Support NeoGAF

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Duck and cover if old.

On a January night in 1961, a U.S. Air Force bomber broke in half while flying over North Carolina. From the belly of the B-52 fell two bombs -- two nuclear bombs that hit the ground near the city of Goldsboro.

A disaster worse than the devastation wrought in Hiroshima and Nagasaki could have befallen the United States that night. But it didn't, thanks to a series of fortunate missteps.

The B-52 was flying over North Carolina on January 24, 1961, when it suffered a "failure of the right wing," the report said.

As the plane broke apart, the two bombs plummeted toward the ground. The parachute opened on one; it didn't on the other.

"The impact of the aircraft breakup initiated the fuzing sequence for both bombs," the summary of the documents said.

Weapon 1, the bomb whose parachute opened, landed intact. Fortunately, the safing pins that provided power from a generator to the weapon had been yanked -- preventing it from going off.

Weapon 2, the second bomb with the unopened parachute, landed in a free fall. The impact of the crash put it in the "armed" setting. Fortunately -- once again -- it damaged another part of the bomb needed to initiate an explosion

Wonder how many other times we've come so close to disaster without ever knowing about it.

 

[GK86]

Duck and cover. There was a thread a few months back.

 

[Mobius 1]

"I don't know what's scarier, losing a nuclear weapon or that it happens so often ther's actually a term for it."

-

Spoiler

Don't remember who said it.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Duck and cover. There was a thread a few months back.

Ah I searched and everything.

FINE.

 

[MrSaturn99]

That's scary as shit. Why was it carrying two nuclear bombs?

 

[Zissou]

That's scary as shit. Why was it carrying two nuclear bombs?

There are two Carolinas?

 

[Baconsaurus Rex]

The MK39 bombs weighed 10,000 pounds and their explosive yield was 3.8 megatons. Compare that to the bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: They were 0.01 and 0.02 megatons

Reminds me of the nukes that were lost off the coast of the US and still haven't been found yet.

 

[GK86]

That's scary as shit. Why was it carrying two nuclear bombs?

This article doesn't state it, but if I remember correctly from the other thread, the second nuke is still in the ground somewhere. They never found it.

 

[Dali]

Gives new meaning to epic fail.

 

[FelixOrion]

"I don't know what's scarier, losing a nuclear weapon or that it happens so often ther's actually a term for it."

-

Spoiler

Don't remember who said it.

Giles Prentice (played by Frank Whaley) in Broken Arrow (1996)

 

[Squalor]

There are two Carolinas?

Job well done.

 

[Dali]

"I don't know what's scarier, losing a nuclear weapon or that it happens so often ther's actually a term for it."

-

Spoiler

Don't remember who said it.

That's from the movie broken arrow. It's what the title is referencing.

 

[dejay]

This article doesn't state it, but if I remember correctly from the other thread, the second nuke is still in the ground somewhere. They never found it.

If that's the case I feel they didn't look hard enough.

 

[CelticKnight]

...and their explosive yield was 3.8 megatons.

Or in other words "5 E3's".

 

[sangreal]

duck and cover OP: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=682793

 

[UglyPony]

Well, at least they know the bombs didn't work to make some design changes.

 

[sunnz]

I remember reading this before and I am sure there was a phrase created specifically for this type of... accident.
Broken Arrow I think.

 

[Savitar]

I think I read about this a few months back.

Didn't one of the nukes actually sink in some bog like terrain and get lost and still uncovered to this day?

Or was that another incident.

 

[ampere]

"I don't know what's scarier, losing a nuclear weapon or that it happens so often ther's actually a term for it."

-

Spoiler

Don't remember who said it.

Pretty scary to think about... sounds like the lost one was damaged enough so it'd never work, but still.

There are two Carolinas?

Bravo

 

[Snkfanatic]

Wow...extremely lucky they didn't go off.

 

[Arcteryx]

Read Command and Control if you want to see how this wasn't a rare occurrence.

 

[Woorloog]

Wow...extremely lucky they didn't go off.

The design is such that they can't really go off accidentally. Even a minor malfunction would likely merely cause a fizzle. That would spread some radioactive material but would not cause a full nuclear explosion. Pushing the bomb to critical requires incredible precision.


Also, those lost bombs? Not dangerous. They're spoiled and corroded by sea (or swamps or whatever they're in).

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

The Broken Arrow travolta tune is back in my head now

THANKS

 

[DBT85]

Terrifying to think how many times shit like this might have happened all over the world.

There are two Carolinas?

Well played.

 

[Joni]

Nuclear bombs are probably a lot safer to drop than normal bombs. The most likely scenarion: it is damaged in such a way you can't blow it up anymore. The worst case scenario: the normal bomb explodes and the nuclear reaction never happens.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Wow...extremely lucky they didn't go off.

they're functioning as designed. Look at this list of accidents and we've still never had one accidentally go off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents

 

[Kinyou]

Reminds me of the nukes that were lost off the coast of the US and still haven't been found yet.

Have they checked the fridge? It's always at the place you'd least expect.

 

[Vagabundo]

All Broken Arrows, Bent Spears, Empty Quivers, Faded Giants and Dull Swords are Pinnacles and must be reported to MAJCOM...

 

[Dougald]

Terrifying to think how many times shit like this might have happened all over the world.

Here's the example I was aware of - Spain, 1966, 2sq km ended up being dusted in Plutonium

 

[MrSaturn99]

There are two Carolinas?

Huh?

Edit: Oh.

This article doesn't state it, but if I remember correctly from the other thread, the second nuke is still in the ground somewhere. They never found it.

Woooooow.

 

[DemurOnion]

http://images.dangerousminds.net/uploads/images/slimpickens23428261.jpg

 

[nateeasy]

I made a thread about this in 1961 and everyone thought I was crazy.

 

[Akuun]

What the hell? How could they arm themselves and everything just from impact? I thought it was more complicated than that.

It makes it sound like you could bypass the security codes and stuff needed to arm a nuke just by shaking it the right way.

 

[speculawyer]

There are two Carolinas?

Dead.

 

[mrklaw]

surely there is no way they left that other bomb lost? Sure, there might be a large area to cover, but its a fucking nuclear weapon, many times larger than used at Hiroshima/Nagasaki - on American soil. You don't just leave shit like that for some random guy to accidentally come across 20 years later.

 

[Woorloog]

surely there is no way they left that other bomb lost? Sure, there might be a large area to cover, but its a fucking nuclear weapon, many times larger than used at Hiroshima/Nagasaki - on American soil. You don't just leave shit like that for some random guy to accidentally come across 20 years later.

It would be worthless 20 years later.
Pretty sure storing and maintaining nukes is expensive, they need to be refurbished every now and then. In the wild, they will be ruined rather soon (though naturally how soon depends on the exact environment).

 

[mrklaw]

It would be worthless 20 years later.
Pretty sure storing and maintaining nukes is expensive, they need to be refurbished every now and then. In the wild, they will be ruined rather soon (though naturally how soon depends on the exact environment).

does the uranium/plutonium stay radioactive for hundreds/thousands of years? Not saying it'd go boom, but it'd be dangerous just from a leaking point of view?

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

There are two Carolinas?

I can't figure out what dropped hard, this ether or the two nukes.

OT: I live in GA, I wonder how this would've affected the eastern seaboard.

One thing's for sure, life would be RADICALLY different in the US in relation to weapons of mass destruction. We'd have probably sworn off nukes for good.

 

[adj_noun]

Duck and cover. There was a thread a few months back.

 

[Fox Mulder]

surely there is no way they left that other bomb lost? Sure, there might be a large area to cover, but its a fucking nuclear weapon, many times larger than used at Hiroshima/Nagasaki - on American soil. You don't just leave shit like that for some random guy to accidentally come across 20 years later.

the second bomb broke apart and they recovered some of it, leaving parts containing uranium deep in the ground. There is one lost somewhere off the coast of georgia though.

At this point, there is more danger to water contamination than them going off.

 

[NH Apache]

I remember reading this before and I am sure there was a phrase created specifically for this type of... accident.
Broken Arrow I think.

Well, similar situation happened in the 60's at Pease AFB in NH. My dad was the CHMFIC at night and a plane missed the runway and went into the lake pond thing they have at the end. The term was used at the time and he said everyone went batshit insane at once. It was also the dead of winter and they had to secure the nukes asap.

 

[Woorloog]

does the uranium/plutonium stay radioactive for hundreds/thousands of years? Not saying it'd go boom, but it'd be dangerous just from a leaking point of view?

Plutonium-239, the typical material in nuclear weapons, has a half-life of 24100 years. But it is apparently an alpha emitter and not particularly dangerous as radioactive material, though as dust it is very toxic and carcinogenic.
Considering the relatively small amounts of uranium and plutonium in nukes, the radiation hazard is not particularly big. Not nice of course, and someone getting their hands on that stuff and spreading it around isn't a pleasant thought but if organized search can't find the bomb, the chances of someone else finding it are remote.

 

[Mistel]

Wasn't there a nuclear bomb dropped on mars bluff in South Carolina in 1958?

 

[Whitechocolatekrispies]

That's scary as shit. Why was it carrying two nuclear bombs?

For a while the USA had a policy of always having nukes in the air ready for retaliation/attack.

Hence the US has had a lot of accidents with nuclear weapons.

What the hell? How could they arm themselves and everything just from impact? I thought it was more complicated than that.

It makes it sound like you could bypass the security codes and stuff needed to arm a nuke just by shaking it the right way.

Most bombs have a fuse which arms when it hits a certain acceleration or de-acceleration. It's to stop the bombs accidentally going off when not dropped as intended. Just because that part armed doesn't mean the rest did or will.

So no you couldn't shake a bomb to arm it.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

If that's the case I feel they didn't look hard enough.

Well apparantly its not that easy to find bombs.
In germany we have a shitton of bombs still in the ground. They regulary find them by accident.
For example here one right in the middle of munich.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrFydaWOTpI
It was a controlled explosion, nobody got hurt, but its pretty crazy that such a thing was just sitting in the ground right under the houses of thousands of people, for 70 years.

 

[VARIA]

There are two Carolinas?

Thank you for this.

 

[Indrid Cold1]

Everyone interested in this should read Command and Control by Eric Schlosser.

 

[Valkerionseven]

USA lost a shit ton of nukes post WW2 lol. They even lost one off the coast of Savannah GA.

Glad we get on the case of the rest of the world having bombs yet we lose ours walking down the street apparently.

 

[Nameless]

I wonder who they would have blamed it on.

 

[Bo-Locks]

Has there ever been an accidental nuclear explosion? It would be amazing there hadn't, especially considering the false alarms between the USSR and USA, and other near-misses like this.

I wonder if the world would be better / worse off with regards to disarming, reducing numbers and the public's general perception of nuclear weapons if one went off in a relatively unpopulated area, but an area close enough to home to seriously worry them.