The Goldsboro B-52 Crash
Aaron Gandžumian
24 January 1961: “Keep
19”, a Boeing B-52G-95-
BW Stratofortress was on a
24 hour airborne alert
mission off the Atlantic
Coast of the United States.
The B-52 refueled in flight
from an air tanker. The
tanker’s crew notified the
commander that the B-52 right
wing was severely leaking
fuel. More than 5400 gallons
of jet fuel was lost in less than
3 minutes.
The B-52 bomber was
carrying two 4 megaton
thermonuclear bombs
containing a greater
explosive yield than all
munitions ever detonated
by mankind combined.
The bombs didn’t explode
because of a single low
voltage arming switch
which was untouched
during the crash.
As the B-52 broke up, its two
Mark 39 bombs fell free of the
bomb bay. One buried itself more
than 55 meters deep. The other’s
parachute retarding system
operated properly and it touched
down essentially undamaged.
After eight days, the ordnance team
had recovered most of the bomb.
Except the second core of the bomb
was never found. It contains the
fusion fuel, but can’t detonate
without the primary core explosion.
The Mark 39 was a two-stage, radiation-implosion
thermonuclear bomb. It was fully fused, meaning it could be
detonated by contact with the ground, as an air burst, or “lay
down” – a series of parachutes would slow the bomb down
before touching down on it's target.