(I M3) from tetanized, intact skeletal muscle fiber bundles was measured during sinusoidal length oscillations at 2.8 kHz, a frequency at which the myosin motor's power stroke is greatly reduced. I M3 signals were approximately sinusoidal, but showed a "double peak" distortion previously observed only at lower oscillation frequencies. A tilting lever arm model simulated this distortion, where I M3 was calculated from the molecular structure of myosin subfragment 1 (S1). Simulations showed an isometric lever arm disposition close to normal to the filament axis at isometric tension, similar to that found using lower oscillation frequencies, where the power stroke contributes more toward total S1 movement. Inclusion of a second detached S1 in each actin-bound myosin dimer increased simulated I M3 signal amplitude and improved agreement with the experimental data. The best agreement was obtained when detached heads have a fixed orientation, insensitive to length changes, and similar to that of attached heads at tetanus plateau. This configuration also accounts for the variations in relative intensity of the two main peaks of the M3 reflection substructure after a length change. This evidence of an I M3 signal distortion when power stroke tilting is suppressed, provided that a large enough amplitude of length oscillation is used, is consistent with the tilting lever arm model of the power stroke. skeletal muscle; X-ray diffraction; muscle mechanics; molecular motors; subfragment 1 structure MYOSIN MOTORS are intracellular protein macromolecules, which function as actin-dependent transducers of ATP hydrolysis free energy into mechanical work. At least 17 classes of myosin exist, fulfilling many important motile roles in cell physiology, including cell division, cytokinesis, exo-, endo-, and pinocytosis, acuity adjustment of sensory receptors, and the contraction of all forms of muscle tissue (34). Their mechanism is thought to involve the active tilting (power stroke) of the myosin lever arm domain [a 9-nm-long projection from the actin-and ATP-binding motor domain of myosin subfragment 1 (S1)] during ATP cleavage at the motor domain's catalytic site (17, 31). Tilting displaces the arm's tip, producing a ϳ4-to 10-nm translational movement or 2-4 pN of force (7,27). A feature unique among myosin motors is that striated muscle myosin (myosin II) aggregates into highly structured filaments aligned within a quasicrystalline lattice, which yield a characteristic X-ray diffraction pattern (18) and the intensity of the 14.55 nm meridional X-ray reflection (I M3 ) is thought to be sensitive to lever arm tilting (21). This is because I M3 depends on the density of the S1 mass projected onto the filament axis, which changes with lever arm tilting. The maximum I M3 (I M3,max ) is reached when the lever is roughly perpendicular to the filament because at this point the axially projected mass distribution is at its most concentrated. In isometrically activated muscle, I M3 increases to a maximum for a small filament displacement ...