MadMike
10-19-10, 08:51 PM
The following is an excerpt from the new book "Broken Arrow, Volume II' by James C. Oskins and Michael H. Maggelet (available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, etc). Our first book, "Broken Arrow, The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents", is also available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de .
U.S. Navy Aircraft Jettisoned Unarmed Nuclear Bomb Off Jacksonville, Florida in 1957
"Broken Arrow, Volume II- A Disclosure of Significant U.S., Soviet, and British Nuclear Weapon Incidents and Accidents, 1945-2008" (ISBN 978-0-557-65593-9).
A year previous to the loss of an Air Force Mark 15 bomb from a B-47 near Tybee Island, Georgia, the U.S. Navy jettisoned a Mark 15 bomb off the city of Jacksonville, Florida on June 19th, 1957.
After carrier launch from the USS Roosevelt, the Navy A-3D Skywarrior attempted to land at Naval Air Station Sanford near Orlando, Florida. However, airfield landing lights were not operational and the aircraft was diverted to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. As the aircraft prepared to land, the landing gear failed to extend and an in-flight emergency was declared. Since the aircraft could not land after several attempts, the A-3 was flown out into the Atlantic with an escort and the 7,000 pound bomb was jettisoned.
The bomb was incapable of producing a nuclear explosion since it did not contain the "nuclear capsule".
The crew subsequently bailed out near Naval Air Station Mayport with minor injuries, and the A3-D "Skywarrior" aircraft crashed near the mouth of the Mayport carrier basin.
Among the two dozen newly declassified accidents (obtained by the authors through the Freedom of Information Act), the book provides information on-
1. Communist artillery striking a nuclear armed U.S. Navy warship, resulting in extensive damage to nuclear tipped ASROC rockets.
2. Lightning strikes on nuclear missiles in Europe which led to tritium leaks and burnout of warhead fire lines.
3. A fire from Honest John rocket motors which damaged a U.S. Army T-4 atomic demolition munition at an undisclosed location.
4. Additional information on the loss of the USS Scorpion and her crew of 99 sailors from declassified Top Secret/Restricted Data USN Board of Inquiry documents.
5. Background on the CIA's retrieval of a Soviet Golf II submarine and her nuclear torpedoes in 1974.
6. Photographs and narrative of the collision of the USS John F. Kennedy and cruiser USS Belknap, which resulted in an extensive fire and deaths of six U.S. Navy sailors.
More excerpts coming soon!
Yours, Mike
U.S. Navy Aircraft Jettisoned Unarmed Nuclear Bomb Off Jacksonville, Florida in 1957
"Broken Arrow, Volume II- A Disclosure of Significant U.S., Soviet, and British Nuclear Weapon Incidents and Accidents, 1945-2008" (ISBN 978-0-557-65593-9).
A year previous to the loss of an Air Force Mark 15 bomb from a B-47 near Tybee Island, Georgia, the U.S. Navy jettisoned a Mark 15 bomb off the city of Jacksonville, Florida on June 19th, 1957.
After carrier launch from the USS Roosevelt, the Navy A-3D Skywarrior attempted to land at Naval Air Station Sanford near Orlando, Florida. However, airfield landing lights were not operational and the aircraft was diverted to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. As the aircraft prepared to land, the landing gear failed to extend and an in-flight emergency was declared. Since the aircraft could not land after several attempts, the A-3 was flown out into the Atlantic with an escort and the 7,000 pound bomb was jettisoned.
The bomb was incapable of producing a nuclear explosion since it did not contain the "nuclear capsule".
The crew subsequently bailed out near Naval Air Station Mayport with minor injuries, and the A3-D "Skywarrior" aircraft crashed near the mouth of the Mayport carrier basin.
Among the two dozen newly declassified accidents (obtained by the authors through the Freedom of Information Act), the book provides information on-
1. Communist artillery striking a nuclear armed U.S. Navy warship, resulting in extensive damage to nuclear tipped ASROC rockets.
2. Lightning strikes on nuclear missiles in Europe which led to tritium leaks and burnout of warhead fire lines.
3. A fire from Honest John rocket motors which damaged a U.S. Army T-4 atomic demolition munition at an undisclosed location.
4. Additional information on the loss of the USS Scorpion and her crew of 99 sailors from declassified Top Secret/Restricted Data USN Board of Inquiry documents.
5. Background on the CIA's retrieval of a Soviet Golf II submarine and her nuclear torpedoes in 1974.
6. Photographs and narrative of the collision of the USS John F. Kennedy and cruiser USS Belknap, which resulted in an extensive fire and deaths of six U.S. Navy sailors.
More excerpts coming soon!
Yours, Mike