Plane nearly nuked US in 1961

[Neil]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24183879


A four-megaton nuclear bomb was one switch away from exploding over the US in 1961, a newly declassified US document confirms.

Two bombs were on board a B-52 plane that went into an uncontrolled spin over North Carolina - both bombs fell and one began the detonation process.

I imagine history is litered with near misses, of small to large degrees! I know thanks to one Russian guy they didn't launch against a mistaken first strike incident! If it had been someone else, or he'd acted differently, we may not have been here!

[MinionZombie]

Flippin' 'eck!

So they almost nuked themselves by accident?! I wonder what other jaw dropping moments of near-history are tucked away in secret folders. :stunned:

[shootemindehead]

I know thanks to one Russian guy they didn't launch against a mistaken first strike incident! If it had been someone else, or he'd acted differently, we may not have been here!

Vasilli Arkapov (or however his name is spelled)

[krakenslayer]

Vasilli Arkapov (or however his name is spelled)

You know, when you think about it, it's kinda sad that most people (myself included) couldn't easily name this man; saviour of civilisation and probably one of the most important people in history.

[Neil]

You know, when you think about it, it's kinda sad that most people (myself included) couldn't easily name this man; saviour of civilisation and probably one of the most important people in history.

Very true! At least we know about him even if we can't recall his exact name. Most people on the planet do not!

[shootemindehead]

Most people don't care Krackers. There's too much going on in their lives.

However, if the situation was reversed and it was an American who talked their captain down from "hitting the button", you can bet your life that a lot more people who know HIS name. ;) But, since most things about the Soviet Union were kept under very tight wraps during the Cold War, it's hardly surprising that few people know much about him.

I wonder though how close it REALLY came though. I suspect that it might be a little over blown. Most military situations require a "do nothing" response, if in doubt, and the situation that faced the crew of B-59 was one of very little information. All that they really knew was that they had been depth charged, despite being in International waters. Launching a nuclear warhead, even at a ship that depth charging you would have been a crazy move and an escallation that Russia certainly would not have wanted. Besides, I think such a move would have required the OK from Moscow anyhow and there were conventional torpedoes on board. Morethan likely, if anything was going to be fired, it would have been one of them.

When one thinks of it, though, it was an incredibly stupid thing for the Americans to do. They were essentially depth charging B-59 to try and bring her to the surface! When they could simply have kept monitoring her?