# America Built a Mach 3 Bomber That Surfed On Its Own Shockwave ???? #XB70

Canonical watch page: https://www.girl-stream.com/watch/america-built-a-mach-3-bomber-that-surfed-on-its-own-shockwave-xb70-v264811

Language: en

Published: 2026-04-12T20:31:13+00:00

Source creator: Legacy Lens

Duration: 71 seconds

## Description

The XB-70 Valkyrie was the most terrifying aircraft ever drawn on a Cold War whiteboard — a six-engine Mach 3 nuclear bomber designed to do something no aircraft had ever done before: outrun its own weapons.

At cruise speed, the XB-70 used a technique called compression lift. By folding its massive wingtips 65 degrees downward, it trapped its own supersonic shockwave beneath the fuselage — riding it like a surfboard — and gained additional lift FOR FREE. The faster it flew, the more it surfed.

It was so hot that standard jet fuel would vaporize in the tanks, requiring a specialized high-temperature chemical formulation. Its six General Electric engines together produced more thrust than any bomber ever built.

Only two were ever completed. One was destroyed in a mid-air collision during a photo shoot in 1966. The other sits in the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio — still the most alien-looking aircraft in any museum on Earth.

The reason it was canceled? Anti-aircraft missiles got too good. Speed was no longer armor.

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#XB70 #Valkyrie #Mach3 #ColdWarAviation #NuclearBomber #AviationHistory #USAFHistory #LegacyLens #MilitaryAviation #XPlanes

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