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67 - 25,000 gallon fuel tanks
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Kelly AFB pumping crew
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R-4360 Engine Container filled with contaminated melted snow
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R-4360 engine containers in hole of ship
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25,000 gallon fuel tank being loaded aboard ship
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Accident 32: Damascus, Arkansas • Accident occurred on September 19, 1980 • Air Force maintenance man dropped a 16-lb socket wrench while attempting to repair a leak in second stage storage tank. • Wrench bounced off concrete wall and ruptured first stage fuel tank of Titan II ICBM • Silo filled with highly volatile fuel vapors 59
Accident 32: Damascus, Arkansas • Air Force emergency team, dressed in protective suits entered silo • Toxic fumes had become thick fog • As team evacuated silo, vapors ignited • Ruptured first stage oxidizer tank & second stage fuel and oxidizer • Force of explosion blew the 740 ton silo door 650 feet from silo 60
Accident 32: Damascus, Arkansas • Nuclear weapon followed, landing in a ditch 500 feet from silo • Weapon separated from RV • Field radiography on September 20 revealed no major damage • Warhead disassembled on site & shipped to Pantex for disassembly 61
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Lost Bombs • Video that describes circumstances surrounding the loss of 12 nuclear weapons • Aired on The History Channel 2-3 times • Narrated by Stephen Schwartz, Brookings Institute
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Accident 1: Off Coast of British Columbia • The first occurred on February 13, 1950 • B-36 from Eielson AFB, Alaska was off the coast of British Columbia • Developed serious problems in 3 engines • Three engines shut down • Aircraft carrying one 10,500 lb nuclear weapon and a dummy capsule 2
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Accident 1: Off Coast of British Columbia • Unable to maintain altitude • Crew jettisoned weapon off coast of Princess Royal Island • HE detonated upon water impact • Crew baled out over Princess Royal Island • Aircraft crashed on Vancouver Island
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Accident 5: St. Lawrence River • November 10, 1950, B-50 bomber • In-flight emergency; cannot maintain altitude • Jettisons 10,500 lb weapon at 10,000 ft. • High Explosive detonated on impact with water • Capsule carried in birdcage 69
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Accident 6: Mediterranean Sea • B-47, one of flight of four departed MacDill AFB, Florida on March 10, 1956 for overseas base • Aircraft carried two nuclear capsules • All aircraft successfully refueled over Azores Islands • Flying south-west of Tangiers all aircraft descended through heavy clouds to refuel 71
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Accident 6: Mediterranean Sea • Three B-47s successfully linked with KC-97 tanker aircraft • Fourth B-47 was in radio contact with its tanker until 8 minutes before linkup • Aircraft failed to linkup with tanker • Extensive search failed to locate aircraft or wreckage • Aircraft, crew and two capsules never found 73
Accident 9: Atlantic Ocean • July 28, 1957. C-124 cargo aircraft with 3 weapons & 3 capsules in birdcages • Off coast of Delaware, aircraft loses power in two of four engines • Two weapons jettisoned into the ocean • Aircraft lands safety with one weapon and 3 birdcages • Search failed to locate weapons 74
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Accident 12: Savannah, Georgia • • • • • •
February 5, 1958. B-47 on exercise. Midair collision with F-86 fighter One nuclear weapon. No capsule on board. Attempted landing at Hunter AFB, GA Unable to maintain aircraft stability High concerns of HE detonation if aircraft crashed while attempting to land. • Weapon jettisoned near mouth of Savannah river 76
Accident 12: Savannah River • Area searched by EOD & Navy underwater demolition teams for two months • Weapon was not recovered • Recovery options were revisited in Nov. 02 • Public hearings were held • Decision was made not to attempt recovery
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Accident 18: Off Coast of Washington State • September 25, 1959. Navy P5M patrol plane developed engine fire • One nuclear depth bomb & capsule (in a birdcage) • Weapon jettisoned about 200 miles off shore in 8,600 feet of water • No HE detonation on impact with water • Aircraft ditched in the sea & crew rescued 78
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Accident 21: Goldsboro, NC • January 24, 1961. • B-52 on SAC airborne alert mission with 2 twostage nuclear weapons • Rendezvoused with KC-135 refueling tanker. While refueling boom operator sees fuel leaking from right wing tank • Refueling terminated and B-52 heads for Seymour-Johnson AFB for emergency landing 80
Accident 21: Goldsboro, NC • B-52 begins to gyrate into a spin and begins to break up • Crew bail out & weapons separate from aircraft. • Aircraft crashes near Goldsboro, NC • Parachute on one weapon deploys, lands upright with parachute caught in a tree. Suffers only minor damage. 81
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Accident 21: Goldsboro, NC • Parachute did not deploy on second weapon • Impact and penetration into the soil caused it to break up and made a crater 8-ft wide & 6-ft deep. • On January 30 the primary was recovered at a depth of 20-ft. • Excavation continued to depth of 40-ft in search of secondary 83
Accident 21: Goldsboro, NC • Crater continued to fill with water. • Pumps were placed in the crater but even at a rate of 6000 gallons/minute could not keep up with the seepage. • Efforts to recover secondary terminated on May 25. • Impact area purchased by Air Force and crater filled in and capped with concrete 84
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Accident 28: Pacific Ocean • December 5, 1965. • A-4 aircraft loaded with one nuclear weapon • Aircraft rolled off an elevator of an aircraft carrier and falls into the ocean • The pilot, aircraft and weapon are were • Depth of ocean is 86
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Accident 31: Atlantic Ocean • On about May 22, 1968, the U.S.S. Scorpion, a fast-attack submarine sank in 10,000-ft of water 400 miles SW of the Azore Islands. • Two nuclear anti-submarine torpedoes were on board • 99 crewmen were killed 88
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