Goldsboro nuclear weapon accident: two nuclear bombs nearly exploded
- 9 years ago
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Declassified documents released this week have revealed that a multi-megaton bomb was 'armed' when it crashed to the ground following an air accident over North Carolina in 1961.
A B-52 bomber carrying two Mark-39 hydrogen bombs broke in half over the small town of Goldsboro, North Carolina on the night of January 24, 1961 after suffering a "failure of the right wing", according to CNN. As the plane broke apart, the two nuclear bombs plummeted toward the ground.
According to the Daily Caller, the first bomb landed with its parachute open, but didn't explode because the safing pins that gave power from the generator to the weapon had been accidentally removed during landing, effectively shutting down the bomb. The second bomb free-fell to the ground, and it was put into the 'armed' position upon impact. However, one of the secondary subassemblies, that contained a significant amount of highly-enriched uranium was lost, thus the bomb did not detonate.
The two bombs had an explosive yield of 3.8 megatons and would emit thermal radiation over a 15-mile radius. Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and as far north as New York City.
There are at least 21 declassified accounts between 1950 and 1968 of aircraft-related incidents in which nuclear weapons were lost, accidentally dropped or jettisoned for safety reasons on board planes that crashed in various U.S. states and other countries, CNN reported.
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Check out our Android app: http://goo.gl/PtT6VD
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Declassified documents released this week have revealed that a multi-megaton bomb was 'armed' when it crashed to the ground following an air accident over North Carolina in 1961.
A B-52 bomber carrying two Mark-39 hydrogen bombs broke in half over the small town of Goldsboro, North Carolina on the night of January 24, 1961 after suffering a "failure of the right wing", according to CNN. As the plane broke apart, the two nuclear bombs plummeted toward the ground.
According to the Daily Caller, the first bomb landed with its parachute open, but didn't explode because the safing pins that gave power from the generator to the weapon had been accidentally removed during landing, effectively shutting down the bomb. The second bomb free-fell to the ground, and it was put into the 'armed' position upon impact. However, one of the secondary subassemblies, that contained a significant amount of highly-enriched uranium was lost, thus the bomb did not detonate.
The two bombs had an explosive yield of 3.8 megatons and would emit thermal radiation over a 15-mile radius. Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and as far north as New York City.
There are at least 21 declassified accounts between 1950 and 1968 of aircraft-related incidents in which nuclear weapons were lost, accidentally dropped or jettisoned for safety reasons on board planes that crashed in various U.S. states and other countries, CNN reported.
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Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gos