Strategic bomber HV-70 "Valkyrie"

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For 100 years of development aviation many unusual aircraft were created. As a rule, these machines were distinguished by avant-garde design solutions and were not mass-produced. Their fates were bright, but short-lived. Some of them had a significant impact on the further development of aviation, others were forgotten. But they always aroused increased interest both among specialists and among the public. Our magazine also decided to pay tribute to aeroexotics.





History create

At the end of 1951, the first strategic bomber from the Boeing B-47 TRD entered into service with the Strategic Air Command of the US Air Force. Being an average bomber (maximum bomb load is about 10 t). he could not carry in his compartments the entire nomenclature of bombs from the US nuclear arsenal of the time. Thus, the reactive B-47 became only a supplement to the huge piston B-36. Therefore, the Air Force initiated the development of a heavy bomber B-52. The first modifications of this aircraft compared with B-47 had twice the take-off weight. the radius of action is about 5500 km and, most importantly, they could carry the hydrogen bomb Mk 17 with mass 21 and power 20 Mt.

However, the prospect of the appearance in the near future of anti-aircraft guided missiles and supersonic interceptors questioned the very possibility of heavy subsonic bombers to achieve the designated targets in the depths of the USSR. With this in mind, in 1954, the US Air Force issued an order to Convert for the construction of the B-58 supersonic bombers. Acting from European bases, they were the first to invade the airspace of the USSR and strike at key anti-aircraft objects, opening the way for heavy B-52. However, the Strategic Aviation Command never showed much enthusiasm for the B-58, mainly because this aircraft had a short range (without refueling only about 1500 km) and carried a minor bomb load, and frequent accidents thoroughly undermined its reputation. At the end of 1954, the commander of the Strategic Aviation of the United States Air Force, General Le May. Having familiarized with the calculated data of B-58, he appealed to the Ministry of Defense with a request to consider the issue of another bomber, which could in the future replace B-52 - with a range without refueling at least 11000 km and “maximum possible speed”. This plane, for the operation of which existing aerodromes and ground equipment would be suitable, would have to be in service with the Air Force from 1965 to 1975.

By order of Le May, the United States Air Force issued the GOR document No. XXUMX “General Tactical Requirements for a Manned Intercontinental Bomber System Bomber weapons". After some time, the following document appeared in which the project was given the designation WS-110А - “Weapon System 110А”. The scheme of combat use of such an aircraft was to approach the target at a very high altitude with a speed corresponding to the number M = 2, and with its increase to the corresponding number M = 3 over the enemy's territory. Having launched an air-to-surface guided missile with a nuclear warhead, the bomber had to leave with the greatest possible speed. At the suggestion of a group to study ways to implement these requirements, published by the Rait Research Center, the head of the US Air Force ordered the development of a WS-110A project on a competitive basis. The main condition for victory was considered to achieve the highest possible altitude and speed of flight. Deliveries of mass-produced aircraft were scheduled to begin in 1963.

Six firms submitted their proposals to the Air Force in October 1955. The following month, two finalists of the Boeing and North American competitions issued orders for detailed bomber design studies. It should be recalled that at that time the efficiency of turbojet engines left much to be desired, and a long-distance flight with supersonic cruising speed required an exorbitant fuel reserve. Both projects included the creation of huge aircraft.

Thus, the project of the company "North American" provided for the development of a bomber with take-off weight 340 t with a trapezoidal wing, to which were attached large cantilevers sweep with fuel tanks in the middle. The latter had the same dimensions as the B-47 fuselage, and could accommodate 86 tons of fuel, providing intercontinental range at high subsonic flight speed. After overcoming the greater part of the journey, the consoles, along with the tanks, were dropped, and the plane accelerated to M = 2.3 for a throw to the target and departure. Regarding this project, General Le May sarcastically remarked: "This is not an airplane, but a link of three aircraft." In addition, the operation of such an aircraft from existing aerodromes and the use of existing ground equipment could not be considered. Both submitted projects were rejected, and soon the WS-110A program was limited only to research into the very possibility of creating such a machine.

A year and a half later, Boeing and North American presented new proposals on the topic WS-110А. Independently of each other, they concluded that using high-calorie synthetic fuel. You can achieve supersonic cruising speed without resorting to exotic aerodynamic configurations. In addition, thanks to the achievements of aerodynamics, it became possible to significantly improve the aerodynamic quality of a heavy aircraft, which reduced the amount of fuel needed to achieve intercontinental range. In aerodynamics, North American was particularly successful, having decided to use the principle of increasing the lift “from compression” developed by NASA in its project. She conducted research in a wind tunnel to establish whether the creation of an aircraft is real, the aerodynamic quality of which is enhanced by the additional lifting force created by irregular seals. The results exceeded all expectations - it turned out that based on this principle, very similar to the gliding effect of a high-speed boat on the water surface, it is possible to create an aircraft that meets the requirements of the Air Force, even regardless of the type of fuel used.

At the end of the summer, the 1957 of the United States Air Force, becoming interested in these results, extended the design research program so that firms submit projects describing the main systems. After being evaluated by Air Force representatives in December 1957, preference was given to the Valkyrie B-70 aircraft project (Valkyrie is the warlike goddess in Scandinavian mythology) of North American, which was contracted to build 62 aircraft - 12 experienced and pre-production aircraft. and 50 serial. In parallel with the company "General Electric" signed a contract to create an engine J93. able to work on both conventional and synthetic fuels. The entire program was valued at 3.3 billion.

When blowing model XB-70 in the wind tunnel clearly visible jumps seal


Ground Test Rescue Capsule


Engine installation YJ93-GE-3


Part of the research needed for the implementation of the project was to be carried out as part of the North American F-108 Rapier interceptor program “Rapier” with the same J93 engines, which could reach speeds up to 3200 km / h and be armed with three guided missiles with nuclear warheads. The design range of the F-108 exceeded 1600 km, and the ferrying distance 4000 km. "Rapiers" were to accompany B-70 and cover strategic objects from Soviet bombers, similar to "Valkyrie", whose appearance in the Soviet armament would not keep itself waiting for long in case of success of B-70.

The USAF insisted on accelerating the development of the B-70 in order. his first flight took place in 1961, and the first wing of 12 airplanes took over combat duty by August 1964. The first stage of the program - development, construction and approval of the aircraft layout - was completed in April 1959. make a 761 change to the project and 35 changes to the layout. Since the B-70 development program was among the top priorities, all comments were eliminated quickly.

However, this did not last long. The first failure in the course of the program was associated with high-calorific fuel for J93 engines, the so-called boron hydrogen fuel. Its use, of course, provided a greater energy of combustion than kerosene, however, in the exhaust gases of the engines contained many toxic substances, which forced all ground personnel to work in a state of permanent chemical warfare. In addition, the cost of boron hydrogen fuel was very high, and according to calculations, when it was burned in the afterburner chambers of J93 engines, the range of the Valkyrie increased only by 10%. Such an increase was considered insufficient to justify the cost of developing and producing a new fuel. Even despite the fact that the company "Olin Mathison" almost completed the construction of the plant for its release, the program was stopped. A plant worth 45 million never earned.

A month later, the F-108 interceptor development program was also discontinued, citing the fact that its engines had to run on hydrogen boron fuel. However, the real reason for stopping the development of F-108 was the lack of funds - the large-scale development of intercontinental ballistic missiles required huge amounts of money, which led to the need to reconsider the financing of manned aircraft projects. But in parallel with the F-108, the Lockheed A-12 (F-12A) fighter, similar in purpose, was being developed, which later turned into the famous SR-71. By the way, Lockheed had earlier abandoned boron hydrogen fuel and by the end of 1959 almost completed the development of its interceptor. Funds released as a result of the closure of the F-108 program were transferred to the Kelly Johnson team to build prototypes A-12.

By October 1959, more than 70 million had already been spent on building B-315. Since part of the research related to the flight at M-3 speed was to be carried out as part of the creation of the F-108, the cost of the necessary work on the B-70 program after the mentioned events increased by another 150 million. Despite this, in December 1959, the allocation to Valkyrie for 1961 reduced the fiscal year from 365 to 75 million dollars. The new plans envisaged the construction of only one instance of the XB-70, and then without aim-navigation and other combat systems. The first flight was scheduled for 1962, and the flight test program was extended to 1966.

However, in the summer of 1960 in Moscow, in the air parade in Tushino, the M-50 supersonic bomber developed by the design bureau of V.Myasischev was demonstrated. The terrible fighting machine was shocked by the foreign military delegations present at the parade. Without knowing its true characteristics, the Americans immediately resumed funding the development of the Valkyrie in the same volume. But in April 1961, the new US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. a big proponent of missiles, in cold blood reduced it to the construction of three experienced bombers. The first two, purely research, had a crew of 2 people and the designation XB-70A, the third plane, the prototype bomber with the designation XB-70В, had a crew of four (two pilots, an EW operator and a navigator). This time, the Valkyrie was saved only by the fact that it could be used as a carrier of GAM-87A (WS-138A) “Skybolt” missiles with a range of up to 1600 km, which was developed by Douglas. The B-70 could patrol outside the boundaries of a potential enemy, and in the event of a conflict, launch hypersonic missiles with powerful warheads. But all five experimental launches from the B-52 board were unsuccessful. Seeing that the development of the rocket is costly, and the fate of its carrier B-70 is very vague, the US president stopped its development.

Strategic bomber HV-70 "Valkyrie"
The first XB-70A in the assembly shop


For the landing of the crew in the cabin XB-70A used a special lift




In January, 1962 responded to another threat of closure of the Valkyrie program again, and the aircraft received the designation RS-70 - a strategic reconnaissance bomber. In March, 1964 g reduced the program again, setting to conduct flight tests of only two experienced XB-70A This is despite the fact that the US Air Force constantly sought all possible and impossible means to return the B-70 to life as a combat aircraft, stating that it can be used as a supersonic vehicle. preserved launch stage of combat spacecraft, such as the “Dinosaur”, and platforms for launching ballistic missiles. It was even suggested that it could perform the functions of a space interceptor.

But all efforts to preserve the "Valkyrie" were in vain. The Minister of Defense believed that better results could be achieved through other means. Even the value of the experience gained during the creation of the B-70 for the development of a supersonic civilian aircraft, from the point of view of McNamara, was not significant, although he personally headed a special committee on this issue. Note: B-70 in its configuration, weight and design completely corresponded to the views of that time on supersonic transport airplanes. Its cruising altitude was 21 km. and the speed reached M = 3. At the same time, its payload equal to the total 5% (12.5 t) of take-off weight (250 t) was clearly insufficient for a commercial aircraft. At the same time, the range of the Valkyrie was 11000 km, while most of the transatlantic routes had a length of about 9000 km. By optimizing the aircraft for these routes and reducing the stock of fuel, the load could be increased to 20 t, which would achieve the level of profitability required for a civilian liner.

Of course, all these funding disruptions and incessant debate in Congress did not promise the aircraft anything good, but North American stubbornly continued to build the first prototype of the Valkyrie. As the saying goes. Vaska listens and eats.

Technical features

One of the reasons for such a cautious attitude towards B-70 was its too much unusualness for that time, one might say, revolutionism. Accordingly, the technical risk in creating the "Valkyrie" was extremely great. The main features of the aircraft, first of all, should include the aerodynamic scheme "duck", the triangular wing and trapezoid front horizontal tail. In view of the large arm of the platform, it was effectively used for balancing the aircraft, especially at supersonic speeds, which made it possible to free up elevons for pitch and roll control. When landing, the maximum angle of deflection of PGO was 6 ?, and its tail could additionally be deflected downwards by 25 ° and served as landing plates. Rejecting them, the pilot increased the pitch angle, balancing the plane with the forward impact of the steering wheel, i.e. deflecting down elevans and further increasing overall lift. At the same time, GIP became a source of longitudinal and ground-based instability of the aircraft at high angles of attack; the oblique flow from it had a detrimental effect on the wing carrying properties and worsened the operation of air intakes. However, North American stated that it had thoroughly tested the B-70 models in wind tunnels with a duration of 14000 hours and solved all the problems.

The most important feature of the aerodynamic layout of the aircraft was the beneficial use of such a generally harmful phenomenon as the shock waves generated during supersonic flight “Valkyrie” was designed in such a way that the increased static pressure that occurred behind the jump system affected the bottom surface of the fuselage and wing and created an additional lift force. This made it possible to make a cruise flight with a minimum angle of attack and, therefore, with low resistance. Tests in a wind tunnel and calculations showed that in flight with a speed corresponding to M = 3, at a height of 21000 m, due to the shock waves, it is possible to increase the lifting force by 30% without increasing resistance. In addition, it allowed to reduce the area of ​​the wing and, consequently, reduce the weight of the aircraft structure

The source of the mentioned “useful” jump system was the front wedge of the Valkyrie air intake. The air intake itself was divided into two channels with a rectangular cross section, having a height at the entrance of 2.1 m and a length of about 24 m. Three moving panels interconnected were located behind the wedge. The position of the panels was adjusted depending on the required air flow. They were made holes for removal of the boundary layer, which ensured the uniform flow at the entrance to each of the three engines. On the upper surface of the wing were located the main and auxiliary flaps of the air bypass, allowing to some extent to control the flow in the air intake. The calculations necessary to ensure the correct operation of the air intake in various flight conditions were carried out using a complex system of sensors and analog calculators.

Solemn rollout of the first copy of the XB-70A


HV-70A refueling


Takeoff of the first copy of the XB-70A


Racing arising on the frontal glazing of the cockpit canopy in the usual configuration of the nose of the aircraft. unacceptably increase drag when flying at high speeds. To avoid them, the angles of inclination of all the nose surfaces of the aircraft must be very small. At the same time, during an approach, pilots need to have a good overview. North American chose a relatively simple method of meeting both requirements, made the windshields double, and the outer ones, as well as the upper surface of the toe of the fuselage in front of the glasses, were movable. In flight at low speed, they descended, providing the necessary visibility, and in supersonic flight they rose, forming a smooth transition. The total area of ​​the glazing of the cockpit is 9.3 m All transparent panels, the largest of which has a length of more than 1.8 m. Are made of heat-resistant tempered glass.

A completely unique feature of the “Valkyrie” was the wingtips, which were deflected downward in cruise flight in order to increase track stability and reduce balancing resistance. In addition, they allowed to reduce the area of ​​vertical tail, thereby increasing the aerodynamic quality by approximately 5%. The firm said that in supersonic cruise flight, the aerodynamic quality of the aircraft is equal to 8-8.5. and in the subsonic - about 12-13.

In a large bomb bay with a length of almost 9 m, located between the air intake channels, all types of nuclear bombs could be placed. The bomb bay closed with a large flat sliding panel that slid back when opened. True, the ejection of bombs from such a compartment at supersonic flight speeds is a problem. The North American asset, or rather, the experience of developing such a design was already in the passive — the company did not bring to conditional the famous linear bomb bay on the Widget supersonic, because of which the deck bomber turned into a reconnaissance aircraft.

The chassis "Valkyrie" also deserves attention. To reduce the space occupied in the retracted position, the four-wheeled carts on the main supports were turned and pressed against the rack before cleaning. Each trolley had a small fifth wheel of the automatic defrosting device preventing the aircraft from moving and skidding on a slippery surface. Tires of wheels with a diameter of 1060 mm were made of special rubber and covered with silver paint to reflect infrared radiation. Before flying at high speeds, pneumatics were tinted with fresh paint. During braking, when pneumatic wheels warm up to 230 ° С, the excess pressure in them was discharged by a special valve, which prevented their explosion.

The B-70 cockpit was located at an altitude of 6 m above the ground, which necessitated the use of special lifts for the crew and technical staff. Thanks to a powerful air-conditioning and sealing system, members of the Valkyrie crew could wear light flight suits and helmets with oxygen masks. This provided them with freedom of movement and relative comfort, unlike pilots of other high-altitude and high-speed aircraft. For example, high-speed pilots A-12 were forced to fly in spacesuits from the Gemini spacecraft, and high-altitude pilots U-2 - in special suits and helmets. The B-70 cockpit was divided by a reproduction into two compartments, in each of which during high-altitude flights a pressure could be created corresponding to an altitude of up to 2440 m. In the case of decompression, two doors opened in the fuselage providing the cockpit pressure to flow. Along it in the middle there was a passage leading to a compartment with electronic equipment in the rear part of the cabin. Fiberglass was used for thermal insulation. For refrigeration of the cockpit and the compartment of electronic equipment, two refrigeration units operating on freon were used.

In the first flight of the chassis could not be removed


The crew of the B-70 were housed in individual capsules, which should radically increase the safety of the ejection in all flight modes. Each capsule had an autonomous system of pressurization and oxygen supply, designed to provide human life for 3 days, the chair inside it was regulated by the angle of inclination and height. Immediately before the ejection, the pilot's seat was tilted back to 20 °. and the capsule flaps closed. The top panel of the fuselage was automatically dropped, and the capsule was fired at a height of about 1 .5 m above the fuselage, after which its jet engine was activated. Then two cylindrical rods with small parachutes at the ends were advanced from the capsule, providing stabilization during free fall. The main parachute opened automatically. To absorb the impact on the ground at the bottom of the capsule there was an inflatable rubber cushion. Estimated ejection speeds - from 167 km / h to the corresponding M number 3 at an altitude of about 21000 and the ejection of all crew members' capsules. Interval 0,5 with. At the same time, in some emergency situations the pilot could close in the capsule without ejection. Inside it there were buttons with which it was possible to control the aircraft before dropping to a safe height, and the control of the engines from the capsule was limited only to a decrease in the number of revolutions. In the front of the capsule there was a window that allowed to monitor the readings of the instruments. After lowering the flap, the capsules could be opened, and the pilot could resume control of the aircraft as usual.

Since the B-70 design was calculated for a long flight at a speed of more than 3000 km / h. One of the most difficult problems in its development was kinetic heating. This problem turned out to be even more difficult for the Valkyrie than for the North American X-15 experimental aircraft. designed for a short flight at a hypersonic speed corresponding to the M number 6. If on the surface of the latter the temperature peaks reached 650 ° С, but they were kept at this level for only a few minutes, then for B-70 the picture was different. Long, for several hours, flight at M 3 required that a significant part of the entire aircraft structure could work effectively at a temperature 330? С. This determined the choice of high-strength steel and titanium as the main structural materials. Temperatures in engine compartments that reached 870 ° С determined the use of nickel-cobalt-based alloys. Silicon dioxide felt was used to protect drives and other mechanisms from the heat emitted by engines. The outer skin of the engine compartment was made of titanium. The operating temperatures of some of the cockpit glazing panels reached 260 C. The chassis niche had to be cooled to 120 ° C with an ethylene glycol solution circulating through the tubes soldered to the walls. When choosing construction materials, not only high temperature was taken into account, but also possible weather conditions. For example. To investigate the effects of rain, the company accelerated design elements using a rocket trolley up to the speed of 1500 km / h. To reduce the weight of the structure, “puff” panels were used, consisting of two steel sheets with a thickness from 0,75 to 1,78 mm and a honeycomb core between them. If all such panels are laid out next to each other, then they would cover the area in 1765 m. In addition to low weight and high strength, such panels had a low thermal conductivity. The aviation industry at that time did not have the technology to produce such panels, and the company started from scratch.

But, perhaps more important in the creation of the Valkyrie than the use of new materials, was the transition from riveting and manual assembly of the aircraft structure to mechanical soldering and welding, which is comparable to the revolution in shipbuilding. In the factory case, where the XB-70A was being assembled, instead of knocking pneumatic hammers, only the hiss of dozens of welding units and grinders, stripping the seams, were heard. The method of assembling the structure of the aircraft by welding was so new that the welding equipment, methods of its application and the technology for monitoring welds were finally developed only during the assembly of the first experimental aircraft. In some places of the construction, where it was impossible to do without riveting, in order to save weight, the rivets were replaced with tubes that were flared on both sides.

There were so many problems in the design of XB-70 that North American could not cope with such a huge task alone and transferred some of the work to other companies, the number of which exceeded 2000. The main ones were: “Air Research” (air signal system). "Autonetik" (automatic control system). Avko (rear section of the upper part of the fuselage), Chance Wout (horizontal and vertical tail). “Newmo Dynamics (Chassis). "Curtiss Wright" (drive system deflection of the wing ends). Hamilton Standard (air conditioning system). "Pop" (elevons and wing socks), "Solar" (air intake). Sperry (inertial navigation system). "Sundstrand" (auxiliary power unit).

"Valkyrie" accompanied by B-58A returns after the first transition of the sound barrier. 12 October 1964 g


In this flight, the paint crumbled on many parts of the surface of the aircraft


The largest contractor, Boeing, was entrusted with the design and production of the Valkyrie wing, which became the largest triangular wing of the time. The dimensions of some three-layer cladding panels with honeycomb reached 2.4X6 m. They were made in a controlled environment by soldering, and the staff worked in white gloves. Eleven fuel compartments located in the wing and fuselage contained about 136 tons of fuel and had a welded structure. According to the statements of the Air Force. this was the main reason for the delay in the construction of the aircraft - technologists could not ensure the tightness of the welds. Their porosity was, as a rule, microscopic, but it was necessary to eliminate it, because in flight the tanks were filled with nitrogen, the leakage of which would lead to the ingress of air into the tanks and the formation of an explosive mixture. The first attempts to eliminate the soldering leakage were absolutely unsuccessful. In this regard, developed a rubber-like sealant "Viton" to the place where the leak was found. One layer of Viton was applied. which froze for 6 hours at a temperature of 177 C. As a rule, at least six layers of Viton were required to eliminate the leak. The coating was made by a man in sterile clothing, which was closed inside the tank. Then helium was pumped in to check the sealing of the tank.

Helium leakage was determined using special detectors. On the second prototype, the tanks were sealed with a new method. The areas of alleged leakage were covered with nickel foil 0,75 mm thick. which was soldered at the edges with silver solder. When the wing was finally manufactured and delivered to the assembly workshop, it turned out that it did not fit in with the fuselage! With enormous difficulties, manually, it was possible to put it in place and attach with welding.

The first XB-70A was built by the beginning of May 1964, with a delay of as much as a year and a half. On May 11, a solemn ceremony was held to roll out the aircraft from the assembly shop, at which the director of the XB-70 production program, General Frod J. Scully, presented a prototype bomber to the media. The first flight was scheduled for August - the company wanted to check all the systems of a unique machine in three months. An extensive ground test program included checking the performance of the landing gear, landing gear doors, and drogue chute compartment under dynamic and static loads; vibration testing with a ground-based flutter tester; calibration of the air conditioning system, fuel system and power plant (with gas engines on the ground): checking and calibrating instrumentation. A container with control and recording equipment was placed in the empty bomb bay, which recorded several hundred parameters. Robots various aircraft systems. Of course, for such an extensive work, the company took not three, but almost five months.

The second copy of the Valkyrie flies with wing tips rejected on 25 °


"Valkyrie" is ready to fly at maximum speed? And. Wing tips terminated on 65 gr


The last stage of ground tests, launched in September by 1964, included taxiing and jogging along the runway, testing the performance of the exhaust system of three brake parachutes with a diameter of 8 m. Without using parachutes, the aircraft would require a runway of at least 4100 m. runs reached 1070 ° С, pneumatics heated up to 120 ° С. During the final stages of ground tests, the procedure for fueling was finally completed. On average, the Valkyrie refueling lasted an hour and a half. At first, the fuel was pumped from one tanker to a second, empty one, in which meanwhile dry nitrogen was pumped under high pressure, nitrogen was blown through the fuel in the filling neck and displaced oxygen. Thus, the fuel entered the tanks with as inert (explosion-proof) as this can be achieved in the field. The fact. that the fuel was used as a coolant for some aircraft systems, and its normal flight temperature exceeded 100 ° C. If the oxygen content in the fuel exceeded the permissible rate, its vapors could flare up. Thus, if the “Valkyrie” was fueled in the traditional way, the plane could simply explode in the air.

At this time, the second experienced X8-70A was in the assembly stage. It was planned to lift it into the air at the end of 1964. The main difference between the second prototype was the presence of a small transverse wing “V” (5 ° in total). The deflection angles of the wing consoles also increased by 5 °.

For flight tests XB-70A prepared two crews. Each was led by an experienced “firm” test pilot, and the co-pilot was an Air Force representative. The main crew was headed by Ell White (who had previously flown on the F-107), the co-pilot was Colonel John Cotton. Their backup players were civilian test pilot Van Shepard and Major Fitz Fulton. Flights planned to conduct over sparsely populated areas of the United States. extending from Edwards Air Force Base towards Utah.

flight tests

21 September 1964 in 8 38 min in the morning driven by White and Cotton XB-70A taxied to the start, and White requested permission to take off. The plane was supposed to make a shift from the factory airfield in Palmdel in the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Base. During the takeoff, the Valkyrie was accompanied by two rescue service helicopters, and its behavior was monitored from the two-seater T-38 in the air. Another T-38 filmed everything that happens. The nose wheel lifted off the ground at a speed of 280 km / h. and after a moment, the car began to climb. Failures began already when trying to remove the chassis: the front support was removed normally, and the main ones worked only half of the program. I had to return the chassis to its original position. After a while, the fuel automatics of one of the six engines failed. But on this “aerial adventures, the XB-70A were not over. The crew had the biggest trouble while touching the runway at Edwards Air Base. The brake discs on the left rack jammed, and tire wheels caught fire due to friction. Throughout the two-kilometer run behind the car, puffs of black smoke from burning rubber lasted. After stopping, the fire was extinguished, and the car was towed to the hangar. The first flight lasted 60 minutes.

HV-70A number XXUMX in the last flight. Near F-2, piloted by John Walker


Landing with a defective left landing gear. March 1966 g


Nose support jammed during cleaning. 30 April 1966 g


It took two weeks to eliminate the detected defects. October 5 XB-70A made a second flight. The pilots intended to break the sound barrier, and the supersonic B-58 was included in the tracking group. The chassis was removed without comment, but this time a surprise was presented by the hydraulic control system. A small crack in the tube at a working fluid pressure in 280 kgf / cm? (which is 35% more than in the hydraulic systems of ordinary American aircraft) led to a decrease in pressure in the system and switching to a backup channel. Nevertheless, the plane successfully landed on one of the landing strips of the airbase.

12 October in the third flight, which lasted 105 minutes, the first prototype of the Valkyrie reached the height of 10700 m and for the first time broke the sound barrier, speeding up to a speed corresponding to 1.1 M. At the moment when the barrier moved from vibrations, paint flew off some parts of the plane's surface, and after landing, the XB-70А had a rather battered appearance.

In the fourth flight. 24 October, at the height of 13000 m for the first time turned on the wingtip control system and brought all six engines to afterburner. The maximum deflection angle of the tips was 25 °. For 40 minutes the plane flew at a speed of M = 1.4. was easily manageable and behaved steadily. True, the fuel consumption was higher than expected, and the flight program had to be reduced. The aircraft returned to the factory for testing the strength and restoring the paintwork. Continue test flights scheduled for February 1965.

In accordance with the plan, 16 February XB-70A returned to Edwards base. In flight, the wing tips deflected already by 65 °. The maximum speed was M 1.6. On landing, the brake parachute release system failed, and the plane stopped only after the 3383 m run. In the sixth flight, the aircraft was first piloted by Fulton, the role of the second pilot was played by White. A small leak in the hydraulic system appeared in the air, which did not affect the safety of the flight.

In the seventh flight, the Valkyrie was driven to speed M = 1.85. and the plane flew with her for 60 minutes.

In the eighth flight at the helm XB-XNUMHA, Shepard sat down. He first brought the plane to speed M = 70. Thus, all four pilots tested the Valkyrie.

In the ninth flight, the XB-70A again reached M-2. This time the surprise was presented by the TACAN radio navigation system. According to the testimony of the instruments, the car was supposed to fly over the Mojave Desert, and in fact the “Valkyrie” was flying over Las Vegas sleeping in the early morning.

In the tenth flight, the bomber spent 74 minutes in supersonic, of which 50 - at a speed of more than 2200 km / h.

7 May 1965, in the twelfth flight, at speed M 2.58, the pilots felt a sharp blow. The engines 3, 4, 5, 6 fell momentum, and the temperature began to rise. They had to turn off, and the flight continued on the remaining two. From escort aircraft it was reported that the XV-70А had the front end of the wing collapsed (the top of the triangle). Probably its fragments got into the air intake. When approaching the airfield, the pilots tried to start the fifth engine to create at least some thrust from the right side. Fortunately, they succeeded. Landing was successful. During the inspection, the worst fears were confirmed: parts of the skin damaged all six engines to varying degrees, which had to be replaced.

From Udapa F-104 exploded, and the XB-70A still flies by inertia


XB-70A went into a tailspin


In the fourteenth flight "Valkyrie" at an altitude of 20725 m reached a speed of M = 2.85 (3010 km / h)


October 14 1965, in the seventeenth flight, at an altitude of 21335 m. XB-70А reached its design speed corresponding to the number M-3. According to the task, the flight duration at this speed should have been 5-6 min, but after 2 min the pilots heard a strong noise and turned off the afterburner. The cause of the noise was quickly found out: it was perfectly clear from the escort plane that the section of the toe cap of the left wing of the wing, 0,3x0.9 m in size, located near the outer edge of the air intake, turned out to be broken by the velocity head. By happy coincidence, this piece of plating did not get into the engines. Inspection of the aircraft showed that the curved trim panel went off at the weld and fell off without damaging the honeycomb core. This time repair ХХNUMX-8А took only one day.

After this event, the maximum flight speed of the first prototype was limited to M 2.5. and all flights with the number M = 3 decided to carry out on the plane №2. flyby of which took place 17 July 1965 g On that flight, the speed M = 1,4 was immediately reached.

The typical flight of the Valkyrie was as follows. After takeoff and landing gear, the pilots began to climb. At speeds from 740 to 1100 km / h, wing tips deflected to 25? in order to increase stability in the transonic zone. When the M-0.95 was reached, the external windshields of the cockpit rose, after which the review became almost zero, and the aircraft was controlled only by instruments. Then the sound barrier was overcome. The speed M = 1,5 was set at 9753 height. The wing socks deflected to 60 ?, and XB-70A continued to climb to 15240 m. Then the plane passed M = 2 and at a height more than 21000 m went out to M 3 So, 11 December 1965 g the second bomber in its fifteenth flight flew at speed M = 2.8 for 20 minutes. No damage to the structure was found.

After 10 days, December 21, after seven minutes of flight at speed M = 2.9 on the plane №2 the oil pump of the fourth engine failed. The engine was immediately turned off, and the aircraft was turned to the airfield. A few minutes after that, the temperature of the gases behind the turbine of the sixth engine exceeded the permissible limits, and it also had to be turned off, Landing passed without comment, but two engines had to be replaced. Frequent engine failures caused concern among specialists. The fact that they released all 38 TRD YJ93-GE-3, and they could simply not be enough to complete the test program.

Some faults became already traditional. So. in 37, the March flight of 1966, on the No. XXUMX, the hydraulic system again failed, and the left main landing gear was stuck in an intermediate position. Shepard managed to get the car jeweled on the surface of the dried-up Lake Rogers, the mileage was over 1 km. 4,8 April 30 G. White and Cotton were supposed to spend more than half an hour at M = 1966 speed, but after take-off, the nose landing gear on plane # 3 did not retract. Attempts to return her to the released position were also unsuccessful. This was the most serious incident since the beginning of the flight tests. If the rack could not be released, the pilots would have to eject, because with a forced landing, the long XB-2A “swan neck” would have been inevitably broken, the fuel from the tanks would have rushed into the engines and then ...

White twice landed the landing and struck the main pillars on the runway surface, but the front pivot was jammed thoroughly. While the Valkyrie was circling in the air, burning a huge supply of fuel, engineers puzzled over solving the problem. Besides the two hydraulic landing systems, there was also a third electric, but it is disconnected from the overload in the mains. The only way out was to try to short the fuses of the electrical system with a metal object. Cotton took the usual paper clip, which fastened the flight mission sheets, and crawled along a narrow manhole between the rescue capsules to the guard with the fuses. Having opened the shield, he found the necessary contacts on commands from the ground and locked them with an unfolded clip. The nose rack has become released. But the next day, the newspapers were full of headlines like "The clip in 39 cents saves the plane in 750 million dollars".

The planned long flight at M = 3 was made only on 19 May. The plane flew at this speed for 33 minutes. In that flight, the highest speed and flight altitude for the entire time of the XV-70A tests were achieved: M = 3.08 and 22555 m. Accordingly, this achievement marked the end of the first phase of the flight tests.

The next phase was carried out mainly in the interests of NASA - for the study of sound shocks. The program included new pilots - NASA employees. The first pilot appointed an experienced test pilot of the company North American, John Walker. who just finished flying the hypersonic X-15. In the bomb bay of aircraft No.2, new equipment was installed at a cost of 50 million dollars for fixing the bends and vibrations of the structure during the transition of the sound barrier. The first flight of the second phase was planned for 8 on June 1966. The flight had two goals: to test a new equipment and to shoot an advertising film about Valkyries. For greater effect, a huge bomber was accompanied by F-4B, F-5, F-104 fighters and T-38 training aircraft.

In 8 h 27 min in the morning, White and Major K. Cross took their places in the XB-70 booth. It was the 46-th flight of the aircraft №2 and the first flight of Karl Cross. One of the escort aircraft, the F-104 Starfighter, was piloted by John Walker. When the planes, breaking through the clouds, lined up for shooting, the F-104, flying to the right of the Valkyrie, touched the wing for the lowered tip of the right wing of the bomber, flipped over its fuselage, beating off both keels of it, hit the left console and exploded. Bomber pilots did not immediately understand what had happened. 71 second "Valkyrie" continued straight flight, then rolled over the wing, entered the tailspin and fell. Only Ella White managed to escape, who managed to catapult his capsule in the final seconds before falling. His parachute lying on the ground was spotted from a rescue helicopter 20 kilometers from the HV-70 fragments. Landing a half-opened parachute capsule was very rude, White suffered serious injuries and did not regain consciousness for three days. Little remained of the bomber itself. The nasal part in which Cross was located (it is believed that he lost consciousness from overloads) was torn into several parts. Probably the car exploded even in the air. White recovered, but never flew again.

After this tragic test of the remaining aircraft number 1 lasted another two years. The first flight after the crash occurred on November 1 1966, then another 32 flight was made. A total of XB-70 # 1 performed 83, and # 2 - 46 flights. The total flight time of two airplanes was 254.2 hours, of which No. 1 was 160 hours.

Dashboard in the cockpit


Nose support chassis


In 1968, work on B-70 was discontinued. 4 February 1969. "Valkyrie" took off for the last time. The car was driven by Fityu Fulton from North America. and Ted Stenfold from the HV-70A Air Force landed at Wright-Patterson Air Base and became an exhibit at the Air Force Museum. During the transfer of the aircraft to the museum representatives, one of the pilots said that he - ... agrees to everything so that the Valkyrie continues to fly, but does not agree to pay for the flights -.

Indeed, the total cost of the XB-70A flight test program cost the US budget 1,5 billion dollars. Only one flight of the bomber cost 11 million dollars (according to other sources, only 1 flight cost 5.9 million dollars per hour). Therefore, the Valkyrie is considered not only the fastest of the large aircraft (after all, it flew twice as fast as a bullet (1 *)), but also the most expensive of them.

1 * For example, the bullet speed of a TT pistol when departing from the barrel is just the whole of 420 m / s (1512 km / h)

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27 comments
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  1. Hunghuz
    +8
    17 December 2012 09: 07
    Great article, it was interesting to read. I will consider it a standard good
  2. snek
    +15
    17 December 2012 09: 09
    A stunning airplane well ahead of its time. In general, it is interesting that the fastest aircraft were built in those days: Valkyrie, Sotka, SR-71, at 25.
    1. InkGrey
      +7
      17 December 2012 10: 02
      The air defense system was not yet so developed - hence the search for loopholes to overcome it. I was surprised by the cost of flying this bird. millions of dollars, even in our times - huge amounts. Well, for the ultimatum at the time of the characteristics had to pay.
      1. 0
        26 December 2017 18: 59
        Quote: InkGrey
        I was surprised by the cost of flying this bird. millions of dollars, even in our times - huge amounts

        The cost of operating the SR-71 was very high. What was worth, for example, a complete disassembly-assembly of the aircraft after each supersonic flight. The cost of operating the B-70 would be simply prohibitive and unbearable even for the United States.
  3. yustas
    +7
    17 December 2012 09: 54
    Tu 160 looks better =) somehow more powerful, or something. although I agree with the snack, then did a lot of fast planes with a lot of groundwork for the future
  4. InkGrey
    +2
    17 December 2012 09: 58
    There is also a documentary film about this aircraft - "XB-70: Quest For Speed". Translated into Russian. So, if anyone is interested, you can search. It takes 52 minutes.
  5. +5
    17 December 2012 10: 00
    For me, this car to this day remains the standard of purity of aerodynamic forms. In general, I began to notice long ago that the degree of acceptable technical risk was much higher before. Vaughn were not afraid of amers on the Valkyries to make the VZ mixed compression and deflected parts of the wing consoles. Now what? all you hear is the sad prayers "An airplane is a platform" ... Of course, I don’t understand that it is a platform, but with this logic we will not go far ... (So we will lick the MiG-29 / Su-27 scheme).
    1. 0
      26 December 2017 19: 06
      .
      Quote: Zerstorer
      Zerstorer December 17, 2012 10:00
      For me, this car to this day remains the standard of cleanliness of aerodynamic forms.

      For my taste, the standard of aerodynamic perfection, and even with the elements of "stealth", is the SR-71, not the XB-70. I saw both of these aircraft alive in the US Air Force Museum. Although the XB-70, no words, an impressive car.
  6. Brother Sarych
    +4
    17 December 2012 10: 11
    It is astounding that SUCH was created fifty years ago!
  7. +4
    17 December 2012 11: 53
    Great stuff! This machine (as well as our "weaving") is not just - a new plane ... This is a milestone in the history of aviation development!
    1. 0
      26 December 2017 19: 17
      Quote: Ward # 6

      3
      Chamber No. 6 December 17, 2012 11:53
      Great stuff! This car (like our weaving) is not easy - a new plane ...

      The article is interesting, but with even greater interest I would read a detailed honest article on the development and testing of the Sukhoi T-4. Then it would become clear that he was ruined. For example, they once wrote about Valkyrie that the Americans felt that she could not break through the Soviet air defense and there were no other reasons to curtail development.
  8. +5
    17 December 2012 12: 13
    A car with rather big claims, even today. What can we say about the time half a century ago, when the pretentiousness of the project simply went off scale all the possible at that time limits ... Then "Valkyrie" was literally on the cutting edge of scientific and technological progress ... As a result, it killed her ...
    But the plane itself is beautiful. Beautiful and attractive ...

    And the material is five and a half. Many thanks to the author ...
  9. Russian sniper
    +2
    17 December 2012 14: 47
    There is still a similarity between the Valkyrie and our civilian Tu-144 airliner, which also did not have a fate. Yes
    1. +1
      17 December 2012 17: 37
      rather, it is similar to the Soviet T-100 bureau dry
      http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Т-4_(самолёт)
      and the T-144 is more like a concord
      http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aérospatiale-BAC_Concorde
      Even co-developed with the French at some point
  10. +2
    17 December 2012 15: 41
    Further evidence that preterm birth is detrimental to the newborn.
    1. 0
      17 December 2012 21: 31
      And I think that the parents of that time were, first of all, creative people and thought about making the "child" beautiful, strong and unique. It is the present parents who first of all have to think about how to feed at birth and how much it will cost a born "child" during exploitation.
  11. Nechai
    +5
    17 December 2012 16: 22
    The article is great! The example of "Valkyrie" clearly shows the difference between the scientific and design thought of the American and our school. In the United States, every possible measure is trying to increase the lift of the aircraft by increasing the pressure under the wing. And we achieve the same by reducing the pressure ABOVE the wing (in a rough statement), increasing and creating an adjustable, in addition, and the rate of climb of the aircraft. They struggle with parasitic longitudinal flows on the upper wing surface (Bartini wing profile, rising "ridges" of the Tu-160, with an increase in wing sweep, etc.).
  12. +1
    17 December 2012 19: 01
    you come to the conclusion that the development of computer technology has a fatal effect on the design thought, such "birds" are no longer counted (
  13. +1
    17 December 2012 21: 15
    Very beautiful and interesting car!
  14. Kir
    0
    17 December 2012 21: 28
    For the article, of course, a tremendous THANKS, but still I’m singing the odes of a stranger, even if the combat vehicle did not take place, for me it’s not very much, and I’m judging by the degree of percentage of technology novelty in this case compared to our 100 only in open literature, it’s not a fact that primacy is behind an Amer’s miracle, and visually weaving will be more sympathetic to me.
    1. InkGrey
      +1
      17 December 2012 23: 06
      You compare the dates of the start of design and the first flights of the T-4 and XB-70 - many questions will disappear.
      1. Kir
        +2
        18 December 2012 01: 44
        Do you think I don't know who is behind whom? Our T-50 is also younger than the F-22, so what if, to be honest, the aesthetics of our "birds" are dearer to me, and in terms of the degree of novelty in many parameters, the T-4-100 has this percentage, I repeat from open sources, will be higher ...
  15. Nechai
    +3
    18 December 2012 09: 34
    Quote: Kir
    and questions about the degree of percentage of technology novelty in this case compared to our 100

    Yes, the fuel was not purged with nitrogen, like the tanks. And the approach to creating servo drives, to put it mildly, is different. Smiled - individual atomic capsules of the crew member rescue system. A purely individualistic, capital-systemic approach. The Myasishchevites, in my opinion, in a similar project, the capsule with the ALL crew was "fastened". She spread her wings and with such a glider left the affected area at a distance of up to 100 km. Heat-stressed surfaces and volumes of the XB-70A were cooled FROM THE INSIDE, and in our projects mostly FROM THE OUTSIDE! Such a paradox could be realized by our designers and production workers ... Solving along the way, and some other questions that the United States did not approach at that time and did not even think that this was possible in principle. They SOLD the honeycomb structures, and we welded them all over with diffusion welding. With an argon arc were on you. Titanium, by the way, as they had Soviet then, and now Russian. As then they DIDN'T know how to work with him, so to this day they have seams.
    Quote: InkGrey
    You compare the dates of the start of design and the first flights of the T-4 and XB-70 - many questions will disappear.

    And if compared with the Myasischevsky? Ash stump, that under a hypothetical condition (and what remains to be done), that they WERE given the opportunity to bring to mass production.
  16. Tylerdurden
    +1
    18 December 2012 11: 51
    It seems to me alone that, outwardly, he is not a standard and all that, but just ye .. laughing
    1. yustas
      +1
      18 December 2012 11: 55
      Quote: TylerDurden
      It seems to me alone that, outwardly, he is not a standard and all that, but just ye ..

      + there is something in him: "I blinded him from what was" ours look more harmonious.
      1. +1
        18 December 2012 13: 28
        Our T-4,
        MASSES AND LOADS:
        - normal take-off 114;
        - maximum take-off (with an outboard fuel tank and two SD) 135;
        - empty 55 600.
        FLIGHT DATA.
        - Maximum horizontal flight speed of 3200 km / h;
        - cruising horizontal flight speed of 3000 km / h;
        - practical flight range of 6000 km;
        - ferry range of 7000 km;
        - practical ceiling (estimated) 25-000 m;
        - take-off run 950-1050 m;
        - The length of the run with a brake parachute 800-900 m.


        1. Kir
          +1
          18 December 2012 13: 48
          I’ll add something, though not my own.
  17. 0
    1 September 2017 18: 36
    Oh, all these efforts of the Americans, as well as ours, but peacefully! What a life would be interesting now. And so - all in ashes, both superpowers overstrained. Now it is getting clearer.
  18. 0
    1 January 2018 12: 28
    Comrades! Thank you for the article! good

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