[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Nuclear event? That was a close one! (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 9/20/2013 5:59:55 PM EDT
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http://news.msn.com/us/nuclear-bomb-nearly-exploded-over-nc-in-1961-paper |
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This is old news and has been rehashed recently due to a Slate article that is pimping a book.
It was close, but the interlocks kept the bomb from firing. Did they 'almost fail' or did they work? They worked. Designs were improved as a result. We're all safe and sound. Nothing bad happened. But now it's news? There's nothing in that book or article that hasn't been public info for years. And it's completely irrelevant to the weapons of the last few several decades. |
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Yes, this is old news. Yes, we came one switch away from having a huge stinking radioactive hole on the east coast. The 50's were really a wild ride when it came to nuke handling. Obviously, things have changed mightily now. If you liked that one, you'll love this one. (does anyone know where our nukes are?) |
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Quoted:
Yes, this is old news. Yes, we came one switch away from having a huge stinking radioactive hole on the east coast. The 50's were really a wild ride when it came to nuke handling. Obviously, things have changed mightily now. If you liked that one, you'll love this one. (does anyone know where our nukes are?) Quoted:
Yes, this is old news. Yes, we came one switch away from having a huge stinking radioactive hole on the east coast. The 50's were really a wild ride when it came to nuke handling. Obviously, things have changed mightily now. If you liked that one, you'll love this one. (does anyone know where our nukes are?) Funny: Once the bomb was located, Simó Orts appeared at the First District Federal Court in New York City with his lawyer, Herbert Brownell, formerly Attorney general of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, claiming salvage rights on the recovered hydrogen bomb. According to Craven:[17]
"It is customary maritime law that the person who identifies the location of a ship to be salved has the right to a salvage award if that identification leads to a successful recovery. The amount is nominal, usually 1 or 2 percent, sometimes a bit more, of the intrinsic value to the owner of the thing salved. But the thing salved off Palomares was a hydrogen bomb, the same bomb valued by no less an authority than the Secretary of Defense at $2 billion—each percent of which is, of course, $20 million." The Air Force settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[3] |
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Which was a good thing but it was scary in that three of the four failed. Quoted:
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So, let me get this straight, the designers put in 4 safety locks to prevent an accidental detonation, and an accidental detonation was averted. Which was a good thing but it was scary in that three of the four failed. Oh, the story arises again. It rises from its grave every few years and it is made to sound scarier every time it does. No matter how many safety interlocks are installed in that bomb, it was ONLY ONE away from detonating. I've heard this told with three out of four failed, four out of five, five out of six and so on. Pretty soon it will probably get to ninety-nine out of one hundred interlocks failing, but that ONE magic interlock will be hailed as the hero of the event. However, the end result is that the bomb did not go off high-order, just like every US nuclear weapons accident that's taken place since the dawn of the US nuclear age. |
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . |
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There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . Actually, it is more SE of Tybee, at least that what the search teams seem to have settled on. If it was in the river, with all the ship traffic, I think it would have turned up by now. |
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We had a "nuclear event" over the area today. Most refer to it as the sun. Mine was probably more of a risk than yours. |
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There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . The bomb jetisoned off Tybee did not have the physics package installed. |
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Quoted:
Yes, this is old news. Yes, we came one switch away from having a huge stinking radioactive hole on the east coast. The 50's were really a wild ride when it came to nuke handling. Obviously, things have changed mightily now. If you liked that one, you'll love this one. (does anyone know where our nukes are?) Titan II explosion 1980 I had an instructor in EOD school who was on the team that rendered safe the B53. |
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The bomb jetisoned off Tybee did not have the physics package installed. Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . The bomb jetisoned off Tybee did not have the physics package installed. Like I mentioned, that is the official line. Everyone knows our Government would never lie........ |
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Quoted:
There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . Crew chiefs used to load bombs? |
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Quoted: Wow. That would have been devastating to most of the east coast. |
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How did the Ruskies with their safety record not have many of these? In 1984 a Soviet missile storage area near Severomorsk caught fire which led to a series of tremendous explosions and fires that killed over 200 and burned for 13 days. Some have theorized that one or more Soviet nuclear weapons detonated during the incident. http://redbannernorthernfleet.blogspot.com/2008/05/soviet-naval-disaster-of-day.html http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19840623&id=V_VSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3045,2863921 http://books.google.com/books?id=cr81ZHY-6H0C&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q&f=false |
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In 1984 a Soviet missile storage area near Severomorsk caught fire which led to a series of tremendous explosions and fires that killed over 200 and burned for 13 days. Some have theorized that one or more Soviet nuclear weapons detonated during the incident. http://redbannernorthernfleet.blogspot.com/2008/05/soviet-naval-disaster-of-day.html http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19840623&id=V_VSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3045,2863921 http://books.google.com/books?id=cr81ZHY-6H0C&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q&f=false Quoted:
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How did the Ruskies with their safety record not have many of these? In 1984 a Soviet missile storage area near Severomorsk caught fire which led to a series of tremendous explosions and fires that killed over 200 and burned for 13 days. Some have theorized that one or more Soviet nuclear weapons detonated during the incident. http://redbannernorthernfleet.blogspot.com/2008/05/soviet-naval-disaster-of-day.html http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19840623&id=V_VSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DYMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3045,2863921 http://books.google.com/books?id=cr81ZHY-6H0C&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q&f=false I seriously doubt that an actual nuclear explosion happened. We would have noticed, and it would have been leaked even back then. Lots of conventional explosives going off combined with nuclear material is more likely. |
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From what I understand, the only thing stopping this bomb from detonating when it hit the ground was the fact that the pilot's "master arm on" button wasn't activated when it fell from the aircraft. Once again: If this bomb was designed to detonate thousands of feet above the earth's surface, why would it detonate when it hit the ground? |
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Once again: If this bomb was designed to detonate thousands of feet above the earth's surface, why would it detonate when it hit the ground? Quoted:
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From what I understand, the only thing stopping this bomb from detonating when it hit the ground was the fact that the pilot's "master arm on" button wasn't activated when it fell from the aircraft. Once again: If this bomb was designed to detonate thousands of feet above the earth's surface, why would it detonate when it hit the ground? Why, the same reason Bugg's Bunny's bomb would've detonated if the gremlin's hammer hit it! 
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Which was a good thing but it was scary in that three of the four failed. Quoted:
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So, let me get this straight, the designers put in 4 safety locks to prevent an accidental detonation, and an accidental detonation was averted. Which was a good thing but it was scary in that three of the four failed. 75%? About average for government. On the same subject, check out We Almost Lost Detroit. |
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So, let me get this straight, the designers put in 4 safety locks to prevent an accidental detonation, and an accidental detonation was averted. Which was a good thing but it was scary in that three of the four failed. 75%? About average for government. On the same subject, check out We Almost Lost Detroit. I don't mean to shit on this guy's book... but... we did lose Detroit. |
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Like I mentioned, that is the official line. Everyone knows our Government would never lie........ Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . The bomb jetisoned off Tybee did not have the physics package installed. Like I mentioned, that is the official line. Everyone knows our Government would never lie........ Buried till Tom Clacys Neo Nazs show up 
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So, let me get this straight, the designers put in 4 safety locks to prevent an accidental detonation, and an accidental detonation was averted. Which was a good thing but it was scary in that three of the four failed. 75%? About average for government. On the same subject, check out We Almost Lost Detroit. 1972: "America's first effort at operating a full-scale breeder had failed." *insert welfare joke here* |
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Actually, it is more SE of Tybee, at least that what the search teams seem to have settled on. If it was in the river, with all the ship traffic, I think it would have turned up by now. Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? There is one burried near Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC, not sure if it is from this incident or not. There is another lost and burried in the Savannah River near Tybee Island. The official line is the "package" isn't installed in that one, but the crew chief that loadedthe bomb testified that it is, indeed, installed . Actually, it is more SE of Tybee, at least that what the search teams seem to have settled on. If it was in the river, with all the ship traffic, I think it would have turned up by now. especially with all the dredging. That might be an interesting find in a dredging operation. |
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From what I understand, the only thing stopping this bomb from detonating when it hit the ground was the fact that the pilot's "master arm on" button wasn't activated when it fell from the aircraft. Pilot Master Arm set to RELEASE ARMED, Bombardier Release Armed Consent set to RELEASE ARMED, Navigator Release Armed Consent set to RELEASE ARMED and Permissive Action Link (PAL) code set to match the preset code inside that specific weapon. Nothing in the cockpit was set to enable and arm the weapons. Those procedures are only done on the final legs of an attack mission. When a weapon is ejected during an emergency like the Goldsboro crash, those switches are set to RELEASE SAFE and the PAL code is set to all zeros. It would be analogous to loading an AR with a full mag, but the bolt forward on an empty chamber. Regardless of the Safety position, the gun will not go off without being charged even if the trigger is pulled. |
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Didn't one of our planes drop multiple nukes just off the coast of Spain sometime in the '60's? Were those ever recovered? Or am I imagining the whole thing, which is possible. Both the crashes in Palomares Spain and Thule Greenland that happened within a couple of years of each other. Those two accidents, plus Goldsboro and another in New Mexico were the reasons that the Chrome Dome airborne nuclear alert missions were ended. |
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Once again: If this bomb was designed to detonate thousands of feet above the earth's surface, why would it detonate when it hit the ground? Quoted:
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From what I understand, the only thing stopping this bomb from detonating when it hit the ground was the fact that the pilot's "master arm on" button wasn't activated when it fell from the aircraft. Once again: If this bomb was designed to detonate thousands of feet above the earth's surface, why would it detonate when it hit the ground? I don't have the specs in front of me, but IIRC the MK39 had a lay-down (ground burst) option. |
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Didn't one of our planes drop multiple nukes just off the coast of Spain sometime in the '60's? Were those ever recovered? Or am I imagining the whole thing, which is possible. IIRC, that was the result of a mid-air collision. They had to clean up a lot of radioactive material on the ground because the case of at least one of the bombs ruptured on impact. I think one fell into the ocean also. There's plenty of info out there on that mishap, but I'm too lazy to look it up. 
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I used to live within a few miles of it when I lived on Tybee. It's in the silt out there somewhere. Quoted:
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Isn't one of those still buried in the muck somewhere? or was that someplace else? I used to live within a few miles of it when I lived on Tybee. It's in the silt out there somewhere. Same with the one in NC. I think the army purchased an easement around the area. |