Nuclear bomb possibly found (Unarmed Device dropped in ocean off Georgia during Cold War)

CNN ^ | 9/13/04 | CNN

[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. ......

[Velveeta]

Thanks, saw this in "breaking news" and about fainted.

[Rebelbase]

LOL! Too far south to be the Alpha!

[Blood of Tyrants]

The decision to bring it home will depend on the danger it presents to health and whether it is possible that a terrorist could raise it and use it. 200 lbs of weapons grade uranium is a HUGE amout.

[MissAmericanPie]

Yipes, I think they should just leave it alone.

[XEHRpa]

Remember, DON'T CUT THE RED WIRE FIRST!

[nomad]

That nearly scared the cr@p out of me!

[twhitak]

Can anybody estimate what the blast radius of that thing would be if it was detonated? I'm not THAT close, but it'd still be nice to know.

[Constitution Day]

One of those places is not too far from where I live.

[The Mayor]

The 7,600-pound, 12-foot-long thermonuclear bomb contained 400 pounds of high explosives as well as uranium.

That is one big bomb.

[Calpernia]

The dollar store flags are made abroad.

[Popman]

If that thing detonates, you can probably say goodbye to Savannah and most of the GA coast.

I know as much about nuclear bombs as brain surgery, but the article did say it was unarmed, which I would assume would mean it cannot go off.

[gutshot]

Sorry about the scary headline, but as the rules say, "Do include the original title - When you post an article, be sure to include the original title where appropriate. This helps users find the article and lessens the chance of a double post."

Maybe in this case I should have added (DUD!).

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[KingPin]

Uhhh.... Bush was snorting cocaine in his F-104 counting his payoffs from Haliburton, when he decided what better way to pollute the environment. Thats the ticket!!

[scannell]

We need to bring this 1958 bomb up at night and put a document in it from Microsoft Word and date it 1998 and put Made in Iraq on that document and take it to Baghdad to "discover" as WMD, and then have Dan Rather swear to its authenticity.

[tortoise]

Can anybody estimate what the blast radius of that thing would be if it was detonated?

Since it is buried under quite a bit of water and silt that would act as an energy sink, I would guess that a 5 mile radius is probably the "safe" distance for primary blast effects even if it got full yield when it went off. As old as it is, you'll get much less than designed yield though (if any at all).

[COEXERJ145]

Best thing to do is exactly what the Air Force says, leave it alone. The weapon cannot go to nuclear yield as it is missing the required plutonium capsule. The uranium in the bomb is a tamper but alone will not produce nuclear yield. The threat is the high explosives going off and killing whoever is messing with the thing.

The bomb itself is a Mark-15 design. Since we know it contains a uranium tamper, it must be the high yield version. In this configuration, a fully active Mark-15 would produce a yield of around 3.8 megatons.

[Amelia]

If that thing detonates, you can probably say goodbye to Savannah and most of the GA coast.

That's reassuring. NOT.

Is there any likelihood of it detonating?

[quantim]

Air Force officials consulted the U.S. Navy, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Savannah District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Something about govt consulting govt, govt consulting govt, govt consulting govt, and then govt consulting govt, that is not particularly comforting, to me at least.

[M Kehoe]

OK, it's far enough off the coast, it would be easy to clear the area, I'll bet there's a few here that would like to see it detonated...come on fess up...it would be totally cool...

I hope PETA doesn't see this post...

5.56mm