1966 Palomares accident

Collision between a USAF B-52G and KC-135 over the Mediterranean Sea near Spain August 2026 October 2019 Collision 1966 Palomares accident Palomares H-Bomb Incident.jpg The B28FI nuclear bomb, recovered from 2850 ft m of water, on the deck of the Petrel ASR-14 6 1966 01 17 y Mid-air collision near Palomares, Almería, Spain 37 14 57 N 1 47 49 W region:ES-AL_type:event_source:dewiki inline,title 7 4 Boeing B-52G Stratofortress, USA - Air Force AN1449236.jpg 58-0192, an aircraft similar to the B-52 involved Boeing B-52G Stratofortress 58-0256 Strategic Air Command, United States Air Force 7 Seymour Johnson Air Force BaseNorth Carolina, United States Seymour Johnson Air Force Base 7 3 4 Barksdale Global Power Museum September 2015 51 (Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker).jpg 56-3595, an aircraft similar to the second aircraft involved KC-135 Stratotanker 61-0273 United States Air Force Morón Air Base, Spain Morón Air Base 4 4 4 0 thumb|right|280px|3D reconstruction of the 1966 mid-air collision over Palomares. The Palomares accident occurred on 17 January 1966, when a United States Air Force B-52G bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling at 31000 ft m -1 over the Mediterranean Sea, near the Spanish village of Palomares in Almería province. The collision destroyed the tanker, killing all four crew members, and caused the bomber to break apart, resulting in the deaths of three of its seven crew members.Hayes Ron 17 January 2007 H-bomb incident crippled pilot's career http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/01/17/m1a_Hbomb_0117.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=17 https://web.archive.org/web/20070121042007/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/01/17/m1a_Hbomb_0117.html? 21 January 2007 5 October 2017 Palm Beach Post The B-52G was participating in Operation Chrome Dome, a Cold War airborne alert mission involving continuous flights of nuclear-armed bombers. At the time of the accident, the B-52G was carrying four B28FI Mod 2 Y1 thermonuclear bombs.SC-DR-66-397 B-51/KC-135 Collision near Palomares, Spain (U) S V Asselin August 1966 Sandia National LabsMaydew Randall C. America's Lost H-Bomb: Palomares, Spain, 1966 Sunflower University Press 1997 978-0-89745-214-4A Summary of Accidents and Significant Incidents Involving US Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Weapon Systems (U) 1990 Sandia National Labs Three of these bombs fell on land near Palomares; the conventional explosives in two detonated upon impact (there was no nuclear explosion triggered), dispersing plutonium and contaminating approximately 2 km2 us of terrain. The fourth bomb fell into the Mediterranean Sea and was recovered intact after an extensive 80-day search involving the U.S. Navy, including the use of submersibles such as DSV Alvin. A local fisherman, Francisco Simó Orts, witnessed the bomb's descent into the sea and assisted in its recovery.Long Tony 17 January 2008 Jan. 17, 1966: H-Bombs Rain Down on a Spanish Fishing Village https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0117 live https://web.archive.org/web/20081203112702/http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0117 3 December 2008 16 February 2008 WIRED In response to the contamination, the U.S. and Spanish authorities conducted cleanup operations, removing approximately 1,750 tons of radioactive soil, which was shipped to the United States for disposal.Long Tony Jan. 17, 1966: H-Bombs Rain Down on a Spanish Fishing Village https://www.wired.com/2012/01/jan-17-1966-h-bombs-rain-down/ 2025-05-06 Wired en-US 1059-1028 Despite these efforts, residual contamination persisted, leading to ongoing monitoring and a 2015 agreement between Spain and the U.S. to further remediate the area.Rothman Lily 2016-03-17 How the U.S. Lost—and Found—a Thermonuclear Weapon https://time.com/4253372/palomares-incident-lost-nuclear-bomb/ 2025-05-06 TIME en As of 2025, some contaminated land remains, and the cleanup has not been fully completed.SER Cadena 2025-04-07 La BBC recuerda cuando Estados Unidos soltó por accidente cuatro bombas nucleares sobre España en 1966 https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2025/04/07/la-bbc-recuerda-cuando-estados-unidos-solto-por-accidente-cuatro-bombas-nucleares-sobre-espana-en-1966-cadena-ser/ 2025-05-06 Cadena SER es-ES Politically, the accident prompted Spain to ban U.S. flights carrying nuclear weapons over its territory. The Palomares accident, along with the similar 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash, contributed to the termination of Operation Chrome Dome. Despite its significance, the town of Palomares has no official monument commemorating the event, although a street named "17 January 1966" serves as a reminder.October 2025 Accident thumb|right|Operation Chrome Dome flight path over southern Europe, showing refueling tracks The B-52G began its mission from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, carrying four B28FI Mod 2 Y1 thermonuclear bombs on a Cold War airborne alert mission named Operation Chrome Dome. The flight plan took the aircraft east across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea towards the European borders of the Soviet Union before returning home. The lengthy flight required two mid-air refuelings over Spain. At about 10:30 am on 17 January 1966, while flying at 31000 ft m -1, the bomber commenced its second aerial refueling with a KC-135 out of Morón Air Base in southern Spain. The B-52 pilot, Major Larry G. Messinger, later recalled,Moran Barbara Fall 2004 http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2004/2/2004_2_28.shtml The Day They Lost the H-bomb – and How They Got It Back Invention & Technology https://web.archive.org/web/20060506213400/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2004/2/2004_2_28.shtml 6 May 2006 5 October 2017 We came in behind the tanker, and we were a little bit fast, and we started to overrun him a little bit. There is a procedure they have in refueling where if the boom operator feels that you're getting too close and it's a dangerous situation, he will call, "Break away, break away, break away." There was no call for a break away, so we didn't see anything dangerous about the situation. But all of a sudden, all hell seemed to break loose. thumb|left|Boom operator's view of a B-52 from a KC-135 tanker The planes collided, with the nozzle of the refueling boom striking the top of the B-52 fuselage, breaking a longeron and snapping off the left wing,Lewis Flora 1967 One of Our H-Bombs is Missing McGraw-Hill 784834 which resulted in an explosion that was witnessed by a second B-52 about a mile (1 mi km out) away.http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA955702 Palomares Summary Report Defense Nuclear Agency Kirtland AFB NM Technology and Analysis Directorate Defense Technical Information Center 15 January 1975 5 October 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20160624194132/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA955702 24 June 2016 dead All four men on the KC-135 and three of the seven men on the bomber were killed.November 2025 Spain 1 200 right Spain Spain W N 37 14 55 1 47 45 Palomares right Spain W N 37 10 29 5 36 57 Morón Air Base top Those killed in the tanker were boom operator Master Sergeant Lloyd Potolicchio, pilot Major Emil J. Chapla, co-pilot Captain Paul R. Lane, and navigator Captain Leo E. Simmons.November 2025 On board the bomber, navigator First Lieutenant Steven G. Montanus, electronic warfare officer First Lieutenant George J. Glessner, and gunner Technical Sergeant Ronald P. Snyder were killed.Megara John http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04102006-115019/unrestricted/jmm_thesis.pdf Dropping Nuclear Bombs on Spain, The Palomares Accident of 1966 and the U.S. Airborne Alert Florida State University 17 February 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080226223704/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04102006-115019/unrestricted/jmm_thesis.pdf 26 February 2008 dead Montanus was seated on the lower deck of the main cockpit and was able to eject from the plane, but his parachute never opened. Glessner and Snyder were on the upper deck, near the point where the refueling boom struck the fuselage, and were not able to eject. Four of the seven crew members of the bomber managed to parachute to safety: in addition to pilot Major Messinger, aircraft commander Captain Charles F. Wendorf, copilot First Lieutenant Michael J. Rooney, and radar-navigator Captain Ivens Buchanan successfully bailed out.Staff 2003 http://www.atomicmuseum.com/Tour/cw4.cfm Broken Arrow National Atomic Museum 14 February 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080216221848/http://www.atomicmuseum.com/Tour/cw4.cfm 16 February 2008 dead dmy-all Buchanan received burns from the explosion and was unable to separate himself from his ejection seat, but he was nevertheless able to open his parachute, and survived the impact with the ground. The other three surviving crew members landed safely several miles out to sea. The Palomares residents carried Buchanan to a local clinic, while Wendorf and Rooney were picked up at sea by the fishing boat Dorita. The last to be rescued was Messinger, who spent 45 minutes in the water before he was brought aboard the fishing boat Agustin y Rosa by Francisco Simó. All three men who landed in the sea were taken to a hospital in Águilas. Under United States military nuclear-incident terminology, the event is categorised as a Broken Arrow, the flagword for a nuclear weapons accident and a more serious category than a nuclear weapons incident (flagword Bent Spear).Office of the assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs https://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/narp/Reference_Docs/Definitions.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20201030002357/https://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/narp/Reference_Docs/Definitions.htm 2020-10-30 2025-11-21 www.acq.osd.mil This classification reflects the loss and destruction of nuclear weapons, the non-nuclear detonation of two weapons on land, and the actual occurrence of radioactive contamination.Herrera Plaza J. Accidente nuclear de Palomares. Consecuencias (1966–2016) Arráez 2015 978-84-15387-75-6 ES Weapons The weapons lost during the accident were four B28FI Mod 2 Y1 thermonuclear bombs. The letters FI indicated B28 bombs configured in the full fuzing internal configuration. A full fuzing capability means the weapons could be delivered via all bomb delivery options, including free-fall airburst, retarded airburst, freefall groundburst and laydown groundburst delivery.August 1968 History of the Mk 28 Weapon https://osf.io/zyktv/ Sandia National Laboratories 27 March 2021 7 July 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210707115829/https://osf.io/zyktv/ live History of the Mk 28 Weapon 36 In this configuration, the W28 warhead was fitted between a Mk28 Mod 3F shock-absorbing nose and a Mk28 Mod 0 FISC rear end containing a parachute. The shock-absorbing nose enabled the weapon to survive laydown delivery, while the parachute slowed the weapon down in retarded airburst and laydown delivery.History of the Mk 28 Weapon 37–38 The Mod 2 nomenclature indicates the hardened version of the weapon designed to survive laydown delivery; earlier Mod 0 and Mod 1 weapons could not survive the forces involved.History of the Mk 28 Weapon 36 The Y1 nomenclature indicates a W28 warhead with a yield of 1.1 MtTNT TJ.Carey Sublette http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/B61.html Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons Nuclear weapon archive 12 June 2020 2021-03-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090227003412/http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/allbombs.html 2009-02-27 Weapons recovery The aircraft and weapons fell to the ground near the fishing village of Palomares, part of the Cuevas del Almanzora municipality in Almeria province, Spain. Three of the weapons were located on land within 24 hours of the accident—the conventional explosives in two had exploded on impact, spreading radioactive contamination, while a third was found relatively intact in a riverbed. The fourth weapon could not be found despite an intensive search of the area—the only part that was recovered was the parachute tail plate, leading searchers to postulate that the weapon's parachute had deployed, and that the wind had carried it out to sea.USAF Nuclear Safety, 1966. On 22 January, the Air Force contacted the U.S. Navy for assistance. The Navy convened a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), chaired by Rear Admiral L. V. Swanson with Dr. John P. Craven and Captain Willard Franklyn Searle, to identify resources and skilled personnel that needed to be moved to Spain.Moody, D. H. 40th Anniversary of Palomares Faceplate Naval Sea Systems Command http://www.supsalv.org/pdf/FACEPLATESept06.pdf 15 April 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20110716105654/http://www.supsalv.org/pdf/FACEPLATESept06.pdf 16 July 2011 dead The search for the fourth bomb was carried out by means of a novel mathematical method, Bayesian search theory, led by Craven. This method assigns probabilities to individual map grid squares, then updates these as the search progresses. Initial probability input is required for the grid squares, and these probabilities made use of the fact that a local fisherman, Francisco Simó Orts, popularly known since as es "Paco el de la bomba ("Bomb Paco" or "Bomb Frankie"), witnessed the bomb entering the water at a certain location. Simó Orts was hired by the U.S. Air Force to assist in the search operation.November 2025 The United States Navy assembled the following ships in response to the Air Force request for assistance:Melson, June 1967, pp. 26–39. thumb|upright|right|Alvin submersible 30em Kiowa ATF-72 6, a Navajo class fleet tug, arrived 27 January,Barbara Moran 2009 The Day We Lost the H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes, and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster in History 95 Random House, Inc. 978-0-89141-904-4 https://archive.org/details/daywelosthbombco00mora_0/page/95 first on sceneMarch 2010 Macdonough DDG-39 6, flagship through JanuaryNovember 2025 Nimble AM-459 6November 2025 Pinnacle MSO-462 6, found UQS-1 SONAR contact where Francisco Simo-Orts saw the bomb fallNovember 2025 Rival MSO-468 6, mother ship for PC3B submersibleNovember 2025 Sagacity MSO-469 6, confirmed Pinnacles SONAR contactNovember 2025 Salute MSO-470 6November 2025 Skill MSO-471 6November 2025 Nespelen AOG-55 6November 2025 Fort Snelling LSD-30 6, served as a support ship for the submersiblesNovember 2025 Boston CAG-1 6, flagship 30 January – 15 MarchNovember 2025 Albany CG-10 6, flagship 15 March through AprilNovember 2025 Notable MSO-460 6, minesweeper of Minesweeper Division 85 out of Charleston, SC, supported both submersibles ‘’Aluminaut’’ and ‘’Alvin’’ during the search; Jon Lindbergh piloted the "Alvin" submersible and supported the Westinghouse ocean-bottom, side-scanning sonar (OBSS). That sonar array, deployed beneath the USS Notable, may have detected the nuclear bomb which was still aboard the B-52 bomber when it entered the water. May 2023 Plymouth Rock LSD-29 6, transported Aluminaut and Alvin to the search siteNovember 2025 Petrel ASR-14 6November 2025 Tringa ASR-16 6November 2025 Charles R. Ware DD-865 6USS Charles R. Ware DD-865 http://www.usscharlesrwaredd865.com/dd865history.htm Danny Dannenfeldt, BM3 2006 10 September 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110717180344/http://www.usscharlesrwaredd865.com/dd865history.htm 17 July 2011 Hoist ARS-40 6November 2025 Lindenwald LSD-6 6, transported Aluminaut to Miami, Florida, after the Palomares accidentNovember 2025 Mizar T-AGOR-11 6November 2025 Dutton T-AGS-22 6November 2025 DSV AlvinNovember 2025 AluminautNovember 2025 PC-3B (Ocean Systems, Inc. submersible capable of searching to 600 ft m)November 2025 Deep Jeep (a Navy submersible capable of diving to 2000 feet m)November 2025 CURV-I (Cable-Controlled Underwater Recovery Vehicle) Luiseno ATF-156 6, removed aircraft wreck debris from the search siteNovember 2025 Everglades AD-24 6, removed aircraft wreck debris from the search siteNovember 2025 Lt. George W. G. Boyce T-AK-251 6, removed radioactive contaminated soil from Spain.November 2025 Additionally, the aircraft carrier Forrestal CV-59 6 and various other units of the Sixth Fleet made a brief stopover at Palomares on the morning of 15 March 1966; Forrestal anchored at 09:03 and departed at 12:19.NAVPERS-719 DECK LOG – REMARKS SHEET USS Forrestal CVA-59 dated Tuesday, 15 March 1966, 08–12 watch and 12–16 watch, and obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration in July 2015. The recovery operation was led by the Supervisor of Salvage, Captain Searle. Hoist, Petrel and Tringa brought 150 qualified divers who searched to 120 feet m with compressed air, to 210 feet m with mixed gas, and to 350 ft m with hard-hat rigs;Melson, June 1967, p. 37. but the bomb lay in an uncharted area of the Rio Almanzora canyon on a 70-degree slope at a depth of 2550 ft m. After a search that continued for 80 days following the crash, the bomb was located by the DSV Alvin on 17 March, but was dropped and temporarily lost when the Navy attempted to bring it to the surface.Melson, June 1967, pp. 38–39. After the loss of the recovered bomb, the ship's positions were fixed by Decca HI-FIX position-locating equipment for subsequent recovery attempts.World News: US Navy Award for Decca http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200746.html Flightglobal/Archive Flight International 728 11 May 1967 8 July 2016 25 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160825225411/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200746.html live thumb|left|The recovered thermonuclear bomb displayed on the fantail of the submarine rescue ship Petrel ASR-14 6 after it was located by DSV Alvin and recovered by CURV-I, pictured, at a depth of 2500 ft m -1 Alvin located the bomb again on 2 April, this time at a depth of 2900 ft m. On 7 April, an unmanned torpedo recovery vehicle, CURV-I, became entangled in the weapon's parachute while attempting to attach a line to it.November 2025 A decision was made to raise CURV and the weapon together to a depth of 100 ft m, where divers attached cables to both. The bomb was brought to the surface by Petrel ASR-14 6.November 2025 The Cascade AD-16 6 was diverted from its Naples destination, stayed on scene until recovery, then took the bomb back to the United States.September 2010 CURV-I was designed and built by Vare Industries Inc., of Roselle, New Jersey. The firm, founded and led by Milton Michael "Mike" Waller (1909-1974), was an early specialist in submersibles. The firm closed when Mike Waller became ill.NUY Special Collections M M Waller Scrapbook MC.126 includes New York Times front page April 08, 1966 Once the bomb was located, Simó Orts appeared at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York with his lawyer, Herbert Brownell, formerly Attorney General of the United States under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, claiming salvage rights on the recovered thermonuclear bomb. According to Craven:Craven John Piña The Silent War Simon and Schuster 2001 174–175 978-0-684-87213-1 https://archive.org/details/silentwarcoldwar00crav/page/174 It is customary maritime law that the person who identifies the location of a ship to be salved has the right to a salvage award if that identification leads to a successful recovery. The amount is nominal, usually 1 or 2 percent, sometimes a bit more, of the intrinsic value to the owner of the thing salved. But the thing salved off Palomares was a thermonuclear bomb, the same bomb valued by no less an authority than the Secretary of Defense at $2 billion—each percent of which is, of course, $20 million. The Air Force settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. In later years, Simó Orts was heard to complain that the Americans had promised him financial compensation but had not kept their promise.Necrológico: Francisco Simó, 'Paco el de la bomba' de Palomares Obituary: Francisco Simó http://elpais.com/m/diario/2003/09/08/agenda/1062972010_850215.html 7 November 2015 El País 8 September 2003 simo-obit es 1 September 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210901062552/https://elpais.com/diario/2003/09/08/agenda/1062972010_850215.html live Contamination At 10:40 UTC, the accident was reported at the Command Post of the Sixteenth Air Force, and was confirmed at 11:22. The commander of the U.S. Air Force at Torrejón Air Base, Spain, Major General Delmar E. Wilson, immediately traveled to the scene of the accident with a Disaster Control Team. Further Air Force personnel were dispatched later the same day, including nuclear experts from U.S. government laboratories.December 2025 The first weapon to be discovered was found nearly intact. However, the conventional explosives from the other two bombs that fell on land detonated without setting off a nuclear explosion (akin to a dirty bomb explosion). This ignited the pyrophoric plutonium, producing a cloud that was dispersed by a 30 kn on wind. A total of 2.6 km2 sqmi 1 was contaminated with radioactive material. This included residential areas, farmland (especially tomato farms) and woods. To defuse public alarm over contamination, on 8 March Spanish minister for information and tourism Manuel Fraga Iribarne and United States ambassador Angier Biddle Duke swam on nearby beaches in front of the press. First the ambassador and some companions swam at Mojácar — a resort 15 km mi 0 on away — and then Duke and Fraga swam at the Quitapellejos beach in Palomares.Un baño y un Meyba que pasaron a la historia https://web.archive.org/web/20121213052633/http://www.elalmeria.es/article/almeria/1160849/bano/y/meyba/pasaron/la/historia.html 13 December 2012 El Almería, 17 January 2012 es Despite the cost and the number of personnel involved in the cleanup, traces of contamination remained forty years later. Snails were observed with unusual levels of radioactivity.Bejarano José La maldición de Palomares La Vanguardia 19 November 2004 http://petra2.ciemat.es/interno/noticias/20041122/00011958.tif es 31 May 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070705174834/http://petra2.ciemat.es/interno/noticias/20041122/00011958.tif 5 July 2007 dead Additional tracts of land were also appropriated for testing and further cleanup. However, no indication of health issues has been discovered among the local population in Palomares.Geitner Paul 11 September 2008 Spanish Town Struggles to Forget Its Moment on the Brink of a Nuclear Cataclysm The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/world/europe/12spain.html 5 November 2008 28 January 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100128030844/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/world/europe/12spain.html live Political consequences President Lyndon B. Johnson was first apprised of the situation during his morning briefing on the day of the accident. He was told that the 16th Nuclear Disaster Team had been sent to investigate, per the standard procedures for this type of accident. News stories on the crash began appearing the following day, and it was on the front page of both the New York Times and Washington Post on 20 January. Reporters sent to the accident scene covered angry demonstrations by local residents. On 4 February, an underground Communist organization initiated a protest by 600 people in front of the U.S. Embassy in Spain.Stiles David A Fusion Bomb over Andalucia: U.S. Information Policy and the 1966 Palomares Incident Journal of Cold War Studies 2006 8 1 49–67 http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hpcws/jcws.2006.8.1..pdf 21 October 2008 10.1162/152039706775212067 57571313 https://web.archive.org/web/20081031001648/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hpcws/jcws.2006.8.1..pdf 31 October 2008 dead dmy-all The Duchess of Medina Sidonia, Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo (known as the "Red Duchess" for her socialist activism), eventually received a 13-month prison sentence for leading an illegal protest.The Duchess of Medina Sidonia: Aristocrat whose radicalism earned her the title 'Red Duchess' https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/the-duchess-of-medina-sidonia-aristocrat-whose-radicalism-earned-her-the-title-red-duchess-796812.html The Independent 17 March 2008 23 August 2017 7 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160807021020/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/the-duchess-of-medina-sidonia-aristocrat-whose-radicalism-earned-her-the-title-red-duchess-796812.html live Four days after the accident, the Spanish government under Franco's dictatorship stated that "the Palomares incident was evidence of the dangers created by NATO's use of the Gibraltar airstrip", announcing that NATO aircraft would no longer be permitted to fly over Spanish territory to or from Gibraltar.Spain bans overflying by NATO 8 A 22 January 1966 On 25 January, as a diplomatic concession, the U.S. announced that it would no longer fly over Spain with nuclear weapons, and on 29 January the Spanish government formally banned U.S. flights over its territory that carried such weapons. This caused other nations hosting U.S. forces to review their policies, with Philippine Foreign Secretary Narciso Ramos calling for a new treaty to restrict the operation of U.S. military aircraft in Filipino airspace. Palomares, and the Thule Air Base B-52 crash involving nuclear weapons two years later in Greenland, made Operation Chrome Dome politically untenable, leading the U.S. Department of Defense to announce that it would be "re-examining the military need" for continuing the program.John W. Finney 28 February 1968 U.S. Reviews Need for H-Bomb Alert 1 New York Times 2024 , there is no museum or monument dedicated to the accident in the town of Palomares, which is noted only by a short street there named "17 January 1966". Cleanup - Operation Moist Mop During the cleanup operation, named Moist Mop,When the US nuked Spain https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2021/02/22/when-the-us-nuked-spain/ Beyond Nuclear International 19 August 2026 en 22 February 2021 soil with radioactive contamination levels above 1.2 MBq/m2 was placed in 250-litre (66 U.S. gallon) drums and shipped to the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina for burial. A total of 2.2 ha acre was decontaminated this way, producing 6,000 barrels. 17 ha acre of land with lower levels of contamination were mixed to a depth of 30 cm in by harrowing and plowing. On rocky slopes with contamination above 120 kBq/m2, the soil was removed with hand tools and shipped to the U.S. in barrels.1997 Environmental radioactivity: from natural, industrial and military sources https://archive.org/details/environmentalrad00eise_374 limited 0-12-235154-1 429 Academic Press Merril Eisenbud Thomas F. Gesell thumb|left|Barrels of contaminated soil being prepared for removal to the United States for processing In 2004, a study revealed that there was still some significant contamination present in certain areas, and the Spanish government subsequently expropriated some plots of land which would otherwise have been slated for agriculture use or housing construction.Méndez, Rafael (10 December 2010). "Palomares: 50.000 metros contaminados con plutonio" https://web.archive.org/web/20110513065032/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Palomares/50000/metros/contaminados/plutonio/elpepuesp/20101210elpepunac_30/Tes 13 May 2011 . EL Pais. El Ciemat comenzó a realizar un detallado estudio tridimensional de la contaminación: expropió los terrenos de las bombas, tomó 325.000 muestras con un georradar en 6,6 millones de metros cuadrados de suelo y analizó 1.848 muestras de tierra. En un informe preliminar, de junio de 2007, el Ciemat admitió que había contaminación fuera de las zonas valladas y expropiadas y el CSN replicó que la contaminación detectada se podría superar la dosis de radiación admisible para el público, lo que obligó a "imponer restricciones totales o parciales" al uso del suelo. On 11 October 2006, Reuters reported that higher-than-normal levels of radiation were detected in snails and other wildlife in the region, indicating there may still be dangerous amounts of radioactive material underground. The discovery occurred during an investigation being carried out by Spain's energy research agency CIEMAT and the U.S. Department of Energy.November 2025 The U.S. and Spain agreed to share the cost of the initial investigation.November 2025 In April 2008, CIEMAT announced they had found two trenches, totaling 2000 m3 ft3, where the U.S. Army stored contaminated earth during the 1966 operations. The American government agreed in 2004 to pay for the decontamination of the grounds, and the cost of the removal and transportation of the contaminated earth has been estimated at $2 million. The trenches were found near the cemetery, where one of the nuclear devices was retrieved in 1966, and they were probably dug at the last moment by American troops before leaving Palomares. CIEMAT said that they expected to find remains of plutonium and americium once an exhaustive analysis of the earth had been carried out.Méndez Rafael 10 April 2008 España halla las zanjas radiactivas que EE UU ocultó en Palomares El País es http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Espana/halla/zanjas/radiactivas/EE/UU/oculto/Palomares/elpepusoc/20080410elpepisoc_2/Tes 12 April 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080512024124/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Espana/halla/zanjas/radiactivas/EE/UU/oculto/Palomares/elpepusoc/20080410elpepisoc_2/Tes 12 May 2008 live h.b. 10 April 2008 Spain finds trenches of radioactive earth buried at Palomares typicallyspanish.com http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16011.shtml 12 April 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080412031303/http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16011.shtml 12 April 2008 dead dmy-all In a conversation in December 2009, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos told the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he feared Spanish public opinion might turn against the U.S. once results of the nuclear contamination study were revealed. Clinton Hillary 18 December 2009 Secretary Clinton's December 14, 2009 Conversation With Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos US Department of State http://www.mein-parteibuch.org.nyud.net/cablegate/cable/2009/12/09STATE129362.html 18 December 2010August 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes In August 2010, a Spanish government source revealed that the U.S. had stopped the annual payments it has made to Spain, as the bilateral agreement in force since the accident had expired the previous year.US ends payments to Spain for 1966 bomb accident https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iF4oFE_wVfADQqjOL0W54hFNRpzw AFP 23 August 2010 10 September 2010 2 March 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120302230046/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iF4oFE_wVfADQqjOL0W54hFNRpzw dead On 19 October 2015, Spain and the United States signed an agreement to further discuss the cleanup and removal of contaminated land. Under a statement of intent signed by Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the two countries were to negotiate a binding agreement to further restore and clear up the Palomares site and arrange for the disposal of the contaminated soil at an appropriate site in the U.S.Spain, US sign new accord to study further cleanup work after 1966 nuclear accident https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/10/19/spain-us-sign-new-accord-on-nuclear-accident-clean-up-plan AP US News 19 October 2015 19 October 2015 20 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151020141915/http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/10/19/spain-us-sign-new-accord-on-nuclear-accident-clean-up-plan live Aftermath right|thumb|The casings of two B28 nuclear bombs involved in the Palomares accident are on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While serving on the salvage ship Hoist ARS-40 6 during recovery operations, Navy diver Carl Brashear had his leg crushed in a deck accident and lost the lower part of his left leg. His story was the inspiration for the 2000 film Men of Honor.Dorsey Jack Washington, Jim 26 July 2006 Pioneering Navy diver Carl Brashear dies in Portsmouth The Virginian-Pilot http://hamptonroads.com/node/130671 19 February 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080205163702/http://hamptonroads.com/node/130671 5 February 2008 live In March 2009, Time magazine identified the Palomares accident as one of the world's "worst nuclear disasters".http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1887705_1862260,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090330062023/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1887705_1862260,00.html dead 30 March 2009 The Worst Nuclear Disasters Time 2016 8 July 2016 Marked long-term occurrences of cancer and other health defects occurred among the surviving USAF personnel directed to the accident site in the days following the crash to clean up the contamination. Most of the afflicted personnel have had difficulty securing any type of compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs because of the secretive nature of the cleanup operation and the Air Force's refusal to acknowledge that adequate safety measures to protect first responders may not have been taken.Dave Philipps Decades Later, Sickness Among Airmen After a Hydrogen Bomb Accident https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/us/decades-later-sickness-among-airmen-after-a-hydrogen-bomb-accident.html The New York Times 19 June 2016 19 June 2016 20 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160620073345/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/us/decades-later-sickness-among-airmen-after-a-hydrogen-bomb-accident.html live In June 2016, The New York Times published an article on the 50th anniversary lingering legacy of the Palomares accident.Minder Raphael 20 June 2016 Even Without Detonation, 4 Hydrogen Bombs From '66 Scar Spanish Village https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/world/europe/spain-palomares-hydrogen-bombs.html?_r=0 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170408004809/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/world/europe/spain-palomares-hydrogen-bombs.html?_r=0 8 April 2017 29 March 2017 The New York Times In December 2017, one of the airmen involved in the clean-up, Victor Skaar, sued the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Skaar was appealing the Department's refusal of medical treatment for leukopenia that Skaar believes was caused by his exposure at Palomares.The Wall Street Journal, 2–3 January 2021, p. A3 He also petitioned for the Court to certify a class of veterans "who were present at the 1966 cleanup of plutonium dust at Palomares, Spain[,] and whose application for service-connected disability compensation based on exposure to ionizing radiation [VA] has denied or will deny."Skaar, No. 17-2574 (Vet. App. 2019) https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cavc/17-2574/17-2574-2019-02-01-0.html Justia Law United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 12 May 2025 en The certification of this class was granted by the Court in December 2019. This is one of the first cases ever granted class-action status by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.Philipps Dave For Many Who Cleaned Up a Nuclear Mess, a Key Ruling Comes Too Late https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/us/palomares-air-force-nuclear.html 12 February 2020 New York Times 11 February 2020 en 12 February 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200212154848/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/us/palomares-air-force-nuclear.html live The empty casings of two of the bombs involved in this accident are now on display in the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In popular culture The accident inspired the light-hearted 1966 film Finders Keepers, starring Cliff Richard and backed by his band The Shadows.March 2024 In November 1966, the plot of an episode of the espionage-themed American television series I Spy entitled "One of Our Bombs is Missing" was devoted to the search for an American Air Force plane carrying an atomic weapon which crashed over a remote Italian village.March 2024 This accident was given the movie treatment in a semi-serious 1967 film, The Day the Fish Came Out, which covers the story of a plane crash alongside a Greek (not Spanish) Island and the surreptitious attempts by plain-clothes U.S. Navy personnel to find the missing bombs.March 2024 It is also referenced in Terence Young's 1969 drama The Christmas Tree, in which William Holden plays a rich industrialist, who, while traveling in Corsica with his son, learns the boy has been exposed to radiation from the explosion of a plane carrying a nuclear device; on the phone with a senior French official, he references the Palomares accident.March 2024 The story was told in comic format as "Paco della Bomba" by Mino Milani on the Italian teenage-oriented magazine Corriere dei Ragazzi, on 12 January 1973.https://corrierino-giornalino.blogspot.com/2020/02/paco-della-bomba.html Paco della bomba corrierino-giornalino.blogspot.com 11 February 2024 In Episode 12 of the fourth season of Archer, the main protagonists race against time to recover a lost hydrogen bomb near the Bermuda Triangle, with references being made to how the U.S. Air Force settled for "at least $20 million" when they lost a previous hydrogen bomb in the late 1960s.November 2025 In 2000, the U.S. film Men of Honor focused on the life of the first black American master diver, Carl Brashear, in the U.S. Navy. The film begins and ends with the Palomares bomb recovery by U.S. Navy personnel.Jae Jones Carl Maxie Brashear: First African American U.S. Navy Master Diver https://blackthen.com/carl-maxie-brashear-first-african-american-u-s-navy-master-diver/ Black Then 5 January 2016 29 March 2017 31 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160131223851/http://blackthen.com/carl-maxie-brashear-first-african-american-u-s-navy-master-diver/ live In April 2015, the Palomares accident was mentioned in the Danish film The Idealist, a film about a similar accident, the 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash.November 2025 In August 2015, the accident was the subject of a two-minute animated film by Richard Neale that was a finalist in the BBC's WellDoneU competition for amateur filmmakers.Well Done U https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p035cpkz BBC 16 October 2015 8 July 2016 18 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151018235951/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p035cpkz live In 2021, Spanish cable TV provider Movistar+ produced a four-part documentary series, Palomares: Dias de playa y plutonio.Palomares: Dias de playa y plutonio https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film419466.html Movistar+ 12 April 2022 live https://web.archive.org/web/20210424074427/https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film419466.html 24 April 2021 See also Broken Arrow List of military nuclear accidents RAF Lakenheath nuclear near-disasters – included another US military accident involving a Mark 28 nuclear bomb ReferencesNotesBibliography''' USAF Nuclear Safety 52 Sep–Oct 1966 http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/reading_room/133.pdf Broken Arrow – Palomares, Spain Directorate of Nuclear Safety, United States Air Force 23 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090327090414/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/reading_room/133.pdf 27 March 2009 dead Lewis Flora 1987 One of Our H-Bombs is Missing Bantam 978-0-553-26483-8 https://archive.org/details/oneofourhbombs00flor Maggelet Michael H. James C. Oskins Broken Arrow- The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents 2008 Bantam 978-1-4357-0361-2 Melson, Lewis B. CAPT USN Contact 261 United States Naval Institute Proceedings June 1967 http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/box7_3.aspx Broken Arrows: The Palomares and Thule Accidents Brookings Institution 1998 16 November 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20091109110145/http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/box7_3.aspx 9 November 2009 dead Moran, Barabara M, "The Day we lost the H-Bomb" 978-0891419044 External links 1966 Palomares B-52 crash John Howard, "Palomares Bajo", Southern Spaces'', 23 August 2011. n-tv: Atomkatastrophe von 1966 – USA und Spanien entseuchen. Oral history of Willard Franklyn Searle recounting the recovery project. Category:Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving nuclear weapons Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Spain Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker Category:Mid-air collisions involving military aircraft Category:Mid-air collisions in Europe Category:Spain–United States military relations Category:Nuclear weapon safety Category:Marine salvage operations Category:Pollution in Spain Category:Francoist Spain Category:1966 in Spain Category:1966 in the United States Category:1966 in military history Category:Cold War military history of the United States Category:January 1966 in Europe