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 ...
I will send telegram to Dan Rather. Stop.
I like the fire extinguisher in the background of the nuke. Safety First!
Holy Cow, and I was only worried about tropical depression 11....
How do you know all that info? I think they ought to leave it alone.
Is there any likelihood of it detonating?
I wish to God I knew.
All I can say is this. If the bomb had it's trigger mechanism (which I believe they needed to have in order to be set off) in place, then yes there is a likelihood of it detonating. If it didn't have the trigger in place, then there is probably no way short of them trying to detonate it in place for it to blow up.
Wish I knew more about Nuclear Weapons, but my knowledge on them is pretty limited.
I do know this tho. It's a bomb and it was designed to explode, so chances are it probably will at some time unless they can get in and recover it and disarm it.
Nope. it's physically incapable of detonating.
I know, just big.
rotflmao!!!!
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.
Well you and I are in the same boat as far as that goes. But I would have to argue that it's a Bomb and Bombs are designed to explode.
Any other 463/2W2s out there?
I'm not going to snag it next time I go fishing am I?
On the day they try to recover it, if you are driving down the road and see a lot of people heading out of Savannah really fast, try and keep up.
lol!
Holy cow. That headline scared the piss out of me. Thank God it wasn't what I thought it was.
I need a drink...
Interesting stuff! I wonder if kids are as interested anymore. I was fascinated with the bombs when I was growing up in the forties. I had alot of nightmares too.
It landed in no more than a few feet of water and buried itself into the muck about 30 feet down. Other than the obvious security issues, I'd leave it exactly where it is. It would not reach a chain reaction anyhoo. If you dig it up, the 400 lbs of high explosives might just as well make it into a dirty bomb.
Re Post #28...what's with the language in this post? Was it translated directly from Russian, Arabic or N. Korean?
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