going to produce the special fuel for these planes. Let's just say mom was happy when that job went away, because there were explosions. I don't remember if there were any fatalities.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the bomb bays? What's the point of building a bomber incapable of delivering a payload?
ReplyDeleteThe bomb bay is the smooth area behind the nose wheel and between the main landing gear.
DeleteI think the idea was to drop a really big bomb and base the success on getting in and out at an insane speed…
DeleteThere is no bomb bay on the XB-70A. That’s because despite the name and “B” in its model designation, the two XB-70As were constructed and used only as supersonic test vehicles.
DeleteThe B-70 bomber program was cancelled in 1961 due to the increasing threat of surface-to-air missiles. However the Air Force and NASA decided to build the first three prototypes to research supersonic flight and advanced manufacturing techniques, so there was no longer a requirement to carry bombs or missiles. The navigator and bombardier positions were eliminated, and all the associated weapons avionics and structures were deleted from the design. I believe the area between the main landing, or it was devoted to a fuel tank.
The first XB-70A, called Air Vehicle 1 or AV/1 first flew in May 1964, three years after the bomber program was cancelled. A/V 3 was cancelled in 1964 long before being built. AV/2, significantly improved with lessons learned on AV/1, first flew in July 1965 and was much faster; however it was the one lost in the mid-air accident in 1965. AV/2 continued flying until 1969, when itwas delivered to the National Museum of the USAF.
To paraphrase a quote from Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez (also known as The Rat) "I go over there, I kill them all, I be right back".
ReplyDelete