North American XB-70 Valkyrie: libri illustrati di storia e guide

North American XB-70 Valkyrie (Osprey)

Tra i numerosi prototipi di aerei militari futuristici creati negli anni '50, il North American XB-70 rimane ancora oggi il più impressionante. Con la sua enorme ala a delta parzialmente ripiegabile di colore bianco, la fusoliera che ricorda un cobra imponente e le sue straordinarie prestazioni, rappresentò una delle più importanti conquiste tecnologiche del XX secolo.
Un bombardiere strategico progettato per superare in velocità qualsiasi caccia sovietico, in grado di raggiungere Mach 3 con un carico nucleare completo: veloce quanto il leggendario SR-71 Blackbird, ma con dimensioni più che tre volte superiori.

Tuttavia, il suo ruolo di bombardiere nucleare fu limitato dopo l'introduzione dei missili balistici intercontinentali, e i tagli alla difesa portarono infine all'abbandono del progetto a metà degli anni '60.

Il Valkyrie ebbe una vita breve e costosa, durata un decennio, ma dimostrò il valore continuo dello sviluppo di bombardieri con equipaggio. Tuttavia, quasi mezzo secolo dopo l'XB-70, il suo predecessore, il B-52, è ancora in servizio.
Grazie a illustrazioni a colori e a un'analisi rigorosa, questo è il racconto completo dell'aereo sperimentale militare statunitense per eccellenza della Guerra Fredda.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Peter E. Davies
Formato:	80 pagine, 25 x 18.5 x 1.1 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	riccamente illustrato con foto in B&N e in colori
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2020)
Collana:	X-Planes (7)
ISBN:	9781472825032

Valkyrie - The North American XB-70 - The USA's Ill-Fated Supersonic Heavy Bomber

During the 1950s, at the time the USA was aiming to become the world's only superpower, plans were being drawn at North American Aviation in Southern California for an incredible Mach-3 strategic bomber. The concept was born as a result of General Curtis LeMay's desire for a heavy bomber with the weapon load and range of the subsonic B-52 and a top speed in excess of the supersonic medium bomber, the B-58 Hustler. If LeMay's plans came to fruition there would be 250 Valkyries in the air; it would be the pinnacle of his quest for the ultimate strategic bomber operated by America's Strategic Air Command. The design was a leap into the future that pushed the envelope in terms of exotic materials, avionics and power plants.

However, in April 1961, Defense Secretary McNamara stopped the production go-ahead for the B-70 on grounds of rapid cost escalation and the USSR's new-found ability of destroying aircraft at extremely high altitude by either missiles or the new Mig-25 fighter. Nevertheless, in1963 plans for the production of three high-speed research aircraft were approved and construction proceeded. In September 1964 the first Valkyrie, now re-coded A/V-1 took to the air for the first time and in October went supersonic.

This book is the most detailed description of the design, engineering and research that went into this astounding aircraft. It is full of unpublished details, photographs and first-hand accounts from those closely associated with the project. Although never put into full production, this giant six-engined aircraft became famous for its breakthrough technology, and the spectacular images captured on a fatal air-to-air photo shoot when an observing Starfighter collided with Valkyrie A/V-2 which crashed into the Mojave Desert.
The loss of the $750 million aircraft and two lives stopped future development, although there were several attempts to redesign it as an airliner to compete against the European Concorde.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Graham M. Simons
Formato:	256 pagine, 23.5 x 15.5 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	170 foto in B&N
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Pen & Sword Books Ltd (GB, 2014)
ISBN:	9781473822856

XB-70 Valkyrie (Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions)

The XB-70 Valkyrie was an aircraft ahead of its time. Equipped with drooping wingtips, and designed with one of the highest lift-to-drag ratios in aviation history, the XB-70 challenged the known concepts of the flight envelope and demanded extraordinary developments in engineering and construction.

The test program produced promising results, including a Mach 3 flight in May of 1966. Yet after a disastrous collision later that year resulted in the loss of one of two prototypes, the Valkyrie program was curtailed. The remaining craft was retired in 1969.

Originally printed by NASA and the Air Force in the 1960's, this handbook taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. The manual was declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been slightly reformatted.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	United States Air Force, NASA
Formato:	404 pagine, 25.5 x 20.5 x 2.7 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	riccamente illustrato con foto e disegni
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Periscope Film (USA, 2010)
Collana:	Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions
ISBN:	9781935700357

North American XB-70 in Color

The North American XB-70 Valkyrie is one of the most unusual looking aircraft in aviation history, and only two were constructed. It was originally designed as a Mach 3 high-altitude bomber, but was later used as a research aircraft.

This book by John Cambell is an all-color photo study of the XB-70, including production, flight tests, and the fatal crash of Aircraft no. 2.
Aircraft no. 1 is now at the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	John M. Campbell
Formato:	96 pagine, 21.5 x 28 x 0.9 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	110+ foto in colori
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9780764305078