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Posted

ADLAF-102A04.jpg

Convair F-102A - EC2/11, "Vosges", Armée de l'air, 1962

 

Lovely Hunter Ant. It brings back memories of the Matchbox kit. How I wish we had the T.7!

Posted

Progress is being made...thanks for the templates Sundowner...

 

Prototype (XB-70)(in Beta release):

img00008.JPG

 

Anti Flash White (B-70A):

img00006.JPG

 

IR Absorbing Silver (B-70A):

img00007.JPG

 

More to come...

 

FC

Posted

How cool is that?

 

I know the guys that created that scheme, I gotta share with them that pic of it in a sim!

 

Here's the real deal in flight about a week after it came out of the paint barn;

 

cagdesertsiggy.jpg

 

Well done, SidDogg...

 

:good:

Posted

I wonder if they would of ever camoflaged the B-70?

 

 

quite far from the reality, since it was intent to fly high and fast all the time, guess it would never fly low...lol

Posted

quite far from the reality, since it was intent to fly high and fast all the time, guess it would never fly low...lol

 

But sinister black would fit it nicely, or stealth dark-grey...

Posted

I wonder if they would of ever camoflaged the B-70?

 

Believe me, I've been asking myself that same question...basically, I've been trying to figure out how the aircraft would have evolved operationally had she gone into service.

 

The one thing I can almost guarantee is that she would not have transitioned to the low altitude environment. From what I have read, a couple of trials at low level resulted in very rough rides, which I can believe. The stresses put on the 'neck' of the aircraft probably would have greatly increased the rate of metal fatigue, as well as wearing out the pilots, which is important for long duration flights.

 

So, assuming the aircraft stayed in it's natural enviroment (high altitude, medium to high speed), the paint scheme would have stayed either the white, the IR silver, OR evolved to an an 'all black' approach like the SR-71. What we can also assume is that a conventional 'carpet bomber' the B-70 would not have been. Radar bombing from BUFFs at similiar altitudes was shown to be pretty inaccurate (CEP measured in the 1/2 mile range or more)...now imagine the same thing 30000 feet higher and 3 times faster. Your 'stick' of bombs would be spread out across half the state of Alaska.

 

However, as a PGM carrier, she would have been much better suited...her altitude and velocity greatly increasing the range of any weapons she drops to almost standoff numbers. Enter the RS-70B...with a recon/laser 'pod' where the front weapons bay would be (first generation device). Instead of a flight of F-4s taking down the Thanh Hoa Bridge on 13 May 1972 with PGMs, a prototype RS-70B does it instead with the built in laser pod in the front bay. The wing pylons are retrofitted with the ability to carry LGBs instead of SRAM/gravity nukes/Skybolt. You now have almost the carrying capability of the B-52 (with externals) with much higher altitude and speed capability (though the speed capability is reduced significantly with large amounts of external weapons).

 

And of course, you'd probably end up with a C model at the advent of JDAMs in large numbers...

 

FC

Posted (edited)

sounds cool FC but if you put LGB or EOGB on the pylons in the 70's wouldnt the heat at speed screw with the seeker heads? would need a diff model of the weapon with protective cover or maybe SRAM but conventional and with TV terminal guidance. just some thoughts..

 

btw im thinkin the speed pickup in free fall as well as carried on the aircraft, since i believe your intent is still to bomb standoff from 70000+ feet

Edited by daddyairplanes
Posted

Cant argue with your logic FC. I have drawn some of those same conclusions myself ponding it on my 12 hours shifts.

Posted

The more you read about the Valkyrie, and in the context of the era into which it was born, the more you realise that the right decision (i.e. to cancel) was made. If the B-58A never reached 10 years front-line service, essentially due to high operating costs, then the B-70 would have delighted the bean-counters even less. Nevertheless, it was an amazing response to the requirement and a technological (and aerodynamical) tour de force.

 

I'm off to download it - thanks for bringing it to the 'Strike Fighters' community FC.

Posted

If you really want to get 'what-if', check out this website:

 

http://tbo.wikidot.com/front-door

 

I first encountered it when I was doing research on the Valkyrie and came across this website that had this huge list of variants that would have been created:

 

http://tbo.wikidot.com/north-american-b-70-valkyrie

 

I then worked back upward from there...some interesting, if not VERY improbable stuff (President Patton then President LeMay?)...

 

FC

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