US's most powerful nuclear bomb being dismantled - Page 2

Herr-Berbunch · 10-26-11, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna

I'd bet the last thing you'd want to hear is someone saying "Oops!"...

I'm sure there'd been numerous 'oops' occasions, as with all weapons, but the fusing/arming takes more than a drop from a forktruck, or a bash with a hammer - fortunately!

I know that the RAF groundcrews in Germany in the '60s or '70s certainly dropped a couple. And everyone survived.

PS - that's not me, I'm only 37.

Osmium Steele · 10-26-11, 11:13 AM

Iirc, there was an Air Force missile that caught fire and exploded in the silo, sending the W53 warhead some distance away, completely intact.

Task Force · 10-26-11, 12:07 PM

Dismantle the nuke, and replace it with something more powerful, that's whats gonna happen.

In my opinion Nuclear weapons are the saviors of humanity, they are the only thing that has really kept us from having superpowers going to war. Chances are there will be no conventional WW3 till There is not a major threat of nuclear war. (or some country goes suicidal)

Platapus · 10-26-11, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna

I'd bet the last thing you'd want to hear is someone saying "Oops!"...

Actually the last thing you want someone to say, while working on a nuke, is "uh, which page are we on again?"

Platapus · 10-26-11, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osmium Steele

Iirc, there was an Air Force missile that caught fire and exploded in the silo, sending the W53 warhead some distance away, completely intact.

That was 19 Sep 80. Titan II Launch Complex 374-7 in Southside, AK.

The W-53 warhead was only thrown about 200 feet from the silo. What was more amazing is that the 700+ ton silo door was blown more than 600 feet.

Let us not forget Senior Airman David Livingston who died during the inspection the next morning after the wrench was dropped.

The metal casing around the W-53 looked like it was shrink-wrapped around the warhead. You could see the outline of the outer components in the metal cladding. This prevented the normal RSP and another procedure had to be developed literally in the field to get to the components.

A response team from my beloved 2701 EODs were the AF's primary response team, but there were also DOE teams which, frankly, were less than optimal.

You see, DOE is very experienced with disassembling nice clean nukes whereas the military EOD teams had experience disassembling things when they are "not so clean".

This incident happened when I was in EOD school, but I did not get the full story until I got to the 2701st.

As nuclear weapon accidents go, this one went pretty well.

RIP Senior Airman David Livingston -- He done did his duty.

papa_smurf · 10-27-11, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna

I'd bet the last thing you'd want to hear is someone saying "Oops!"...

No, its; "I found this, where does it go?"

Herr-Berbunch · 10-27-11, 06:32 AM

No, it's more like, "Hey, look at my dosimeter. Never seen it do that before!"

TLAM Strike · 10-27-11, 06:56 AM

No, no, no, it's: What do you mean cut the red wire? They are all gray!

Sailor Steve · 10-27-11, 11:12 AM

re: "The last thing you want to hear..."

The old TV series Sledge Hammer ended with the clueless hero trying to defuse an atomic bomb in the middle of Los Angeles. His last words were the same as he said almost every episode: "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

vienna · 10-27-11, 12:21 PM

How about:

"Hey, did you always glow in the dark?"...

Herr-Berbunch · 10-27-11, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

re: "The last thing you want to hear..."

The old TV series Sledge Hammer ended with the clueless hero trying to defuse an atomic bomb in the middle of Los Angeles. His last words were the same as he said almost every episode: "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

I used to love that show, if it's the comedy I'm thinking of. That and the film of Max Headroom. Out on dvd anyone?

jumpy · 10-27-11, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

No, it's more like, "Hey, look at my dosimeter. Never seen it do that before!"

lol

Sure I've posted this link before

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/index.html

Some interesting information if you've a mind for the possibilities for nuclear annihilation.

geetrue · 10-27-11, 08:17 PM

My fathers father came from Ireland ...

Why can't we just go back to throwing rocks at each other?

Osmium Steele · 10-28-11, 07:51 AM

How'd that work out for the Irish?

Herr-Berbunch · 10-28-11, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osmium Steele

How'd that work out for the Irish?

They moved on pretty rapidly to C4, but stopped lobbing it at each other!

10-26-11, 11:13 AM	#17
Osmium Steele Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Upper midwest USA Posts: 1,101 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Iirc, there was an Air Force missile that caught fire and exploded in the silo, sending the W53 warhead some distance away, completely intact. __________________ In the month of July of the year 1348, between the feasts of St. Benedict and of St. Swithin, a strange thing came upon England... My U297 build thread

10-26-11, 12:07 PM	#18
Task Force Rear Admiral Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: SPACE!!!! Posts: 10,142 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Dismantle the nuke, and replace it with something more powerful, that's whats gonna happen. In my opinion Nuclear weapons are the saviors of humanity, they are the only thing that has really kept us from having superpowers going to war. Chances are there will be no conventional WW3 till There is not a major threat of nuclear war. (or some country goes suicidal) __________________ Task Force industries "Taking control of the world, one mind at a time"

10-27-11, 06:32 AM	#22
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	No, it's more like, "Hey, look at my dosimeter. Never seen it do that before!" __________________

10-27-11, 06:56 AM	#23
TLAM Strike Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 8,633 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 6	No, no, no, it's: What do you mean cut the red wire? They are all gray! __________________

10-27-11, 11:12 AM	#24
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	re: "The last thing you want to hear..." The old TV series Sledge Hammer ended with the clueless hero trying to defuse an atomic bomb in the middle of Los Angeles. His last words were the same as he said almost every episode: "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

10-27-11, 12:21 PM	#25
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,721 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	How about: "Hey, did you always glow in the dark?"...

10-27-11, 08:17 PM	#28
geetrue Cold War Boomer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Walla Walla Posts: 2,837 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	My fathers father came from Ireland ... Why can't we just go back to throwing rocks at each other? __________________

10-28-11, 07:51 AM	#29
Osmium Steele Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Upper midwest USA Posts: 1,101 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	How'd that work out for the Irish? __________________ In the month of July of the year 1348, between the feasts of St. Benedict and of St. Swithin, a strange thing came upon England... My U297 build thread

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