XB-70 Valkyrie Desk Mat

Sale price$21.99 USD

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Size: 16" × 32"

The North American XB-70 “Valkyrie” was a prototype Mach 3+ strategic bomber developed in the late 1950s for the United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command. Designed by North American Aviation, it was intended to deliver nuclear weapons by outrunning enemy defences at speeds above Mach 3 and altitudes over 70,000 feet.

Powered by six General Electric YJ93 engines, the XB-70 featured a large delta wing with folding wingtips that improved high-speed efficiency through compression lift. It also used canard foreplanes and a drooping nose to aid pilot visibility during takeoff and landing.

Although originally planned as an operational bomber fleet, advances in Soviet surface-to-air missiles and the rise of intercontinental ballistic missiles made the concept less viable. The program was reduced to two prototypes focused on research.

The first XB-70 flew on Sep 21ˢᵗ, 1964 and successfully demonstrated sustained Mach 3 flight. One aircraft was lost in a mid-air collision on Jun 8ᵗʰ, 1966, but the program still produced valuable data on high-speed flight. The surviving aircraft is now preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

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