4 January 1961: The 4241st Strategic Wing’s Boeing B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress, serial number 58-0187, was on a 24-hour airborne alert mission off the United States’ Atlantic Coast. Major Walter S. Tulloch, US Air Force, piloted the bomber with Captain Richard W. Hardin and First Lieutenant Adam C. Mattocks. Major Eugene Shelton, Radar Navigator; Captain Paul E. Brown, Navigator; First Lieutenant William H. Wilson, Electronics Warfare Officer; Major Eugene H Richards, Electronics Warfare Instructor; and Technical Sergeant Francis R. Barnish, Gunner were among the other members of the crew. It was equipped with two Mark 39 thermonuclear bombs, each with a 3–4 megaton explosive yield.
The B-52 was refueled by an air tanker while in flight. Major Tulloch was told by the tanker crew that the B-52’s right wing was leaking fuel. More than 5,400 gallons (37,000 pounds/17,000 kilograms) of jet fuel were wasted in less than three minutes due to the massive leak. The B-52 was on its way to North Carolina’s Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
The bomber became increasingly difficult to control as they fell due to the unbalanced condition. Major Tulloch ordered the crew to abandon the fatal ship when the bomber lost control. Five crew members were evacuated, and one climbed through the top hatch. (Lieutenant Mattocks is thought to be the only member of the B-52 crew to have fled through the upper hatch.)
58-0187 shattered and exploded. Its debris reached an area of two square miles (5.2 square kilometers). Majors Shelton and Richards, as well as Sergeant Barnish, were killed.
The B-52’s two Mark 39 bombs fell out of the bomb bay as the plane exploded. One buried itself to a depth of more than 55 meters (180 feet). The parachute retarding mechanism on the other plane worked perfectly, and it landed safely. An bomb disposal team promptly detonated it and carried it away.
The buried bomb was extremely difficult to recover. The ordnance crew retrieved the majority of the bomb after eight days, including the 92 detonators and conventional explosive “lenses” of the “primary,” the first stage implosion portion. On January 29, the uranium-235/plutonium-239 “pit,” the bomb’s very core, was discovered. The “secondary,” on the other hand, was never discovered.
The fusion fuel is held in the secondary, but it cannot detonate without the primary exploding first. There is no threat of an explosion because the secondary is buried.
“During a B-52 airborne alert mission structural failure of the right wing resulted in two weapons separating from the aircraft during aircraft breakup at 2,000 – 10,000 feet altitude. One bomb parachute deployed and the weapon received little impact damage. The other bomb fell free and broke apart upon impact. No explosion occurred. Five of the eight crew members survived. A portion of one weapon, containing uranium, could not be recovered despite excavation in the waterlogged farmland to a depth of 50 feet. The Air Force subsequently purchased an easement requiring permission for anyone to dig there. There is no detectable radiation and no hazard in the area.”
The military code term for an accident like this involving the loss of nuclear weapons is BROKEN ARROW.
Though official declarations claim that neither weapon was in danger of exploding, others claim that five of the six steps (or six of seven) required for a thermonuclear detonation were followed.
The aircraft commander’s arming switch was the only one that had not been turned on.
The Mark 39 was a two-stage thermonuclear bomb with radiation-implosion. It was produced from 1957 to 1959, with over 700 units produced. It was fully fused, which meant it could be detonated by contact with the ground, as an air burst, or by “laid down,” in which a sequence of parachutes would slow the bomb and allow it to land on its intended target before detonating. This gave the bomber enough time to clear the area.
With a weight of 6,500–6,750 pounds (2,950–3,060 kilograms), the Mark 39 was considered a light weapon. The bomb was roughly 11 feet, 8 inches (3.556 meters) in length and 2 feet, 11 inches in diameter (0.889 meters). The Mark 39 had a 3–4 megaton explosive output. (For comparison, the Redwing Cherokee nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll in 1956 had a yield of 3.8.)
In the mid-1960s, the Mark 39 was phased out of service and replaced by the more powerful Mk 41.
The Littlest Skyscraper: How J.D. McMahon’s 480-Inch Con Fooled Investors in 1919
In 1919, J.D. McMahon convinced investors to fund a 480-foot skyscraper, but he labeled the plans as 480 inches, building a 40-foot structure instead. After taking $200,000, he won in court since the plans matched what he built.
Underground Railroad to Mexico freed thousands of slaves in 1829
Slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829. Slaves were escaping to Mexico, and slaveholders in the US were aware of this. The US attempted to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, which would have required Mexico to send back escaped slaves to the US. But, Mexico refused, arguing that slaves were free as soon as they set foot on Mexican soil.
Louis Le Prince Invented the motion picture camera, and then he mysteriously disappeared
Louis Le Prince, the inventor of motion pictures, vanished without a trace in 1890. Thomas Edison quickly claimed the title of "first and sole inventor of cinema," even taking Le Prince's son to court to dispute it. A few years later, the son also dies under mysterious circumstances.
The Tragic Story Of Mary Ann Bevan, The ‘Ugliest Woman In The World’
After the death of her husband, Mary Ann Bevan had no income to support herself and her children. She then decided to enter a contest where she won the title of “ugliest woman” and was later hired by a circus. She endured this ridicule from the world to provide for her family.
Graves holding hands over wall, A Catholic woman and her Protestant husband grave
A protestant man and a Catholic woman who weren't allowed from being buried together in a graveyard in 19th-century Holland turned their graves into a monument showing them holding hands across the wall separating them.
How Dmitri Mendeleev Developed the periodic table of the elements
1850 Dmitri Mendeleev walked almost a thousand miles to Moscow so he could apply for the University of Moscow. Although he was not accepted, he walked to St. Petersburg where he was accepted, And with that education, he developed the the periodic table of the elements
Nearest Green, America's first known Black master distiller
Nathan "Nearest" Green was an African-American head stiller who is now more frequently referred to as a master distiller. He was renowned for imparting his distilling knowledge to Jack Daniel, the creator of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distiller, after Jack Daniel was freed from slavery following the American Civil War.
Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust
Irene Sendler was the Zegota resistance group's head of the children's department. She risked her life to smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto, place them with Polish families or orphanages, give each child a new identity, and keep records so that they could be returned to their families. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and sentenced her to death, but she was rescued by Zegota.
Why the Brooklyn Bridge Was Once Crossed by 17 Camels and 21 Elephants
On May 30, 1883, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede, which killed at least at twleve people. To prove the bridge was safe, P.T. Barnum led a parade of 21 elephants over it.
Nathan's Famous Doctor Stunt
When Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs first opened in 1916, the owner hired people to dress as doctors and eat hot dogs outside his shop, to convince people his hot dogs were healthy.
Medieval Medicine: A 1,000-year-old onion and garlic salve kills modern bacterial superbugs
Scientists recreated an Anglo-Saxon manuscript-based 9th century onion and garlic eye remedy and discovered that it killed 90% of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria (MRSA).
The Day an Israeli F-15 Landed with One Wing: Zivi Nedivi’s Unbelievable Mid-Air Survival
Discover the astonishing true story of Israeli pilot Zivi Nedivi, who safely landed an F-15 after a mid-air collision tore off its entire right wing. Learn how skill, quick thinking, and the F-15’s unique design turned a disaster into a legendary feat in aviation history
Saudi Arabia camel carvings dated to prehistoric era
Archaeologists were shocked to discover that a series of camels carved into desert rock faces in north-western Saudi Arabia are actually prehistoric, dating from 7,000-8,000 years ago - before either the Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge were built.
Blanche Monnier: Imprisoned For 25 Years For Falling in Love
Blanche Monnier, she was a French woman noted for her beauty, she wished to marry an old lawyer that her mother disapproved of, so she locked her in a small dark room in her attic for 25 years.
New London School Explosion, Deadliest school disaster which killed almost 300 children and teachers
In 1937, a gas leak in the basement at the local school in New London, Texas caused a massive explosion which killed almost 300 children and teachers, the deadliest school disaster in US history. Adolf Hitler even sent his condolences by telegram.
How a Total Lunar Eclipse Saved Christopher Columbus in 1504
In 1504, Christopher Columbus was stranded in Jamaica with natives who refused to give him food. But he knew the date and time of an upcoming lunar eclipse. So he told the natives that his gods were angry at their treatment of him, and would provide a clear sign. Once the eclipse started, the natives raced to give him food and begged for mercy.
What is the story behind Wrigley chewing gum?
Wrigley's was originally a soap company that gifted baking powder with their soap. The baking powder became more popular than the soap so they switched to selling baking powder with chewing gum as a gift. The gum became more popular than the baking powder so the company switched to selling gum.
Philippines, the largest supplier of Nurses in the World
Philippines is the world’s largest supplier of nurses, supplying roughly 25% of all overseas nurses worldwide.
Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident: Enemy became friends
During WWII, a German pilot spotted an American pilot’s crippled plane in the sky. Tailing it, he noticed that gunner was dead, crew injured, and they posed no threat. Instead of destroying the plane, he led it to safety. 40 years later, the two pilots reunited.
Roller Coasters were First Invented to Distract People from sin
Roller coasters were invented to distract Americans from sin. In the 1880s, hosiery businessman LaMarcus Thompson didn’t like that Americans were going to places like saloons and brothels and created the first roller coaster on Coney Island to persuade them to go there instead.
Why was the Eiffel Tower almost demolished
The Eiffel Tower was intended to be a temporary structure for the World's Fair in 1889, but it was nearly dismantled and sold for scrap metal. It was saved because of its potential use as a radio antenna, and it now serves as a tourist attraction as well as a working broadcast tower.
Quaker Oats Fed Children with Radioactive Oatmeal
In the 1940s and 1950s, Quaker Oats and MIT conducted experiments on radioactive iron and calcium-containing cereal. The diet was part of a study to see if the nutrients in Quaker oatmeal traveled throughout the body. In January 1998, a $1.85 million settlement was reached for 30 victims who came forward.
June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.
Max Headroom Incident: America’s Creepiest TV Hack
In 1987 a man hijacked a television station during an episode of Dr. Who and wore a Max Headroom mask and uttered nonsense, and he still hasn’t been caught
The story of a man who spent 72 hours with 72 venomous snakes to prove they only bite when provoked
In the 1980s, an Indian man spent 72 hours in a glass cabin with 72 snakes, some of which were extremely venomous. His aim was to prove that snakes only attack when provoked. Remarkably, he was not bitten once in those 72 hours and even set a Guinness World Record in the process.
