A U.S. atom bomb nearly exploded in 1961 over North Carolina that would have been 260 times more powerful than the device that devastated Hiroshima, according to a declassified document published in a British newspaper on Friday.
The Guardian newspaper said the
document, obtained by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the
Freedom of Information Act, gave the first conclusive evidence that the
United States came close to a disaster in January 1961.
The incident happened when two Mark 39
hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina,
after a B-52 bomber broke up in midair.
There has been persistent speculation
about how serious the incident was and the U.S. government has
repeatedly denied its nuclear arsenal put Americans’ lives at risk
through safety flaws, the newspaper said.
But the newly published document said
one of the two bombs behaved exactly in the manner of a nuclear weapon
in wartime, with its parachute opening and its trigger mechanisms
engaged. Only one low-voltage switch prevented a cataclysm.
Fallout could have spread over
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and even New York City, the paper
said, threatening the lives of millions of people.
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........this happened about six miles from me. I was about 11 years old when it happened and I remember going to the area with my dad after the crash. The Military had the biggest hole dug trying to get to the bomb. It keep sinking in the ground. They were never able to recover it, it is still there today.
ReplyDeleteCousin John
In fact they lost four H bombs over North AND south Carolina. One of them was lost in the Atlantic north of Myrtle beach and never recovered--Its still in the water just off shore.---Ray
ReplyDeleteYep, I've never been to the site where it hit but I've been told there is a big chain link fence and non-specific warning signs around the area. Is that true?
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered if it is leaking radiation into one of the many aquifers that lie beneath eastern NC and provide drinking water for most of us.
I don't know and good question.
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