NORTH AMERICAN XB-70 VALKYRIE^85
NA XB-70A Valkyrie
Max speed: Mach 3.1
(2,056mph/3,309km/h)
Engine: 6 x General Electric
YJ93-GE-3 turbojets
Power: Each 19,900 dry thrust,
28,800 in afterburner
Wingspan: 105ft 0in (32m)
Length: 189ft 0in (57.6m)
Height: 30ft 0in (9.1m)
Max T/O weight: 542,000lb (246,000kg)
Ceiling: 77,350ft (23,600m)
Range: 4,288 miles (6,900km)went awry on 8 June 1966, when the second
XB-70 crashed following a mid-air collision
with NASA’s F-104N during a photo-shoot. Joe
Walker, the F-104N pilot, died in the accident, as
did the Valkyrie’s co-pilot Maj Carl Cross. North
American test pilot Al White managed to eject
in his escape capsule.
The rst Valkyrie was eventually handed over
to NASA to continue high-speed testing, but
time was running out for the programme and
the nal XB-70 research ight occurred on
4 February 1969.
Below: The roll-out of the second aerodynamically
modi ed XB-70, providing a good indication of
the immense size of the aircraft.
On 8 June 1966, Valkyrie AV/2 met up with four ghters (an F-4, an F-5, T-38 and NASA F-104N
Star ghter) for a photo-shoot. As the formation was separating, disaster struck. The F-104N
Star ghter own by Joe Walker, began to move in close to the XB-70’s right wingtip, too close
for safety. The Valkyrie’s angled-down wingtips generated strong vortices, and these caught
the F-104N and ipped it over onto the Valkyrie’s back. The upside-down Star ghter smashed
across the Valkyrie’s tail surfaces, tearing most of them away and damaging the left wing. Joe
Walker was killed instantly upon impact and his F-104N fell to the oor of the Mojave Desert
in a ball of ames. For 16 seconds the Valkyrie continued in straight and level ight, but then
went into two slow rolls and broke into an unrecoverable at spin. Pilot Al White managed to
eject, but his co-pilot Maj Carl Cross was killed when the aircraft hit the ground in an upright
and level con guration.Tragedy strikes