Posted on 09/13/2004 7:15:02 PM PDT by gutshot
Device dropped in ocean off Georgia during Cold War WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Government experts are investigating a claim that an unarmed nuclear bomb, lost off the Georgia coast at the height of the Cold War, might have been found, an Air Force spokesman said Monday.
The hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean in 1958 following a collision of a B-47 bomber and an F-86 fighter.
A group led by retired Air Force Lt. Col. Derek Duke of Statesboro, Georgia, said in July that it had found a large object underwater near Savannah that was emitting high levels of radioactivity, according to an Associated Press report.
...... Smolinsky said if the bomb were found, a decision would have to be made about whether to try to recover it or leave it where it is. .....
The 7,600-pound, 12-foot-long thermonuclear bomb contained 400 pounds of high explosives as well as uranium.
.....
The United States lost 11 nuclear bombs in accidents during the Cold War that were never recovered, according to the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
An estimated 50 nuclear warheads, most of them from the former Soviet Union, still lie on the bottom of the world's oceans, according to the environmental group Greenpeace. ......
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
You are probably right. But what is the market value of 200 lbs of weapons grade enriched uranium? Would it be worth it to salvage it?
The value comes from depriving bad guys of the material.
Not much, I would think, if salvor ships would draw a homing torpedo.
Let me look that up....hmmm on the open market..... pork bellies being up 5 today..... carry the 2........ be about
68.7 million. Not including double bagging and I will throw in the undercoating for free.
Dunno. How large is large?
I also made electronics filters for Eagle Picher who makes the guidance systems for the JDAMS and other precision guided munitions used today. A lot of the components in the bomb are driven by a gel-acid battery in a plastic case. The filters we made were also plastic, potted in urethane. Plastics used inside cabinets which are recieving 1/4 watt guidance signal are a bit dicey from an EMI design standpoint. It doesn't take much noise from a solenoid or linear motor to stomp that signal right into background noisse.
No, silly, I mean how much would the government pay for a LEGITIMATE salvage operation whose goal from the beginning was to turn it over to the US government?
The on a strictly economic basis, it is probably well worth a $10 million salvage effort.
my concern regarding stability is not the uranium. That is quite predictable, and the nuclear trigger is dead for all real purposes. What worries me is the 400 pounds of explosives. And that means "Don't poke it"!
name one insurance company that would underwrite it? Only the govt. could and knowling the govenment, They will probably encase it, rather than salvage. And put a huge govt. installation designation around it.....
Relax Freepers, it is UNARMED.
Tell that to WalMart who sold US flag made in China for a short time right after 9-11 until they took a lot of heat for it.
But what the heck does this have to do with finding a nuclear warhead off the coast of Georgia????
Nuclear weapons require constant maintenance and component replacement. That's one of the reasons that nukes bought from the Soviet Union by terrorists are not that big of a threat as people might imagine. The components and upgrades to keep them potent in yield are a dead giveaway and you don't find them at Radio Shack. Any nuclear bombs from the soviets in the hands of Islam are just dirty bombs at this point.
How far is it from Savannah's nuclear power plant?
It's been almost 4 tritium half-lives since it was lost. Only about 6% (if any) tritium remains. Of course, if it's a lithium deuteride device......
I buy my tea from an island right off the coast there. It is the only tea plantation in America. Pretty good tea too. Maybe it's the uranium?
I haven't seen a Holiday Inn in a while....how 'bout a Super 8 Motel?
I'm pretty sure the Mark-15 used lithium deuteride. I'll need to check a bit more before I could say for sure.
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