B-36 Bomber Nuclear Accident, Albuquerque, 1957

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

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In 1986, the Albuquerque Journal received documents from an FOIA request. To their surprise, the Air Force had kept a nuclear accident secret for 29 years. The story of how a B-36 bomber dropped the biggest bomb the United States ever made on New Mexico deserves to be remembered.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As images of actual events are sometimes not available, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered is the place to find short snippets of forgotten history from five to fifteen minutes long. If you like history too, this is the channel for you.
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Script by THG
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Опубликовано:

6 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 1,3 тыс.

@cwp3420 Год назад

I was surprised to see your story pop up, as my dad was involved in this. He didn’t tell us he was there until the story finally came out. He was a P-51 pilot in WWII, and after his discharge my parents moved to Albuquerque so he could begin work as a security guard in Kirkland. He said he was on duty that day, and a radio transmission had come in saying that there was a nuclear bomb on a B-36 en route to the base, and that the flight crew was having an unspecified problem with it. The Air Force sent out some security guards who were close by so they could cordon off the plane was it set down. My dad said they saw it come over the Sandia mountains, and as it got closer to them they saw the bomb fall through the plane and begin tumbling toward them. My dad said some security guards begin running, since it was a nuclear device, but he said if it was armed it wouldn’t do any good running, so they watched it until it hit and exploded. As soon as it landed, they cordoned it off and no one approached it until the big brass arrived. Like you said, it was a different time, and no one in my family ever knew it occurred until much later. Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it tremendously.

@street-level Год назад

It can't have happened, since nobody was held responsible.

@johngreen4610 5 лет назад

"The Air Force Decided not to assign blame to the officers involved" In other words they couldn't find any enlisted personnel to blame.

@robertheinkel6225 5 лет назад

So true, so true. We had a KC-135 blow all MLG tires on landing. The tried to blame the ground crew for under inflated tires, but all the evidence was gone. They also chose to ignore the fact the anti skid controller had failed, and had to be replaced. The real facts were the brakes locked after landing, causing the tires to slide until they all blew. I saw many more incidents during my 24 year career.

@belliott538 5 лет назад

ALL TO TRUE... smh... Being BLAMED for my Lt's Decision for an Incident involving the Rolling of an M-60A3 while on a Training Mission in West Germany back in 1986 which Ended ANY Desire I may have had in a Career in the US Army.... I'm certain that Lt Dumb Arse went on to Ruin many other Good Men during his long & Storied Carer. I also blame First Sergeant Numb Nutz for his part. Such Is The Life of an Enlisted Man... What Turds Those Guys Were.

@HarryBalzak 5 лет назад

More likely they wanted it to be kept as quiet as possible. The less paperwork the better.

@CaesarInVa 5 лет назад

@dwiggins01 I can see where PF would make the assumption about you having been assigned to SAC. He was speaking specifically about SAC, your response directly repudiate his statement about SAC and then you qualified your statement with a comment about having 24 years of experience. Sure sounded like you were SAC to me.

@Odin31b 4 года назад

So true..

@copperhamster 5 лет назад

"Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking, and two more unaccounted for." -- unofficial version of the B-36's 'ready to go'.

@bigblue6917 5 лет назад

Two burning. Well everyone likes a good BBQ.

@jamesricker3997 5 лет назад

That explains exactly why the B-36 left service so quickly after being replaced in the bomber roll

@kylieadams5414 5 лет назад

Oh my god, that's real. I thought you were just making a joke.

@copperhamster 5 лет назад

@@kylieadams5414 The crew would actually do at-engine adjustments and maintenance in-flight via tunnels in the wings. Also, due to the engine's design, (they were not intended for a pusher configuration), they had an unfortunate number of mechanical issues. And tendency to catch fire. I met one of Convair's (later General Dynamics) former test pilots, who was a friend of my father. (Who worked for Convair/GD as an aeronautical Engineer.) He had some interesting comments on that aircraft. Especially as he was also part of the 'nuclear aircraft' test where they put a tiny nuclear reactor in the back of the damn thing. I also knew the test pilot who bent the landing gear of the number 2 YF-16 prototype during an acrobatic display practice less than 2 weeks before the Paris air show. The first prototype still had the black and white prototype paint markings all over it plus was actually partially disassembled for maintenance and they ended up loading it on the transport aircraft with the red white and blue livery still wet.

@bcaffrey98 5 лет назад

@@jamesricker3997 The B-36 story is quite interesting. The proposal for an intercontinental bomber started in 1941 when US planners thought Britain might fall to the German "blitz". In that case, the US would need a very long range bomber to bomb Berlin or parts of Europe from North America. War delays and design changes slowed development. The bomber was unveiled in August 1945, about 2 weeks after the nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan. With the war over, the B-36 could have been canceled. But the emerging Soviet threat saw the bomber put into service because it was the only plane capable of bombing Russia from North America. It was also the only bomber that could carry the large Hydrogen bombs of the day. It was certainly obsolete by the mid-50s, however it could still fly higher than most fighters of that era, thanks to the lift of that large wing. Mission logs recorded frequent operations at 49,000 ft and sometimes over 50,000 ft. These altitudes were not stable flight regimes for early jet fighters. Only after about 1956 did newer jet fighter designs begin to threaten the bomber. By then the B-52 was coming into service and there was no need for a slow strategic bomber.

@ZEZERBING 5 лет назад

You sure that wasn't Slim Pickens in the bomb bay?

@misterjag 5 лет назад

Nobody told Slim Pickens they were making a satire. So, he approached his role as he would any Western. Pickens behaved, and dressed, identically onscreen and off --not because he was “staying in character,” but because he apparently always acted like that.

@kdnp529 5 лет назад

I loved when Slim read out the contents of his survival kit!😂. YEE, HAA!!!🇺🇸

@michaelfodor6280 5 лет назад

@@kdnp529 "Shoot, a feller can have a good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

@anthonyglass170 5 лет назад

@@michaelfodor6280 as originally written/spoken, it was " ... Have a good weekend in DALLAS with all that stuff". Because JFK was shot in Dallas,it was changed to "Vegas".

@johnmarcinko2484 5 лет назад

"Dr Strangelove" and "Fail Safe" occured to me, also...

@briangarrow448 5 лет назад

I knew I should have took a left at Albuquerque.- Bugs Bunny, 1957.

@mikeyoung9810 5 лет назад

Love that line. I've used it often hehe.

@JasonLambek 5 лет назад

Pismo Beach!!

@santaclaus6602 5 лет назад

You must be older than dirt to remember that line & bugs bunny 🤣

@infolord79 5 лет назад

@@santaclaus6602 You must be dumber than dirt if you don't know that line or Bugs freaking Bunny. What third world shit hole did you grow up in? Did your mud hut not have electricity?

@jackielinde7568 5 лет назад

@@infolord79 Santa Claus is right. I'm a child of the 70's and 80's, and the Loony Toon cartoons were airing on cable. So I was able to see them and know the reference. But, that's a long time ago, and I don't know how often or even if they do still air. I know that if it weren't for me getting some old WB cartoons, my daughter would not have been exposed to it or would get the reference. I suspect most Millennials probably wouldn't get that reference. They may know who Bugs Bunny is, and they might even know his catch phrase of "Eh, what's up, Doc?" I doubt they'll know much more than that. Sadly they won't know that Bugs often gets lost at Albuquerque.

@peachtrees27 5 лет назад

15 megatons... When you absolutely, positively have to annihilate something....

@Inviting1word 5 лет назад

and everything next to something.

@jwenting 5 лет назад

it was designed to hit Soviet command and control bunkers, structures designed to withstand the blast of smaller nuclear weapons. Same reason the Soviets kept a number of weapons in the same class around to take out Cheyenne Mountain, home of NORAD.

@gerfmon1 5 лет назад

Not nearly as big as the Soviet Tsar Bomba, 50 megatons of nuke.

@brianreddeman951 5 лет назад

@@gerfmon1 That wasn't a practical weapon and given the desire they could have gone much bigger. Fortunately some people decided the crew might want to live through that.

@user-vx6nc5wr5v 5 лет назад

"Fuck that general area"

@ryanj9364 5 лет назад

"Shit"...I think that is mild compared to the words I would have used.

@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X 5 лет назад

"Shit" is quite an understatement really...

@WALTERBROADDUS 5 лет назад

I drop a nuke on America? Yeah, a flood of dictionary words start flying fast.

@brokenarrow7871 5 лет назад

Levinworth prison is nice that time of year LOL

@FD2003Abc 5 лет назад

@@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X "OOps?"

@donparker1823 5 лет назад

I worked in SAC & USAFE with nukes for ~ 8 years. I found your account of this Broken Arrow to be excellent! Thanks

@karlslicher8520 5 лет назад

1st rule of warfare; Dead cows don't talk.

@brokenarrow7871 5 лет назад

Karl Slicher Poor cow gave it’s all for the country LOL

@fastst1 5 лет назад

Add a cow to the victory markings!

@thebonesaw..4634 5 лет назад

@@brokenarrow7871 -- It was the very first recipient of the Cowgressional Medal of Honor. It was a very tender ceremony.

@rabbi120348 5 лет назад

“Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo” James Joyce

@jwflyaway 5 лет назад

The Air Force did pay farmer for lost of his 🐄, LOL.

@richardklug822 5 лет назад

There is no such thing as a "fool proof" safety device when humans are involved.

@july8xx 5 лет назад

Whenever a fool proof device is created, a better fool will be created.

@rogerdavies6226 5 лет назад

If you make something fool proof only fools will use it kinda like the democrats in congress

@rogerdavies6226 5 лет назад

sorry couldnt resist

@tpobrienjr 4 года назад

@@rogerdavies6226 Eisenhower was President when this accident happened.

@mrlucky5025 4 года назад

@@tpobrienjr The Democrats held a majority in both Houses of Congress.

@paulkolodner2445 5 лет назад

I was a toddler living about 2 miles away at the time. I guess I lived to toddle another day.

@HugeWolf1 5 лет назад

Booo, bad pun! :P

@markwhite1780 5 лет назад

I lived at Sandia Base during that exact time. My father was in the Army and was attached to the AEC.

@jonbold 5 лет назад

So, how is your thyroid gland doing? Energy crisis?

@paulkolodner2445 5 лет назад

@@jonbold My family lived in Albuquerque from 1956 to 1964. My brother (born 1951) and I (1953) have both avoided any diseases associated with radiation exposure.

@jonbold 5 лет назад

@@paulkolodner2445 I am so glad! You must not have played in my sandbox (1960-1963 ).

@funkyzero 5 лет назад

Six turnin' and 4 burnin' baby! what a cool era in aircraft development.

@craigbowie8925 5 лет назад

I visited the museum you mention at the end of your video back in the late 90's. At that time I thought it presented a fair and accurate history of nuclear energy in the U.S. After walking though many static displays of documents from the scientists comments about whether to use nuclear energy as a weapon you walked into a slightly darkened hall and made a sharp turn. There, bathed a pool of light was a model of one of the first nukes. It was chilling. As you went further through the exhibit and learned a chronological history of nuclear energy until the mid 50's where pulled the same trick of having you make a sharp turn only to be facing the Mark 17. It was an elegantly simple way of presenting something in a way that would be impact. One of the best museums I've ever visited. They showed both sides of the coin.

@folcwinep.pywackett8517 5 лет назад

I would second this opinion. Have been there several times. One of the best museums in the country. And in the back lot they have a B-29, B-52, snark, minuteman, titan, nuclear sub conning tower, and many other Cold War odds and ends. Well worth going out of your way for a visit.

@craigbowie8925 5 лет назад

Folcwine P. Pywackett I should go back. If you ever gat a chance to go to the SAC museum west of Omaha it is with the trip.

@RCAvhstape 5 лет назад

The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum has the restored Enola Gay B-29 and a model of the Little Boy bomb on display. About 10 or 15 years ago some wackjob protestors threw blood or red paint on the airplane, right after they had spent hundreds of man hours restoring it.

@folcwinep.pywackett8517 5 лет назад

@@craigbowie8925 Have not been to the SAC museum. From their website it looks really interesting. Never even been to Omaha but have put this one on my bucket list. Thanks for the ref!

@folcwinep.pywackett8517 5 лет назад

@@RCAvhstape Yes! Absolutely! The Smithsonian Air and Space is probably the greatest museum of its kind in the world. I was in complete awe when I visited a few years back. Everyone should put Air and Space on their bucket lists. That museum is really a "Must See" ! I don't remember reading about the criminal act which you mention but we are living in a world where everyone now has the right to put their stupidity on full display (just like my comment!).

@jhmcglynn 5 лет назад

I was born in 1947 and lived at Roswell NM from 1953 to 1955 which was a B36 and B29 base. They were loud and shook the ground on takeoff.

@theuglybiker 5 лет назад

Stealth was not it's strong point to say the least.

@ronaldhorne5106 5 лет назад

I lived in Roswell from 1952 to 1968. The air force base flew B-47’s and B-52’s . THEY were noisy! The Air Force shut Walker Air Force Base down in 1968. Roswell went from 52,000 to 33,000 in the space of six weeks. For that whole six weeks every major road was lined with moving vans 24 hours a day. Then they weren’t and Walker was a ghost town.

@Blogengezer 5 лет назад

@@ronaldhorne5106 -Today race horses [Mine that bird] graze in the lush pastures, training to win the Trifecta of the Triple Crown. :)

@buzztp5119 3 года назад

How many GREYS did you see? lol

@skychildoflight9867 5 лет назад

The B 36 was an awesome aircraft! While I was serving at Fort Bliss, I had heard of this incident. In the Franklin mountains, not too far away, there is the remains of a B 36 that crashed on approach to Biggs airfield.

@timothycook2917 5 лет назад

I did a write-up on that air crew lost in the crash shortly before the 60th anniversary of the incident. Apparently the navigator mistook the approach to the municipal airport instead of Biggs airfield during a snowstorm and they didn't realize they were on a collision course with Franklin mountain

@brasstard7.627 5 лет назад

Another thing is most cities dont have a mountain range running through the middle of them

@MrKfq269 4 года назад

I watched a C-5 land at El Paso International Airport. Immediately the plane took off with engines screaming, pilot looped the plane around and landed at the adjacent Biggs Field.

@christianfreedom-seeker934 3 года назад

Never heard about it, did the crew eject safely? Is the "lid" still officially on this?

@DoomerONE 5 лет назад

As a kid I used to crawl through the “City of Fort Worth” B-36 that was parked outside of General Dynamics in Fort Worth. I loved that plane and this story brings back many fond memories.

@allanbrogdon7453 5 лет назад

I went to a&p school at Mecham Field we saw it on a field trip crawled all over it huge!

@hansfitting5019 5 лет назад

JAS Aerial wasn’t there also a casing for the bomb there? As well as several other planes including a B58 Hustler?

@allanbrogdon7453 5 лет назад

@@hansfitting5019 Yes it was huge i remember a B-52 in 86 not sure about B-58 I know they were built there my grandfather worked on B-36and B-58.

@carlstenger5893 5 лет назад

JAS Aerial that must’ve been after they moved it from GSW. I toured that beauty back in the mid-60s when it was on display at Amon Carter field.

@hansfitting5019 5 лет назад

Allan Brogdon you’re right, it was a B52. I was thinking of the B58 escape capsule. My mistake. Sad that all that stuff is gone now.

@G-Nno 5 лет назад

You hit 400K congrats you deserve it!

@mmclaurin8035 5 лет назад

500k coming soon

@travisinthetrunk 5 лет назад

Still seems low for how awesome this channel is.

@davimattos7081 5 лет назад

@@travisinthetrunk True. This guy has some unique high quality content.

@allenatkins2263 5 лет назад

@Breezy Mods That seemed a little harsh and unnecessary.

@richbarr5959 5 лет назад

@Breezy Mods You are an example of how even such an awesome channel as this attracts a few dumbasses.

@allenatkins2263 5 лет назад

Bomb dropped on Albuquerque and did $1,000.00 in improvements.

@gounderusbyMichaelTomlins 5 лет назад

I have lived in Albuquerque all my life, and this is the first time I have ever heard this! That's what I absolutely love about your videos History Guy - you present the most fascinating stories of forgotten history; and in this case, stories that literally, hit close to home! Thank you!

@cab4 5 лет назад

When I was 10, my grandparents took me to the USAF mueseum. I had known about the B36, but i wasn't prepared for just how massive it was. It made the B29 look small, and that plane already makes alot of planes look small. The propeller seemed taller than my house. It deserves the name Magnesium Overcast.

@itsjohndell 5 лет назад

Small snippet: When we built the building the B-36 is in we built it AROUND the 36. If you ever get to Pima Air and Space Museum at Tucson, AZ they have a B-36 outdoors. Great walk around. Sadly because she had to be moved in sections she can never fly again. What a a thing that would be to see!

@jayrodmurderface 5 лет назад

@@itsjohndell its sitting next to a few B-52s. It actually looks bigger than the 52's. Fucking massive.

@funkidyo 5 лет назад

The strategic air command museum in Omaha has a b36 and a b52 in the same hangar, the b36 dwarfs it in comparison

@70nastyfish 5 лет назад

I thought it's nickname was the "magnesium monster"

@chuck8835 4 года назад

Magnesium Overcast relates to B-17s and B-24s over Europe during the 8th Air Force bombing of Europe during WW2. The EAA's B-17 carries this name.

@jamesbrown4092 5 лет назад

At Farmers, we know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two. Hello Farmers? Somebody dropped an H-bomb on my cow...

@Farweasel 3 года назад

Well Hey, Don't have a Cow man. Yes. That's what I said. .......... I don't even have the *hooves* On the up side sire, you do now have a watering hole?

@CEOkiller 3 года назад

Duh duh. Duhdahdah

@rayceeya8659 5 лет назад

The B-36 was a hot mess of a bomber. 10 engines and a propensity to light itself on fire were just the beginning of the story. Still a remarkable piece of engineering.

@keptinkaos6384 5 лет назад

the untold story of a lot of those heavy bombers was the fact they were a very hazardous workplace

@RCAvhstape 5 лет назад

IIRC it was conceived to be able to bomb Germany in case Britain got overrun but spent too much time in development to enter service in the war.

@sillyone52062 5 лет назад

In Strategic Air Command, Jimmy Stewert mentions fuel leaks.

@terryboyer1342 5 лет назад

I'm impressed! Most "journalist" accounts of aviation matters are fraught with a myriad of inaccuracies and mistakes. But this was spot on. Kudos HG!

@jamestheotherone742 5 лет назад

They had 30 yrs to get the copy right.

@cojones8518 5 лет назад

"BOMBS AWAY!" Pilot's butt proceeds to eat the seat cushion.

@davefromoz2859 4 года назад

CO Jones Yea, Thats not what the poor enlisted Dudes butt in the back who pulled the PIN was eating 😰 His shorts were SO FULL of S#&#@% that they needed to be SCOOPED UP with a scoop shovel later & thrown into a fire😖😫

@jenskunze4384 5 лет назад

Dear Mr. History Guy. I am a big Fan of history and first have to das thsnk you for the many stories "that deserve to be remembered". Very interesting and different. Not only American history. Please continue this education and good summarized lessions of history and side-places that influenced the whole World wide Evolution and history! Regards from Germany.

@thebonesaw..4634 5 лет назад

If you watch his previous videos you will see that he does indeed cover events of world history.

@jenskunze4384 5 лет назад

@@thebonesaw..4634 I excuse my bad english, but thats what i wanted to try to say. That he has Videos about history not only tells american history, but world wide one. Like what happened in other parts of the world, but i am glad you wrote this. So i apologize for my poor english and hope that now i could made my point better clear?

@thebonesaw..4634 5 лет назад

@@jenskunze4384 -- Oh, no worries. I understand what you are saying now. No apology is necessary. I'm glad we understand each other better now an I apologize to you if my first response sounded bad, as it was not intended that way.

@richbarr5959 5 лет назад

Two people clarifying their statements and apologizing for misunderstanding...that shows the quality of this channel and the people who watch it. I salute both of you.

@smartyrdumb4681 5 лет назад

🇺🇸👈👉🇩🇪 ☮️👍😊

@l8tbraker 3 года назад

A 14 year old military brat, I was living on nearby Kirtland AF base at the time. Little did I know.... One of the VIPs on the ground after the accident was my Dad. He would have been absolutely livid.

@ceasar3696 5 лет назад

I was in the USAF and stationed at Kirkland and worked as a cable installer and maintenance for base communications. Our shop was right next door to the Nuclear museum when it was on the base, seen it many times but it's been 20 years. I didn't even know it moved. Thanks for bringing back old memories.

@0159ralph 5 лет назад

My father in law was part of the USAF disaster preparedness at KAFB and guarded the Broken Arrow site for several weeks. He didn't say a word about the incident even after the report was released by the media in 1986. My father in law passed away in March at 93 yoa. God bless you Danny and all of the USAF personnel who guarded the site and completed the clean up. Also thank you for your service during WW2 and the cold war. We miss you..

@catliftresearch 5 лет назад

My father in law worked for Raytheon at White Sands on the Nike-Shrike missile project in the 50's. Wouldn't discuss ANYTHING even though it was 1990 and the technology was antiquated. He did tell me that when stuff wasn't working right they would launch with a paper clip.

@guycore5478 4 года назад

The History Guy is totally prepared. His room is a fallout shelter, he has a Bill Nye bow tie, he has an Austin Powers lava lamp, and he has a hat for, literally, any occasion.

@kendavis8046 5 лет назад

My wife and I visited that museum in Albuquerque earlier this year. Pretty fascinating museum, associated with the Smithsonian. And there are docents providing lots of interesting facts, as many of them are former pilots. I spoke at length with one gentleman who had piloted a B-36 (reconnaissance missions) in the Korean conflict, then piloted B-52's in Vietnam in the 1960's. Very interesting discussion, and the docents who served in the military are friendly, and don't mind even stupid questions (one of my specialties!) There are examples of the actual planes themselves as part of the outdoor exhibits at the museum.

@Ammo08 5 лет назад

I built nukes for the Air Force for 4 years. This was a big part of our studies..don't mess up. I only got to work on the MK-17 in tech school..it was humongous....

@jgvtc559 4 года назад

Is it considered rocket science?

@jrldjsln 5 лет назад

Wow! I was born in the hospital at Sandia Base in Albuquerque in 1958. My dad was a U.S Navy Yeoman stationed at Sandia Base. He was assigned to the Atomic Support Agency. This tour lasted from 1957 to 1962. Perhaps the History Guy could do a piece on the testing. I know my dad was part of Operation Dominic in 1962. And he was also at Eniwetok Atoll

@stevehansen5389 5 лет назад

I lived in Albuquerque and worked, as a AF Civilian, at Kirtland for eight years. I heard a lot of stories about the "Good Old Days," but never heard that. Thanks!

@sarjim4381 5 лет назад

It was sure a good test of the fail safe concept of not loading pits until it's ready for a real drop. Too bad for the cow though.

@deadfreightwest5956 5 лет назад

"Did you see the cow? She was asking for it!" - Bill O'reilly.

@sarjim4381 5 лет назад

@@deadfreightwest5956 "Did you see the cow? It was clearly racist...and xenophobic...against brown cows. She deserved it!" - Ilhan Omar, spokesMuslim for The Squad..

@thunderccr5056 5 лет назад

It's a shame the cow didn't moooove!! 😁

@jameshepler62 3 года назад

@@deadfreightwest5956 Bill is now writing his next book... “Killing the NM Cow.” Watch for it at your favorite book source soon.

@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu 5 лет назад

My dad was a Sky Cop at Kirtland AFB in 1968 and he always talked about the weird stuff going on inside that Sandia Mnt. at the time.

@colingibson8018 5 лет назад

Sir once again you smacked it out of the park. You and your wife are just amazing. Your depth of research for these videos is just amazing. Long may you reign for you are the tops. And from all of us regular followers Thank you Thank you.Looking forward as always to your next video. Be safe.

@BackSeatHump 5 лет назад

I was stationed at Sandia Army base which was the eastern half of Kirtland Air Force Base. It was, in fact, called Sandia Consolidated Base at the time. Sandia Laboratories were just outside the window of my barracks.

@marksims6425 5 лет назад

The same thing happened outside of Florence SC in an area called Mars Bluff. About 50 miles from my home but don’t remember the year.

@chelinfusco6403 5 лет назад

1958 Mars Bluff B-47 nuclear weapon loss incident was an inadvertent nuclear weapon release

@marksims6425 5 лет назад

Chelin Fusco correct !

@765kvline 4 года назад

March 11, 1958 was the date.

@antoniovillanueva308 5 лет назад

You are one of the people that make RU-vid better than any cable network.

@steveskouson9620 5 лет назад

"Someone yelled SHIT! It might have been me!" Lance, that has GOT TO BE, the best line I've heard all (fiscal) week! One of your best episodes! I used to be an electrical systems installer at Mickey D's, (now Boeing.) I was doing an install on the #1 engine, and was sitting on the left wing, of an MD-11. I was working on wiring in the top of the pylon, and the engine crew was removing the engine. someone lowered the engine, without having one of the pins completely removed. When it let go, it felt like I was sitting on a kitchen table, and someone hit the underside with a sledge hammer. Only thing that kept me from flying, was what we referred to, in the Army, as "pucker factor." I didn't yell it, and was in NO condition to do it. This was outside of the assembly building, in an area referred to as the "East Ramp. Everyone within earshot was staring at me, like I dropped the engine. steve

@michaelmccarthy4615 5 лет назад

You can see an original B-36 bomber at the Pima air museum in Tucson Arizona. It is one very large plane. It stands out on a field of military planes.

@jamestheotherone742 5 лет назад

The nuclear museum in Albuquerque is very nice. Along with the ballooning museum, they are "can't miss" if you are in the area.

@buckhorncortez 4 года назад

I'm "in the area" and I miss them every day.

@aceroadholder2185 5 лет назад

In 1966 I worked for two brothers whose machine shop was in the valley off the end of the runway at Kirtland AFB. They saw the accident . They witnessed another accident at Kirtland when a B-36 crashed and cart-wheeled off the end of the runway. If I recall correctly, they said there were no survivors to that crash.

@ethanmorgaan 5 лет назад

@SomeMadRandomPerson 5 лет назад

Great Video, I love these little snippets of history, never even knew about that bomb, glad I do now 😁👍🏻

@captblackeagle 5 лет назад

I was stationed at Kirtland, primarily at Manzano Mountain. The stories of that place are epic.

@1shARyn3 5 лет назад

... and for all the years that I worked at Sandia, the mention of the incident was all that was said -- no details were given. Thanks

@rjs1jd 5 лет назад

Awesome STORY! It cant get ANY better; 1) B36 peacemaker 2) H 💣 bomb 3)history guy telling the STORY!

@TrialzGTAS 5 лет назад

Congrats on the 400K, well deserved!

@rjs1jd 5 лет назад

Hes at 490,000 now 1 month later after ur comment .... Wow!

@waltonwarrior7428 Год назад

I lived in Albuquerque from 1966 to 1969 when I was in high school at Sandia high. I wish this information would’ve been available back then as it would’ve been fun to investigate.

@Youre_Right 5 лет назад

I love this channel. Such great stories. The stories are perfect length for people like me. I have ADHD and lose focus on things quickly

@calvins4940 5 лет назад

I currently live about 45 minutes from Santa Fe and a hour and a half from Albuquerque, the history of this state never ceases to amaze me. Thanks History Guy, this will make a good bar bet in the future.

@WeGoWalk 5 лет назад

Your history accounts are perfect. Perfect length, perfect volume, perfect information; and it is always presented so well that I often hang on the edge of my seat until the very end, not able to stop or even pause. You have a gift - keep up the good work!

@shackman9566 4 года назад

My Father was a tail gunner in a B36. He spoke very little about his service as most likely he was sworn to secrecy. He was stationed in South Dakota in the early 1950s. His base comander was killed along with the entire crew on a return flight from off the coast of spain. They had encountered a tail wind that caused them to be 200 miles further west than they thought they were. Flying at low altitude they crashed into a remote mountain in New Foundland. The plane has never been recovered to this day. There is a memorial there. The base is now named after the Comander. And his Son lives near the crash site. The B36 did play a vital roll in that it kept the russians thinking twice about starting a war. When the ICBMS were fully developed it had served its purpose. Thank you for another piece of the story of the Convair B36 and its service history. Im very proud of my Father. It had to take courage to fly with a weapon so powerful that the crews knew they would more than likely not escape it destructive force once they dropped it.

@eaglegrip6879 5 лет назад

There was also an aircraft accident involving a nuke at Travis AFB, Ca back in the 1950. The aircraft was carrying a live nuke when it crashed on the base. The airplane was buried right where it had crashed and they'd built an RV trailer park on the burial site. When I was there in the 1990's, more than a handful of people were suing the Airforce because of cancer. But of course, the Airforce denied all the allegations and liabilities. Might be worth a look, eh...Mr. history guy?

@mytg8 3 года назад

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Fairfield-Suisun_Boeing_B-29_crash

@flipflopsguy8868 5 лет назад

My uncle served in the U.S. Air Force for 31 years and retired in 1972. During his Air Force career, he flew in the B-29, B-36 and B-52 as a tail gunner.

@geoffreysavitz1278 5 лет назад

400K!! Congrats History Guy! You deserve 400 Million though! Your channel is a gem.

@ZPositive 5 лет назад

The museum of nuclear science and history is an absolutely riveting experience. If you haven't been there Mr. History Guy, I can't recommend it too enough. Been there three times, and will surely return.

@chokkan7 5 лет назад

This was a very interesting story; I'm glad Albuquerque is still with us. What's really amazing, given the historical framework (as I know you've done other bits about nuclear silo accidents, etc.), is that despite all the gaffes that actually occurred, we've never had a nuclear accident in the US as a result. Say what you will, but someone was doing their job, even when it looked as though they weren't...

@johnhall412 Год назад

I wish I had known about the story before I toured the nuclear museum in Albuquerque a few years ago… That place is absolutely amazing and everyone must go see it!!!

@stuffeyemake6506 5 лет назад

i live in Albuquerque . my dad told me about a call his family got when he was a kid in the 50's from an uncle that worked on the rail road . he told them there had been an accident of some sort , and that they should call everyone in the family to stay in their houses with the windows and doors covered by blankets for a few days .

@TheJKCrawford 5 лет назад

One minor technical correction, History Guy: The Mark 17 was the SECOND most powerful thermonuclear bomb deployed by the United States. The most powerful was the Mark 41 Mod 0, deployed 3 years later in 1960, with a maximum calculated yield of 25 megatons...and yet only a quarter of the size of the Mark 17.

@TheHistoryGuyChannel 5 лет назад

Fair point. The Mark-17 was the largest deployed at the time.

@bwayne40004 5 лет назад

If memory serves from a previous video, Happy Birthday to the History Guy. If I'm wrong, happy birthday anyway, you'll have one eventually! My suggestion for a video: The history of the "double nickle", the 55 mile speed limit. I also have been watching the subscribed numbers this year and congratulations on 400K.

@RCAvhstape 5 лет назад

Sammy Hagar managed to get some pretty good mileage out of that one.

@shawnr771 5 лет назад

They took away his license.

@bwayne40004 5 лет назад

I suggested the 55 mile per hour speed limit as I think the HG turned 55 this time around.

@terrymoody7739 5 лет назад

Sir great comment, I haven't kept up with it either, but when I was in the Navy from 1979-1983 that was what we called it then!

@skydiverclassc2031 5 лет назад

I went out to visit the National Atomic Museum when it was located on Kirtland AFB. When we arrived at the gate, the guard gave us directions - "Drive down this road and take a left at the B-52". Yup, they had a nice static model there.

@mikeyoung9810 5 лет назад

Nice video. I know there are other "broken arrows" worth remembering.

@GrahamCStrouse 5 лет назад

Mike Young There was another one in North Carolina. That one actually nearly did blow. Good thing we have two Carolinas...

@vapsa56 5 лет назад

Actually there are 2 in North Carolina. One off the coast. A B-47 had collided with an F-86 and the weapon was released off the outer banks. And the second one was from a B-52, from Seymour-Johnson AFB that developed a fuel leak and crash due to fuel starvation. The 2 bombs were released. One was recovered, the other buried itself deep in the ground of a local farm. Still a question as to whether that bomb was recovered or was to dangerous to be removed and was encased in concrete and left. Fascinating history but scary at the same time.

@MtnTow 5 лет назад

Also one in BC, Canada.

@wd4edu 5 лет назад

Mars Bluff, near Florence, S.C. March 11, 1958.

@robertnicholson771 4 года назад

I heard about a lot of those when I was in the Navy. I guess there is a reason the Triad does not include planes...

@bwhog Год назад

The B36 was a MASSIVE plane. If you want to see it, there is on eon display at the Pima Air and Space museum, outside Tucson, near Davis-Monthan AFB, standing next to several iterations of the B-52. One of its biggest problems was the pusher props, which tended to cause freezing air to enter the engine as a result of the low pressure in front of the engine. They were also complicated, required frequent service, and it was fairly routine to lose an engine during flight.

@shananagans5 5 лет назад

Oh how crazy. My father was a defense engineer in the 70's & 80's. I grew up with my dad working on various different projects and my friend's parents had similar kinda jobs. Early in my college years (89 or 90) my friend's father's house became the "hangout house". Anyways, we started hearing stories of a bomb being dropped on Albuquerque. This would have been after the Journal article came out but I never saw the article and my friend's dad was telling us unbelievable details like "It just ripped through the closed bombay doors". lol My friend's dad had a real knack of spinning and exaggerating stories and, to be honest, I never believed much of that story. lol I guess he wasn't exaggerating.

@danbreyfogle8486 5 лет назад

The B-36 was an awesome aircraft and I am sure, having been in the Air Force myself, that the "ViP's" were looking at everything that happened on that flight. Great video...

@zyxzevn 5 лет назад

Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong... ..a nuclear bomb will fall on your cow. Did you already have a video on Murphy?

@jackielinde7568 5 лет назад

Except that Murphy never said that. He said "If there is ten ways to do something and one wrong way to do it, you know someone is going to do it the wrong way." He was blaming a lab assistant for plugging in the wiring harness used to measure acceleration on a human body wrong. It resulted in a wasted rocket sled run that gathered no data. (Readings were zero.) However, one of his contemporaries at the ill fated run said that Dr. Murphy was most likely the cause of the error.

@HemlockRidge 5 лет назад

@@jackielinde7568 Cool that you know that, but everyone is still going to use the "If anything can...". quote anyway.

@jackielinde7568 5 лет назад

@@HemlockRidge That just goes to show how much garbage information is out in the collective knowledge.

@tokyosmash 5 лет назад

zyxzevn “Murphy is real and he is here”

@TheoneandonlyJobis 5 лет назад

@@jackielinde7568 Murphy agreed when interviewed that "if something can go wrong, it will." Is an accurate summarization of his original quote. So you can take your comment to the landfill.

@rubenleal4821 5 лет назад

I was stationed at KAFB during my service. Interesting that the 3 huge hangars on the north side of the primary runway are so old, they're in the pictures you illustrate.

@KlunkerRider 5 лет назад

I visited the National Atomic Museum when it was in Kirkland NM, I saw that H bomb casing and that sucker was HUGE!

@teecar9868 4 года назад

KirTland, with a T, not kirkland. AFB

@saw2814 4 года назад

History is awesome. Why public school doesn’t spend time teaching it is a shame. I watch this channel with my 13 year old grandson and fill in tidbits that I know of topics covered when the opportunity arises. Keep up the great work.

@CapricornEGO 5 лет назад

Please forgive me but I cannot stop laughing every time I imagine the expression on 1st Lt. Bob Carp face when he pulls the pin and the hydrogen bomb crashes through the bomb-bay door.

@cjack56 5 лет назад

Ummm... Oops?

@Fleetwoodjohn 5 лет назад

BOMBS AWAY! Haha Not funny but it is!

@daviddewey2107 3 года назад

He's still on KP to this very day😉

@Gyrocage 5 лет назад

I met Dick Meyer, incredibly while standing under the wing of the B-36 in the Air Force Museum. It was in the late 1980s and was showing my girlfriend around when I encountered two men, one of whim was giving the other a very detailed description of the B-36 mixed with some flying stories. I listened in fascination. When he was done I spoke up and said “Excuse me sir, but obviously you flew the B-36.” The other man laughed and said, “He sure did! You don’t know who this is. This is the man who dropped a hydrogen bomb on New Mexico.” It was Colonel Meyer. He talked to us for several minutes. He recalled getting a radio call from the wing commander asking “Are you hot cargo?” - meaning ‘Are you carrying a nuclear weapon?’ He replied “Well not anymore!” Which he recalled got the people at the command post very upset. The Air Force may not have officially attached blame, but following the incident he was out if SAC and spent the remainder of his flying career piloting C-124 transports.

@ThatBobGuy850 5 лет назад

What an excellent episode! Some channels only pretend to provide content; this one provides it lb spades! This History Guy remains my favorite on RU-vid :-)

@pamelaking7283 4 года назад

Wow...Albuquerque is my hometown and I have never heard of this before. Thanks.

@justcarcrazy 5 лет назад

"Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking, and two more unaccounted for..."

@badlandskid 5 лет назад

justcarcrazy hahaha

@scuddrunner1 5 лет назад

My dad was flying the B-36 out of El Paso around that time. I'll send this video to him and see if he knows anything about this now that it's not top secret anymore.............

@luvr381 5 лет назад

More often 5 turnin, 5 burnin.

@TheHistoryGuyChannel 5 лет назад

LOL

@rickcentore2801 4 года назад

That made my day - thanks!

@rorytennes8576 4 года назад

I know a member of that crew. He told the story ( before I saw this account) pretty much exactly like this account.

@travisinthetrunk 5 лет назад

Mutually assured destruction? That’s mad!

@rabbi120348 5 лет назад

MAD Magazine just announced it will cease publication this year.

@dalethelander3781 5 лет назад

What, me worry?

@rogerdavies6226 5 лет назад

good one, bravo

@N-Scale 5 лет назад

My father got a job at Sandia in 1956 and we lived there then and I do not recall anything about this but I do know my dad would often be asked what his job was and he used to jokingly reply "i work at a bomb factory"

@MrSafer 5 лет назад

Love some interesting history with my morning coffee.

@ypaulbrown 5 лет назад

Outstanding...my girlfriend lived there then... her dad was a navigator on B-36s. I saw one fly over Landing at McCoy in Orlando in 1957.... Big mama jama

@zhubajie6940 5 лет назад

Mark 17 was second biggest in yield at 15 MT. The B41 (Mark 41) was 25 MT. Still, plenty enough reason to say :O Oh S***!

@heberfrank8664 5 лет назад

I had an uncle that worked at Los Alamos for many years until around 1984. I remember visiting there while a youth. He admitted many times that there were many secrets that he was forbidden to talk about. How many endless secrets are they keeping from us today?

@skydiverclassc2031 5 лет назад

All of them. They're secrets.

@qtig9490 5 лет назад

I would say this qualifies as the proverbial "Pucker factor of 10"

@urthetshirtguy 5 лет назад

Having been stationed at Kirtland AFB for many years, I appreciate your care and the details you provided. Didn't know that the museum had moved off base. I met and married my wife in Albuquerque in 1986.

@Ni999 5 лет назад

The museum changed a great deal when it moved off base.

@constipatedinsincity4424 5 лет назад

Gilligan!!!

@dalethelander3781 5 лет назад

This made me LOL too much.

@constipatedinsincity4424 5 лет назад

@@dalethelander3781 You're Welcome!😁

@davefromoz2859 4 года назад

😲SORRY SKIPPER, I thought U said PULL THE PIN " " " " !

@joebarilari9911 5 лет назад

My son and I have been to the Museum, fantastic place. Great episode as ALWAYS!!!

@NVRAMboi 5 лет назад

QUESTION/REQUEST: I could find no episode re: WWII Battle Off Samar within your channel, specifically the portion of the battle involving the USS destroyers/destroyer escorts of "Taffy 3" (and the captains/commanders of each of those little ships) charging headlong into the oncoming main IJN battle fleet. The story and their courage is not unknown but I do wonder if you could give that encounter a fresh look from a different angle w/possible new information. Apologies if you've already touched on the subject. Thanks for your great work.

@ObservingtheObvious 5 лет назад

NVRAMboi that is one of my favorite stories from history. I got my son interested in World War II and he is quite interested in that battle as well.

@auntyentity2645 5 лет назад

Wouldn't mind you doing a episode on The 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash. I think we have been lucky with all the close calls our military has had. You do great work! Love learning something new in History every day.

@TheHistoryGuyChannel 5 лет назад

Talked about it in this episode: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yIrSBmG46n8.html

@augustusaltuccini 5 лет назад

Brilliant video as per usual, and well done on the 400K! On the subject of aircraft, it would be interesting to look into the world's first transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown. Had its 100th anniversary last month I believe

@bradsavory9880 4 года назад

I have enjoyed every single History Guy episode I've seen so far.

@W1se0ldg33zer 5 лет назад

A very expensive but required bomber. Each one cost a million dollars more than a B-29. Roughly two and a half times as much and that was with using older technologies. They were designed when it looked like the Germans were going to defeat the British in 1941. Would have needed a bomber that could make a round trip across the Atlantic.

@aidanpysher2764 5 лет назад

I've stood below the wings of one of these monsters. The way they sit low makes the forward fuselage look smaller than it actually is, but the wings are what put into perspective how huge it is.

@kellyreim6627 5 лет назад

W1se0ldg33zer you sure it wasn’t Tokyo?

@Scottrchrdsn 5 лет назад

Such was the stated reason for their initial development. However, in 1941, the United Kingdom took over Iceland; to keep it from being overrun by the Axis powers. That immediately ended the need for a transAtlantic bomber as B-29s (the prototype already built and flown) could carry out bombing of Continental Europe from Iceland in the event Great Britain was not available. Work on the B-36 pretty much stopped for the duration of the war and was picked up again when it became apparent that our next likely adversary would be the Soviet Union.

@elfpimp1 3 года назад

I would swear I watched this and gave it a thumbs up already...

@badlandskid 5 лет назад

Well, 1000 foot jump or not, if it had detonated we would never know what the crew said.

@algrayson8965 5 лет назад

bas - Aluminum tinsel (chaff).

@Largo64 5 лет назад

When I was a kid living in San Gabriel, CA, a B-36 overflew our town. The six piston engines made a noise unlike that of any other plane I ever heard. I seemed to resonate with the deep rumble of those engines. I remember it today as if it had just happened.

@letsjet9900 5 лет назад

"Whiter than any sheet you've ever seen!" 😆 At least he got his sheet together and didn't fall of the catwalk.

@randywilson944 2 года назад

There was a B-36 static display at Chanute AFB, IL decades ago when I was there.

@deadendfriends1975 5 лет назад

Do one on the Tybee Bomb. We've one " missing" off our coast.

@phatcowboy76 4 года назад

Fascinating. Riveting, for me anyway. I was stationed on a nuclear powered submarine that carried nuclear ICBMs in the 80s. That submarine was decommissioned in 1991 and no longer exists. Thank you for all the excellent content on your channel. I have always loved history. I was and still am an electrician.