U.S. Navy Lost Nuclear Bomb off Jacksonville, Florida in 1957

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

SteamWake · 10-20-10, 02:01 PM

It was un armed dumped into the ocean.

Not much to be alarmed about here.

FIREWALL · 10-20-10, 03:52 PM

And was recovered.

Betonov · 10-20-10, 04:07 PM

One thing I always wondered and worried, what happens when the casing corodes away and it eventualy will. Explosion wont occur, thats clear, but all that radioactive material slowly disolving into the ocean...

Nuclear capsules ?? is that the entire fission device or just a component of it

tater · 10-20-10, 05:20 PM

They dropped one a little east of my in-laws here in ABQ (they live in Four Hills).

MadMike · 10-22-10, 05:04 PM

Firewall,
There's no evidence that I've seen that shows recovery of the Jax bomb.
Navy EOD officer Art Arsenault states that during the search, they never located the weapon. Not surprising, since a SUBROC test unit (with W55 mockup warhead) is also missing off the Florida coast. The Tybee Island, Georgia bomb, lost under similar circumstance to the Jax weapon, has also not been located.
My co-author Jim Oskins did the prep for ship of the Mark 17 weapon that was later accidentally jettisoned 4 miles SW of the runway at Kirtland (Albuquerque, NM).

The nuclear capsule is a separate fission component in early "open pit" nuclear weapons (for safety reasons). It was manually inserted by an aircrew member, or by electro-mechanical means in later weapons by the bombadier using an "in-flight insertion" mechanism. Modern weapons are "sealed pit" requiring no cleaning or maintenance of the pit.

Yours, Mike

Retired U.S. Air Force nuclear weapons tech

10-19-10, 08:51 PM	#1
MadMike Watch Officer Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 342 Downloads: 241 Uploads: 0	U.S. Navy Lost Nuclear Bomb off Jacksonville, Florida in 1957 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

10-20-10, 02:01 PM	#2
SteamWake Rear Admiral Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 13,224 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	It was un armed dumped into the ocean. Not much to be alarmed about here. __________________ Follow the progress of Mr. Mulligan : http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=147648

10-20-10, 03:52 PM	#3
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	And was recovered. __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???

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10-20-10, 04:07 PM	#4
Betonov Navy Seal Join Date: May 2009 Location: Slovenia Posts: 8,647 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	One thing I always wondered and worried, what happens when the casing corodes away and it eventualy will. Explosion wont occur, thats clear, but all that radioactive material slowly disolving into the ocean... Nuclear capsules ?? is that the entire fission device or just a component of it

10-20-10, 05:20 PM	#5
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	They dropped one a little east of my in-laws here in ABQ (they live in Four Hills).

10-22-10, 05:04 PM	#6
MadMike Watch Officer Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 342 Downloads: 241 Uploads: 0	Firewall, There's no evidence that I've seen that shows recovery of the Jax bomb. Navy EOD officer Art Arsenault states that during the search, they never located the weapon. Not surprising, since a SUBROC test unit (with W55 mockup warhead) is also missing off the Florida coast. The Tybee Island, Georgia bomb, lost under similar circumstance to the Jax weapon, has also not been located. My co-author Jim Oskins did the prep for ship of the Mark 17 weapon that was later accidentally jettisoned 4 miles SW of the runway at Kirtland (Albuquerque, NM). The nuclear capsule is a separate fission component in early "open pit" nuclear weapons (for safety reasons). It was manually inserted by an aircrew member, or by electro-mechanical means in later weapons by the bombadier using an "in-flight insertion" mechanism. Modern weapons are "sealed pit" requiring no cleaning or maintenance of the pit. Yours, Mike Retired U.S. Air Force nuclear weapons tech