The troubling history of America's lost nuclear weapons
26 February 2024 12:52
It seems we're flirting with danger. Since the introduction and production of nuclear weapons, numerous nuclear devices have vanished without a trace, as highlighted by the "Daily Mail". The newspaper suggests there may have been many more such incidents than we realize, and these incidents share a common codename.
Since 1950, "Broken Arrow" incidents, involving accidental discharges, thefts, unintended detonations or loss of weapons have been disclosed several times. The administration in Washington acknowledges losing three bombs, which remain undetonated.
This is likely just a portion of the global "unclaimed" arsenal. Nuclear powers may be concealing instances of lost nuclear potential.
One of the American bombs certainly rests at the bottom of the Philippine Sea, according to the "Daily Mail". This refers to the megaton-scale thermonuclear B43 bomb that went missing during the Vietnam War due to an unusual accident in 1965. The bomb was onboard an A-4E Skyhawk naval aircraft that attempted to land on the deck of the USS Ticonderoga carrier.
Still ticking on the ocean bed. The USA admits several nuclear devices were lost
Soldiers observed the Skyhawk nosediving suddenly and helplessly into the sea. "It was horrifying. We sat there watching a man die who we couldn't save," recalled eyewitnesses.
Another mysterious incident took place in 1958 during military exercises near Tybee Island, located near Savannah, Georgia. A B-47 bomber was in a collision during the exercises and jettisoned a nuclear weapon over the Wassaw Sound waters to prevent the weapon from being involved in the emergency landing. The Mark 15 bomb weighed around 3,447 kilograms and had an explosive power of up to 3.8 megatons.
Despite a two-month search, the bomb was never found. Locally, it's referred to as the "Tybee bomb". There continues to be speculation regarding whether this loss actually contained a plutonium core.
Nuclear weapons were also lost in a disaster in 1968, when the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion sank. It descended to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the loss of 99 lives. Two nuclear warheads were lost with it.
As reported by "Daily Mail", conspiracy theorists suggest that the Scorpion was actually sunk by a Soviet vessel.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
