Valkyrie (Vehicle)

"Tomorrow, HYDRA will stand master of the world. Born to victory on the wings of the Valkyrie."

- Johann Schmidt The Valkyrie was an advanced bomber plane used by HYDRA during World War II.

History
"As you can see, production of the Valkyrie is progressing on schedule, even with components of this size."

- Arnim Zola to Johann Schmidt

Johann Schmidt's plan for domination began culminated with the construction of the first of many super bombers, the Valkyrie, a plane that hybridated characteristics of prop planes and stealth bombers, equipped to launch suicide drone bombs which doubled as auxiliary propellers. Its main propulsion was a pair of jet engines, located on the sides of the main console and hangar area.

Johann Schmidt had to board the Valkyrie sooner than expected when Captain America and the Allied Forces attacked his Headquarters, setting its course to New York City. Steve Rogers tried to reach the plane, and he managed to jump over one of the wings just when the plane was about to take off.

Rogers then located the HYDRA Parasits destined to detonate in major cities such as New York or Chicago, and he ambused a group of HYDRA soldiers that were easily defeated. However, one of them managed to board a Parasit, and Rogers fell off the Valkyrie while he tried to open the Parasit's cockpit.

Rogers got rid of a soldier attacking him, and expelled the pilot of the plane to take his place and return to the Valkyrie. Schmidt attacked him with the plane's weapons, but Rogers successfully entered the plane again.

Schmidt tried to ambush Rogers inside the bridge of the plane, and they exchanged blows, damaging the controls of the Valkyrie during the fight. Schmidt managed to engage the auto-pilot, and began to shoot Rogers with his sidearm.

Rogers' finishing hit make Schmidt hit the machine containing the Tesseract, that was harnessing its energy to power the plane and its weapons. Schmidt grabbed the Tesseract with his own hands, but the object opened a portal and launched Schmidt into it. The Tesseract then melted the floor of the plane and fell to the sea.

Rogers, now piloting the Valkyrie, sent a transmission received in the now taken HYDRA Headquarters, informing Peggy Carter of Schmidt's apparent death and the status of the plane, headed to New York City in order to destroy it. To save countless civilian lives, Rogers decided to sink the plane in the ocean, with Carter tearfully saying goodbye before losing contact.

The plane was discovered almost 70 years later by S.H.I.E.L.D., in pieces. Captain America was perfectly preserved inside, frozen in ice. After the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War, a high ranking HYDRA member Daniel Whitehall had a model of the Valkyrie on the table in his laboratory.

Trivia

 * The Valkyrie is partially based on the design.