North American XB-70A Valkyrie - Warbird Tech Vol. 34 [Paperback]

Dennis R. Jenkins (Author), Tony Landis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2002

The North American XB-70 Valkyrie was an attempt to build the ultimate offensive weapon fo the Cold War - a heavy bomber capable of flying at Mach 3 and reaching targets deep inside the Soviet Union. The aircraft that emerged was one of the most graceful large aircraft ever to fly, and one that looked everybit as fast on the ground as it ws in the air - over 2,00 mph at high altitude. It was years ahead of its time. But politics and changing requirements ultimately doomed the Valkyrie program to only two aircraft. Neighter was a true prototype of a weapons system, and instead was used to test the concept of such a large aircraft flying so fast.The authors have uncovered a great deal of new matierial on the XB-70 program - both on the aircraft as flown, and on what the proposed production aircraft would have looked like had they been built. Many never-before-seen photographs and drawings are included in the book. Details of the defensive perspective with the politics and economic realities that caused its cancellation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Specialty Press; 1st edition (October 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580070566
• ISBN-13: 978-1580070560
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,368,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The next best experience to actually flying in a Valkyrie, June 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: North American XB-70A Valkyrie - Warbird Tech Vol. 34 (Paperback)

Volume 34 in the outstanding Specialty Press "WarbirdTech" series, Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony Landis' North American XB-70A Valkyrie is a comprehensive, profusely illustrated study of a unique and fascinating type of military aircraft created during the 1960s amid the tension of the Cold War. The Valkyrie was the largest Mach 3 aircraft ever flown; its story from its conception and creation to the pilot's perspective is recounted in this amazing book, enhanced with black-and-white photographs and a color insert section. The next best experience to actually flying in a Valkyrie, the North American XB-70A Valkyrie is an amazingly detailed look at an incredible plane and strongly recommended for military aircraft buffs.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, May 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: North American XB-70A Valkyrie - Warbird Tech Vol. 34 (Paperback)

For years I have been waiting for a decent book on this airplane. Several earlier books were less than ideal, but I was beginning to think that perhaps there was no other data available to authors, hence the constant rehash of the same things (to be fair, the Jeannette Remak book contains a lot of interesting programmatic information, but remarkably little the hardware). Because of that, I have been avoiding purchasing this book.

Well, I finally saw a copy of it in a store so I picked it up. I was very surprised. The authors have found a great deal of data that is not in the other books, along with a great collection of photos, many of which are either new, or at least seldom seen.

Considering the minimal price of the book ($16.95) it is a remarkable bargain with good printing on smooth, glossy paper. The only disappointment was that there are only 8 pages of color photos, but given that the airplane was essentially all-white, this is not a major problem.

If you want a good book on the B-70, but this one and skip the others.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of new material, September 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: North American XB-70A Valkyrie - Warbird Tech Vol. 34 (Paperback)

In contrast to another reviewer, I found there to be a great deal of new material (or corrections of previous misinformation) in this book. By far it is better than any of the earlier B-70 books on the market, although it does not cover some of the managerial and political areas quite as well as the Remak-Ventolo work. Things like descriptions of the proposed boron-laced fuel, ECM systems for the never-built operational airpanes, and early signature reduction (stealth) efforts are covered here for the first time. Footnotes allow the reader to figure out where the material came from, lending authority to many of the statements.

In addition, the photos are great (with several never-before published ones), the paper quality is good, and the writing is concise, unlike earlier books by Aero and McGraw Hill.

Highly recommended.