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Jan. 17, 1966: H-Bombs Rain Down on a Spanish Fishing Village

I just saw this article on Wired (link) and all I have to say is... WHAT? Holy Shit.

I have never heard of this. It seems to me that this would be huge news. Do any of the older members of the board remember hearing about this at the time?

Quote:

Jan. 17, 1966: H-Bombs Rain Down on a Spanish Fishing Village
http://www.wired.com/images/index/20...bomb_250px.jpg
A hydrogen bomb is recovered from the water,
80 days after it fell into the Mediterranean Sea near Palomares, Spain.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy.

1966: A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber collides with its refueling tanker jet in mid-air over the Spanish coast. Its four hydrogen bombs fall to earth near the fishing village of Palomares.

The bomber collided with the KC-135 tanker at 31,000 feet. Exploding fuel completely destroyed the tanker, killing all four crew members. The B-52 broke apart, spilling its payload -- four Type B28RI hydrogen bombs equipped with 1.45-megaton warheads. Three hit the ground near Palomares while the fourth fell into the Mediterranean Sea.

Three members of the bomber's seven-man crew were killed in what became known as the Palomares hydrogen bombs incident.

Although the conventional explosives contained in two of the four bombs detonated, there was no nuclear holocaust. But there was radioactive contamination around the crash site, with plutonium scattered over 2 square kilometers. Around 1,750 tons of earth was excavated and shipped to the United States for disposal.

The bomb that landed in the sea went missing for 80 days and became the object of an intensive search by the United States, which was afraid the Soviets might try to recover it.

A local fisherman, Francisco Simo Orts, had seen it hit the water and was enlisted to help the U.S. Navy establish the basis for its search operation. When the bomb was finally found, Simo Orts turned up in New York with an attorney, demanding the salvage award he claimed was due him in accordance with maritime law.

The U.S. secretary of defense said the bomb was worth $2 billion. Simo Orts asked for $20 million, or 1 percent of the bomb's value, again in accordance with the custom of maritime law. The Air Force eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Holy crap! That is a very interesting story. So obscure yet seems rather important. What a miracle that they didn't detonate.

I could definitely see some movie made on it. Post WWII, Cold War, loose nukes - it's the perfect storyline. Maybe Antonio Banderas could play the Spanish fisherman, Matt Damon could play his lawyer, and Cate Blanchett could play the love interest. Throw in some USSR tension - a race to locate the bomb and we have ourselves a thriller.

Good find Charlatan.

I don't remember that incident specifically. I would have just turned 8, and didn't read the papers regularly. I do know that Armageddon was part of the background noise in the 60's - the Cold War and Mutually Assured Destruction were very real and very scary things.
A couple of hard-drives ago I had a bookmark for a Broken Arrow site - long since gone where ever it is that lost bookmarks go when your computer fries out.
Here is a google search result of some related incidents to show that Palomares was not alone in getting close-up and personal with Dr. Strangelove.

"The following is a compilation of some known events involving nuclear devices and facilities under U.S. jurisdiction"
http://www.lutins.org/nukes.html

"U.S. Lost Nukes And Nuclear Accidents"
http://aboutfacts.net/Weapons36.htm

Selected Accidents Involving Nuclear Weapons 1950-1993
Greenpeace March 1996
http://www.user.dccnet.com/welcomewo.../greenacci.htm

Broken Arrows: Nuclear Weapons Accidents
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Almanac...s_static.shtml

Wow Kramus... that is some scary shit.

As tempting as $2M would be, I'd want to hang onto it, build a lead-impregnated glass case, and use it as a coffee table. Imagine the conversations:

"Wow, what's that?"
"That's my hydrogen bomb"
"Is it a model or did you get the casing from a junkyard?"
"No, it's and actual working bomb. Haven't figured out how to set it off yet, but it keeps the neighbors' kids away."

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSD

Ok, that's funny.

I used to have a good friend who tootled around in an old VW van with several bumper stickers decorating and or cover rust spots. Among the many anti-violence and anti-war messages was the classic "Visualize World Peace"

One day I told her she should get one that says "Visualize Thermo-nuclear War"

"Why in the world would I want one like that?"

"I just thought maybe if people were visualizing an all out nuclear nightmare they might be more motivated to actively work toward world peace."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tully Mars

:lol: that's pretty good, Tully