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The initial explosion catapulted the 740-ton silo door away from the silo and ejected the second stage and warhead. Once clear of the silo, the second stage exploded. The W53 thermonuclear warhead landed about 100 feet (30 m) from the launch complex's entry gate. Its safety features prevented any loss of radioactive material or nuclear detonation.
Nuclear bomb damaged in crash [34] During a simulated takeoff, a wheel casting failure caused the tail of a USAF B-47 carrying a Mark 36 Mod 1 nuclear bomb to hit the runway, rupturing a fuel tank and sparking a fire which burned for some 7 hours. [35] The weapon used in-flight insertion and the weapon was in its retracted, unarmed state. [36]
Air Force personnel working in an underground pit to recover parts of the MK-39 nuclear bomb The battered MC-722 Arm/Safe Switch from Weapon No. 2 in the Goldsboro B-52 accident, 1961. Weapon no. 2 (kept in the forward bomb bay) separated from the B-52 later than weapon no. 1, when it was between 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and 2,000 feet (610 m ...
This form of radioactive contamination is known as nuclear fallout and poses the primary risk of exposure to ionizing radiation for a large nuclear weapon. Details of nuclear weapon design also affect neutron emission: the gun-type assembly Little Boy leaked far more neutrons than the implosion-type 21 kt Fat Man because the light hydrogen ...
The first thing you'd see if a nuclear bomb exploded nearby is a flood of light so bright, you may think the sun blew up -- but don't try to drive away. If a nuclear bomb explodes nearby, here's ...
Weapon No. 1, a Mark 39 Mod 2 thermonuclear weapon, as found by the explosive ordnance disposal team after the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash. On January 24, 1961, two Mark 39 Mod 2 nuclear bombs that were carried by a B-52 Stratofortress which broke up in the air and crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina. The bombs were flung from the aircraft in ...
In a standard thermonuclear design, a small fission bomb is placed close to a larger mass of thermonuclear fuel, usually lithium deuteride. The two components are then placed within a thick radiation case, usually made from uranium, lead, or steel. The case traps the energy from the fission bomb for a brief period, allowing it to heat and ...
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs , a more compact size, a lower mass, or a combination of these benefits.