The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the world’s largest military aviation museum—and it’s also home to the world’s only remaining North American XB-70 Valkyrie, which was moved to a new hangar a few days ago.
Thankfully the spectacle that was the October 27th relocation of the aircraft was thoroughly photographed, so fans of this extraordinary experimental supersonic strategic bomber can admire its lethal beauty in brand-new outdoor and indoor images.
The aircraft, which you can learn about in more detail here, will be displayed in its new home, the Research & Development Gallery of the museum, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The new 224,000 square foot building of the USAF museum is scheduled to open to the public in June 2016, and it will house four galleries – R&D, Space, Global Reach and Presidential, along with three science, technology, engineering and mathematics Learning Nodes. The hangar will likely prove to be the ultimate museum destination for aerospace nerds.
Now, check out these images.
North American XB-70 Valkyrie prior to its move to the new building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
(Photos: Ken LaRock/U.S. Air Force)
Restoration staff move the XB-70 into the new building
(Photos: Will Haas/U.S. Air Force )
Towing the Valkyrie into its new home
(Photos: Don Popp/U.S. Air Force)
This panoramic photo shows the current view from the balcony of the fourth building. Click on the magnifying glass (or here) for the full image, and see how many awesome aerospace artefacts can you find in this single shot!
(Photo: Doug Lantry/U.S. Air Force)