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Posted on 06/17/2005 9:35:00 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAVANNAH, Ga. - The first government search in decades for a hydrogen bomb lost off the Georgia coast in 1958 found no trace of the sunken weapon, the Air Force said Friday.
The report — issued nine months after scientists tested radiation levels off Tybee Island — concluded that there is no danger of a nuclear blast from the 7,600-pound bomb and that the weapon should be left where it is, buried somewhere in the muck.
"We still think it's irretrievably lost. We don't know where to look for it," said Billy Mullins, an Air Force nuclear weapons adviser who led the search.
A damaged B-47 bomber jettisoned the Mark-15 bomb into Wassaw Sound about 15 miles from Savannah after colliding with a fighter jet during a training flight.
The military soon gave up the search for the bomb, but decided to look again last year, after a retired Air Force pilot claimed his private search team had detected unusually high radiation levels in the sound.
"I'll have to agree with them," said Derek Duke, who has spent more than five years searching for the bomb. "Whatever we thought we saw maybe wasn't anything at all."
Government scientists took radiation readings and soil samples Sept. 30 from an underwater area the size of four football fields. The report said varying radiation levels were detected, but they were from natural elements in the sediment on the sea floor.
"The best course of action in this matter is to not continue to search for it and to leave the property in place," said the report by the Air Force Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency.
The Air Force has said the bomb contains uranium and about 400 pounds of conventional explosives, but lacks the plutonium capsule needed to trigger a nuclear blast. The amount of uranium was undisclosed.
In 2001, the Air Force declared the bomb "irretrievably lost" and said it lies buried beneath 8 to 40 feet of water and 5 to 15 feet of mud and sand.
City officials on Tybee Island, a beach community of 3,400 residents, urged the government four years ago to recover the lost nuke. After hearing the Air Force report Friday, City Manager Bob Thomson agreed it is best left alone.
"I'm not saying it's a good thing that we have a warhead out there," Thomson said. "But I believe the greatest danger is it being disturbed from its watery grave."
Didn't see "Sum of All Fears", any good?
Probably right. Maybe it was some odd program they had to see who would come snooping for it.
I believe it was "Sum of All Fears". Just remember the opening story where in 1967 during the middle east war when Israel thought she would be overrun & defeated. The leadership loaded a nuke onto an airplane. The plane was to fly under radar. Unfortunately, the plane crashed in the desert and the nuke didn't explode but was covered up by the sand for about 35-40 years. A muslim found it and dug it out of the sand and subsequently sold it on the black market to some terrorists. There was some radiation leakage that the muslim died from. Anyway, that's the most I can remember of the movie. I saw the movie only once. Real memorable, huh?
Good flick, but not like the book. Unfortunately, Hollywood caved in to the PC of not identifying elements of the Middle East as being the culprits. The book almost paints a very realist scenario. The movie was certainly entertaining though. The Clancy character John Clark was portrayed as well.
I think I saw it in an Atlanta Surplus Store. It was kind of beat up.
Holy crap! I picked that thing up years ago -- I hollowed it out and use it to boil crabs.
Methinks the USAF is depending too heavily on finding radiation, and not on finding the bomb itself.
And they only searched an area the size of four football fields.
Not trying very hard, I'd say...
Yes, that's The Sum of All Fears.
In the original book, the Palestinians use the nuke, not neo-Nazis.
this was the early 60s and all B-52 always flew with weapons on board! This would be changed after Palomeres!!
Gino the EWO didn't use his ejection seat since the cabin broke right at his work station. He released his seat belt and stepped out into space and safely floated to the ground. He was one of three out of six onboard who survived. When the recovery crew arrived they had to clean up the mess since four thermonucs had landed in a swampy area of South East Pennsylvania. The B-52 AC nearly cold cocked the first SAC Officer who arrived on the scene and wanted to make sure that the nuclear authenticators that each crew member wore around their necks were properly accounted for. The AC was livid since three men and four nucs were lost. The heck with the codes!
Gino became a close friend and he had one other war story. He was Italian-American and proud of the fact that his Dad had been an Ace for the Italian Air Force during WWII and in the early 70s was a senior pilot for Aeritalia! Yup his dad was mentioned in that short book of Italian war heros!
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Thanks, I'll check it out the next time I go to the video store.
This makes one wonder just how good our nuclear weapons detectors really are at our ports. Considering they can't find this big, old and likely poorly shielded bomb...
"Clive Cussler found the H.L. Hunley in similar conditions"
Somebody call Dirk Pitt. He'll find it in a day or two and get the girl as well (There's always a girl)
Rest in peace, H-bomb! :)
From the sounds of the latest book Dirk and Al are retiring from field work. Dirk is replaing Sandecker as head of NUMA. Dirk and the lady Senator are getting married and Dirk's kids are taking over for dad. The kids(twin boy and girl) are from the lead lady in Pacific Vortex and showed up at the end of the pervious book all grown up and ready to go.
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