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The 3 megaton h-bomb that almost detonated over North Carolina.
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:14 pm
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:14 pm
LINK
quote:
Disaster struck early in the morning of January 24, 1961, as eight servicemen in a nuclear bomber were patrolling the skies near Goldsboro, North Carolina.
quote:
Each Mark 39 thermonuclear bomb was about 12 feet long, weighed more than 6,200 pounds, and could detonate with the energy of 3.8 million tons of TNT. Such a blast could kill everyone and everything within a diameter of about 17 miles — roughly the area inside the Washington, DC, beltway.
quote:
The plane broke up about 2,000 feet above the ground, nearly detonating one of the bombs in the process.
quote:
The military studied the bombs and learned that six of seven steps to blow up one of them had engaged, according to The Register. Only one trigger stopped a blast — that switch was set to "ARM" yet somehow failed to detonate the bomb. It was only "by the slightest margin of chance, literally the failure of two wires to cross, a nuclear explosion was averted," a declassified 1963 memo described Robert McNamara, the secretary of defense at the time, as saying. "Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and as far north as New York City — putting millions of lives at risk," according to a 2013 story by Ed Pilkington in The Guardian
21
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:19 pm to UndercoverBryologist
quote:
"Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and as far north as New York City — putting millions of lives at risk,"
Would have sucked in 1961
In 2021:
This post was edited on 5/9/21 at 1:21 pm
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:21 pm to The Boat
Philly and Washington.... :thinkingemoji:
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:22 pm to UndercoverBryologist
I lived in an area once where 3 of the Project Plowshare bombs were set off. I was surprised more people don't know about that project.
LINK
LINK
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:23 pm to UndercoverBryologist
Who thought it was a good idea to patrol the US skies with nukes on the plane?
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:23 pm to UndercoverBryologist
North Carolina almost got blown the frick away, but they're worried but DC and Philly. 
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:28 pm to ehidal1
quote:
Who thought it was a good idea to patrol the US skies with nukes on the plane?
Should really be limited to DEFCON 2 status scenarios; although, the very next year, 1962, we did go to DEFCON 2 status, so maybe it wasn’t that unfathomable that we needed to have the weapons in the air in 1961.
(I see that we went to DEFCON 2 at the beginning of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Does anybody know the reason for this?)
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:30 pm to UndercoverBryologist
quote:
Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:34 pm to ehidal1
quote:
Who thought it was a good idea to patrol the US skies with nukes on the plane?
Don't think we stopped it until the 3rd or 4th plane crashed that had nukes on them
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:57 pm to hubreb
quote:
Don't think we stopped it until the 3rd or 4th plane crashed that had nukes on them
Hell I thought we didn't disband SAC until the fall of Soviet Union(and rise of nuclear subs).
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:59 pm to UndercoverBryologist
There was also the Mars Bluff incident. The nuclear core wasn't in the bomb though when it fell out.
Posted on 5/9/21 at 1:59 pm to UndercoverBryologist
There are a lot of conflicting reports on how close the bombs were to going off. Story changes every few years as to how close they were to blowing
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:24 pm to Master of Sinanju
quote:
North Carolina almost got blown the frick away, but they're worried but DC and Philly.
If you're vaporized in a millisecond, you're dead.
People hundreds of miles away from NC in 1961 could still be dying today.
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:37 pm to UndercoverBryologist
quote:
. "Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, a
Coulda solved so many of today’s problems.
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:42 pm to redstick13
quote:
I lived in an area once where 3 of the Project Plowshare bombs were set off. I was surprised more people don't know about that project.
You’re from Winnfield? They did this where Winn Rock is right. If I’ve heard correctly
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:43 pm to mikelbr
There were 2 plane accidents at Chennault where nukes were on board.
I believe they were more concerned about radiation leaks than the bombs going off.
I believe they were more concerned about radiation leaks than the bombs going off.
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:48 pm to UndercoverBryologist
quote:
Had the device detonated, lethal fallout could have been deposited over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and as far north as New York City
Damn, sounds like it not detonating was the worst break the country has has in a while. Imagine how much better off we would be
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:56 pm to bakersman
quote:
You’re from Winnfield? They did this where Winn Rock is right. If I’ve heard correctly
Colorado. I would pass by the Project Rulison bomb site going to my camping spot. The two Rio Blanco bombs were set off on the opposite side of the valley.
That mountain has some interesting history. A wildfire broke out after the nuclear experiment that nearly set the radioactive gas ablaze. A water tanker crashed into the mountain just above the blast site and two other crew members were overrun by the fire and died. You can still see the plane debris on the mountain ridge above the blast sight.
This post was edited on 5/9/21 at 3:03 pm
Posted on 5/9/21 at 2:57 pm to AlonsoWDC
quote:
People hundreds of miles away from NC in 1961 could still be dying today.
The math checks out.
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