1958 Tybee Island mid-air collision

US Air Force incident involving a nuclear bomb August 2026 February 2018 Accident Mk15.jpg 220px A Mk 15 nuclear bomb of the type lostwhen jettisoned after the collision February 5, 1958 Mid-air collision Tybee Island, Georgia, U.S. 32 0 N 80 51 W type:event_region:US-GA inline,title 5 Boeing B-47B Stratojet United States Air Force(Strategic Air Command) 3 0 51-2349 North American F-86L Sabre United States Air Force(Tactical Air Command) 1 0 52-10108https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/183817 Incident North American F-86L Sabre 52-10108 The Tybee Island mid-air collision was an incident on February 5, 1958, in which the United States Air Force lost a 7600 lb kg on Mark 15 nuclear bomb in the waters of Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia, United States. During a night practice exercise, an F-86 fighter plane collided with the B-47 bomber carrying the large weapon. The bomb was jettisoned to help prevent a crash and explosion. After several unsuccessful searches, the weapon was declared lost in Wassaw Sound off the shores of Tybee Island. Collision USA Georgia 180 Georgia yes USA Georgia W N 32 0 80 51 Crash site  left USA Georgia W N 33 45 84 23 Atlanta right Blue pog.svg The B-47 bomber was on a simulated combat mission from Homestead Air Force Base in Florida,Mark Natola Boeing B-47 Stratojet Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2002 0764316702 77–80 carrying a single 7600 lb on bomb. At about 2:00 a.m. EST (UTC−5), an F-86 fighter collided with the six-engine B-47. The F-86 pilot, Lt. Clarence Stewart, ejected and parachuted to safety near Estill, South Carolina, 10 mi in north of the fighter's crash site east of Sylvania, Georgia.5 February 1958 2 planes collide in midair; pilots and crew unhurt https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3NlYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-_YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3396%2C746518 Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington 1 Associated Press5 February 1958 Jet, bomber collide today https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r-UtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MzEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1551%2C3357623 Rome News-Tribune Georgia 1 Associated Press The damaged B-47 remained airborne, plummeting from 38000 ft m off until the pilot, Col. Howard Richardson, regained control at 20000 ft m off.Swopes Brian R. 5 February 1958 http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/5-february-1958/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20230225152007/https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/5-february-1958/ February 25, 2023 This Day in AviationNortham Gerry June 22, 2009 Missing for 50 years – US nuclear bomb http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8107908.stm live https://web.archive.org/web/20231017060349/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8107908.stm October 17, 2023 February 5, 2024 BBC News en-GB The crew requested permission to jettison the bomb, in order to reduce weight and prevent the weapon from exploding during an emergency landing. Permission was granted, and the bomb was jettisoned at 7200 ft m, while the plane was traveling at about 200 knot mi/h km/h. The crew did not see an explosion when the weapon struck the sea. They managed to land the B-47 successfully at nearby Hunter Air Force Base, just south of Savannah.6 February 1958 Damaged bomber makes safe landing https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YX1IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1WsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7370%2C643640 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 2 Associated Press Richardson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for safely landing the bomber. The bomb thumb|"Temporary Custodian Receipt" for what would be the nuclear weapon lost in the 1958 Tybee Island mid-air collision. It indicates that the core (part "C") was "simulated," and not an actual fissile core of nuclear material. Some sources describe the bomb as a functional nuclear weapon, but others refer to it as disabled. If it had a plutonium nuclear core installed, it was a fully functional weapon. If it had a dummy core installed, it was incapable of generating a nuclear blast but could still produce a conventional explosion. 12 ft In in length, the Mark 15 bomb that was lost weighs 7600 lb kg, bears the serial number 47782, and contains 400 lb kg of conventional high explosives and highly enriched uranium.http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons November 11, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081216093542/http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html December 16, 2008 live The Air Force maintains that its "nuclear capsule" (physics package), used to initiate the nuclear reaction, was removed before its flight aboard the B-47. Air Force Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency (PDF) April 12, 2001 http://www.buckley.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060726-022.pdf Air Force Search & Recovery Assessment of the 1958 Savannah, B-47 Accident February 27, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20160408222930/http://www.buckley.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060726-022.pdf April 8, 2016 dead As noted in the Atomic Energy Commission "Form AL-569 Temporary Custodian Receipt (for maneuvers)", signed by the aircraft commander, the bomb contained a simulated 150 lb on cap made of lead.The Nuclear Information Project https://web.archive.org/web/20051103004458/http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/01-027H_USAF_020458.pdf November 3, 2005 , Form AL-569, "Temporary Custodian Receipt (for maneuvers)," to U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Albuquerque Operations, from James W. Twitty, Col., U.S. Air Force, February 4, 1958. Released under FOIA. (PDF) However, according to 1966 congressional testimony by Assistant Secretary of Defense W.J. Howard, the Tybee Island bomb was a "complete weapon, a bomb with a nuclear capsule" and one of two weapons lost that contained a plutonium trigger.NPR Media, Letter of W.J. Howard, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Atomic Energy), to the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Congress of the United States (April 22, 1966). (PDF) Page 1, Page2. Nevertheless, a study of the Strategic Air Command documents indicates that Alert Force test flights in February 1958 with the older Mark 15 payloads were not authorized to fly with nuclear capsules on board. Such approval would not come until safer "sealed-pit nuclear capsule" weapons began to be deployed in June 1958.The Nuclear Information Project, History of the Strategic Air Command January 1, 1958 – June 30, 1958. Released under FOIA. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20150709185926/http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/SAC01-0658.pdf July 9, 2015 Recovery efforts Starting on February 6, 1958, the Air Force 2700th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron and 100 Navy personnel equipped with hand-held sonar and galvanic drag and cable sweeps mounted a search. On April 16, the military announced the search had been unsuccessful. Based on a hydrographic survey in 2001, the bomb was thought by the Department of Energy to lie buried under 5 to 15 ft of silt at the bottom of Wassaw Sound. In 2004, retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Derek Duke claimed to have narrowed the possible resting spot of the bomb down to a small area approximately the size of a football field.February 2018 He and his partner located the area by trawling in their boat with a Geiger counter in tow. Secondary radioactive particles four times naturally occurring levels were detected and mapped, and the site of radiation origination triangulated. An Air Force nuclear weapons adviser speculated that the source of the radiation was natural, originating from deposits of monazite, a locally occurring mineral that emits radiation.June 22, 2005 'Lost" H-bomb: RIP http://savannahnow.com/stories/062205/3115736.shtml dead https://web.archive.org/web/20180205185312/http://savannahnow.com/stories/062205/3115736.shtml February 5, 2018 Savannah Morning News Later effects By 2007, no undue levels of unnatural radioactive contamination have been detected in the regional Upper Floridan aquifer by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (over and above the already high levels thought to be due to monazite).http://www.americaslosthbomb.com/ America's Lost H Bomb Television production Marabella Productions 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20101030000700/http://www.americaslosthbomb.com/ October 30, 2010 deadyes February 2024Chatham County Public Works and Park Services, Drinking Water Quality Consumer Confidence Report (2007) https://web.archive.org/web/20090809010532/http://www.chathamcounty.org/department_freeform_T7_R264.html August 9, 2009 In popular culture In February 2015, an article appeared on a fake news web site which claimed that the bomb had been found by vacationing Canadian divers and had been removed from the bay. The spurious story spread widely via social media.February 27, 2015 Georgia Warhead http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/warhead.asp May 6, 2015 Snopes A disclaimer on the site states that all of the information contained therein is for "entertainment purposes only." In the MonsterVerse graphic novel Godzilla Dominion, the Titan named Scylla finds the sunken warhead off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, having sensed its radiation as a potential food source. Godzilla and the Coast Guard force Scylla to retreat, and they safely recover the bomb.These statements need by a citation of a reliable source. February 2024 See also Broken Arrow List of military nuclear accidents Notes References Air Force Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency (PDF) April 12, 2001 http://www.buckley.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060726-022.pdf Air Force Search & Recovery Assessment of the 1958 Savannah, GA B-47 Accident February 6, 2015 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160408222930/http://www.buckley.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-060726-022.pdf April 8, 2016 Shaughnessy Larry September 13, 2004 Lost Bomb Possibly Found http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/13/lost.bomb/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070401015613/http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/13/lost.bomb/ April 1, 2007 November 5, 2018 CNN Bell Brett September 14, 2004 Return of the Tybee Bomb http://savannahnow.com/stories/091404/2441929.shtml dead https://web.archive.org/web/20180204182816/http://savannahnow.com/stories/091404/2441929.shtml February 4, 2018 February 6, 2015 Savannah Morning News Carter Chelsea May 3, 2004 Cold War hydrogen bomb off Georgia stirs worries http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001918347_hbomb03.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20040606092554/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001918347_hbomb03.html June 6, 2004 September 14, 2004 The Seattle Times Welsh Edward August 21, 2001 There's an H-bomb in Our Swamp http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0821-05.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20041013161922/http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0821-05.htm October 13, 2004 September 16, 2004 Common Dreams NewsCenter mdy-all Michael H. Maggelet and James C. Oskins (2008). "Broken Arrow: The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents". Lulu. 978-1-4357-0361-2. External links En-1958 Tybee Island mid-air collision-article.oga 2012-04-25 "For 50 Years, Nuclear Bomb Lost in Watery Grave", NPR (February 3, 2008) "Missing for 50 years – US nuclear bomb", BBC News (June 22, 2009) Nuclear Bomb Dropped in Georgia; No Nuclear Capsule Inserted, Documents Show, The Nuclear Information Project (2004) Chart of Strategic Nuclear Bombs https://web.archive.org/web/20190402145621/http://www.strategic-air-command.com/weapons/nuclear_bomb_chart.htm April 2, 2019 , Strategic-Air-Command.com Chasing Loose Nukes by Col. Derek Duke (as told to Fred Dungan) Category:1958 in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:1958 in military history Category:February 1958 in the United States Category:Chatham County, Georgia Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving nuclear weapons Category:Mid-air collisions involving military aircraft Category:Mid-air collisions in the United States Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1958 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft Category:Nuclear accidents and incidents in the United States