XB-70 Crash Site

November 23rd 2017





Summery :

 The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the planned B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration, Mach 3 supersonic strategic bomber.
This XB-70 (#62-0207) was the second plane of only two ever built. It flew 46 times over 92 hours 22 minutes and made Mach 3.08 speed racord.
On June 8, 1966, it was destroyed during a photo shoot when F-104N flying in the tight formation was caught in the wake vortex of the XB-70, and pulled into a midair collision. The damaged XB-70 continued to fly for about 15 seconds, then went out of control and crashed.
Test pilot Al White was able to eject in an escape capsule, but his co-pilot Maj. Carl Cross was killed.
The other plane, an F-104N also crashed and killed the pilot.


    
Description



Manufacturer:
North American Aviation
Base model:
XB-70
Version:
A
Nickname:
Valkyrie
Designation System:
U.S. Air Force
Designation Period:
1964-1969
Basic role:
Strategic bomber/Supersonic research aircraft
Serial Number:
62-0207
Year built:
1962
Crash Date:
1966/6/8
Cause of Crash:
Midair Collision
Fatalities:
1




Specifications



Length:
189' 0" 57.6 m
Height:
30' 0" 9.1 m
Wingspan:
105' 0" 32 m
Wing area:
6,297 sq ft 585 sq m
Empty Weight:
253,600 lb 115,030 kg
Max Takeoff Weight:
542,000 lb 246,000 kg





Propulsion



No. of Engines:
6
Powerplant:
General Electric YJ93-GE-3 afterburning turbojet
Thrust:
28,800 lbf with afterburner





Performance



Max Speed:
2,056 mph 3,309 km/h Mach 3.1
Range:
4,288 mi 6,901 km 3,725 nmi
Ceiling:
77,350 ft 23,600 m





Number built:
2


    
Other XB-70 Link :
 Wikipedia Link : North American XB-70 Valkyrie
    



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