Editing Nuclear weapon (section)

=== Notable nuclear weapons accidents ===
{{Main|Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents|List of military nuclear accidents}}
{{See also|List of nuclear close calls}}
* August 21, 1945: While conducting experiments on a plutonium-gallium core at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], physicist [[Harry Daghlian]] received a lethal dose of radiation when an error caused it to enter [[prompt criticality]]. He died 25 days later, on September 15, 1945, from [[Acute radiation syndrome|radiation poisoning]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atomic Accidents – Nuclear Museum |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/atomic-accidents/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ |language=en-US |archive-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012072140/https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/atomic-accidents/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* May 21, 1946: While conducting further experiments on the same core at Los Alamos National Laboratory, physicist [[Louis Slotin]] accidentally caused the core to become briefly [[Critical mass|supercritical]]. He received a lethal dose of [[Gamma ray|gamma]] and [[neutron radiation]], and died nine days later on May 30, 1946. After the death of Daghlian and Slotin, the mass became known as the "[[demon core]]". It was ultimately used to construct a bomb for use on the Nevada Test Range.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/demon-core-that-killed-two-scientists|title=The Nuclear 'Demon Core' That Killed Two Scientists|date=April 23, 2018|access-date=April 23, 2018|archive-date=April 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424024624/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/demon-core-that-killed-two-scientists|url-status=live}}</ref>
* February 13, 1950: a [[1950 British Columbia B-36 crash|Convair B-36B crashed]] in northern [[British Columbia]] after jettisoning a [[Mark 4 nuclear bomb|Mark IV]] atomic bomb. This was the first such [[United States military nuclear incident terminology|nuclear weapon loss]] in history. The accident was designated a "[[Broken Arrow (nuclear)|Broken Arrow]]"—an accident involving a nuclear weapon, but which does not present a risk of war. Experts believe that up to 50 nuclear weapons were lost during the Cold War.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Cold War's Missing Atom Bombs |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html |work=Der Spiegel |date=November 14, 2008 |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627105727/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* May 22, 1957: a {{convert|42,000|lb|adj=on}} [[Mark 17 nuclear bomb|Mark-17 hydrogen bomb]] accidentally fell from a bomber near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The detonation of the device's conventional explosives destroyed it on impact and formed a crater {{convert|25|ft}} in diameter on land owned by the [[University of New Mexico]]. According to a researcher at the Natural Resources Defense Council, it was one of the most powerful bombs made to date.<ref>{{cite news|title=Accident Revealed After 29 Years: H-Bomb Fell Near Albuquerque in 1957 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-27-mn-14421-story.html|access-date=August 31, 2014|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 27, 1986 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195156/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-08-27/news/mn-14421_1_hydrogen-bomb|archive-date=September 10, 2014}}</ref>
* June 7, 1960: the [[1960 Fort Dix IM-99 accident]] destroyed a [[Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc]] nuclear missile and shelter and contaminated the [[BOMARC Missile Accident Site]] in New Jersey.
* January 24, 1961: the [[1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash]] occurred near [[Goldsboro, North Carolina]]. A [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]] carrying two [[Mark 39 nuclear bomb]]s broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload in the process.<ref name="BOAS">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQsAAAAAMBAJ|page=28|magazine=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]|date=May 1975|title=Big Bangs from Little Bombs|author=Barry Schneider|access-date=July 13, 2009}}</ref>
* [[1965 Philippine Sea A-4 crash]], where a [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk|Skyhawk]] attack aircraft with a nuclear weapon fell into the sea.<ref name=CruiseReport>{{cite web|title=Ticonderoga Cruise Reports |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/download/cv-deploy-vietnam.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040907220034/http://www.history.navy.mil/download/cv-deploy-vietnam.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2004 |format=Navy.mil weblist of Aug 2003 compilation from cruise reports |access-date=April 20, 2012 |quote=The National Archives hold''[s]'' deck logs for aircraft carriers for the Vietnam Conflict.}}</ref> The pilot, the aircraft, and the [[B43 nuclear bomb]] were never recovered.<ref>[http://www.atomicarchive.com/Almanac/Brokenarrows_static.shtml Broken Arrows] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901064320/http://www.atomicarchive.com/Almanac/Brokenarrows_static.shtml |date=September 1, 2013}} at www.atomicarchive.com. Accessed August 24, 2007.</ref> It was not until 1989 that [[the Pentagon]] revealed the loss of the one-megaton bomb.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1989 |title=U.S. Confirms '65 Loss of H-Bomb Near Japanese Islands |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |agency=[[Reuters]] |page=A–27}}</ref>
* January 17, 1966: the [[1966 Palomares B-52 crash]] occurred when a [[B-52 Stratofortress|B-52G bomber]] of the [[United States Air Force|USAF]] collided with a [[KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135 tanker]] during [[Aerial refueling|mid-air refuelling]] off the coast of [[Spain]]. The KC-135 was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all four crew members. The B-52G broke apart, killing three of the seven crew members aboard.<ref name="hayes">{{cite news |last=Hayes |first=Ron |date=January 17, 2007 |title=H-bomb incident crippled pilot's career |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/01/17/m1a_Hbomb_0117.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616223334/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/01/17/m1a_Hbomb_0117.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=17 |archive-date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=May 24, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Of the four [[B28 nuclear bomb|Mk28]] type [[Teller–Ulam design|hydrogen bombs]] the B-52G carried,<ref>{{Cite book|first=Randall C. |last=Maydew |title=America's Lost H-Bomb: Palomares, Spain, 1966 |publisher=Sunflower University Press |isbn=978-0-89745-214-4 |year=1997}}</ref> three were found on land near [[Almería]], Spain. The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a {{convert|2|km2|acre|sp=us|adj=on}} (0.78 square mile) area by [[Radioactive decay|radioactive]] [[plutonium]]. The fourth, which fell into the [[Mediterranean Sea]], was recovered intact after a 2{{frac|1|2}}-month-long search.<ref name=long>{{Cite news |last=Long |first=Tony |date=January 17, 2008 |url=https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0117 |title=Jan. 17, 1966: H-Bombs Rain Down on a Spanish Fishing Village |publisher=WIRED |access-date=February 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203112702/http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0117 |archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref>
* January 21, 1968: the [[1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash]] involved a [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) [[B-52 Stratofortress|B-52 bomber]]. The aircraft was carrying four [[hydrogen bomb]]s when a cabin fire forced the crew to abandon the aircraft. Six crew members ejected safely, but one who did not have an [[ejection seat]] was killed while trying to bail out. The bomber crashed onto [[sea ice]] in [[Greenland]], causing the nuclear payload to rupture and disperse, which resulted in widespread [[radioactive contamination]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Cold War's Missing Atom Bombs |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html |work=Der Spiegel |date=November 14, 2008 |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627105727/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the bombs remains lost.<ref>{{cite news |title=US left nuclear weapon under ice in Greenland |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/3439318/US-left-nuclear-weapon-under-ice-in-Greenland.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/3439318/US-left-nuclear-weapon-under-ice-in-Greenland.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=November 11, 2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* September 18–19, 1980: the [[1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion|Damascus Accident]] occurred in Damascus, Arkansas, where a [[Titan Missile Museum|Titan Missile]] equipped with a nuclear warhead exploded. The accident was caused by a maintenance man who dropped a socket from a socket wrench down an {{convert|80|ft|adj=on}} shaft, puncturing a fuel tank on the rocket. Leaking fuel resulted in a [[hypergolic]] fuel explosion, jettisoning the [[W-53 warhead]] beyond the launch site.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Schlosser |first1=Eric |title=Physics Today |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-59420-227-8 |volume=67 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/commandcontrol00eric/page/48 48–50] |chapter=Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety |bibcode=2014PhT....67d..48W |doi=10.1063/PT.3.2350 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/commandcontrol00eric/page/48 |issue=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Christ |first1=Mark K. |title=Titan II Missile Explosion |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2543 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912135526/http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2543 |archive-date=September 12, 2014 |access-date=August 31, 2014 |website=The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture |publisher=Arkansas Historic Preservation Program}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stumpf |first1=David K. |title="We Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny" Sentinels of History: Refelections on Arkansas Properties on the National Register of Historic Places |date=2000 |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |editor1-last=Christ |editor1-first=Mark K. |location=Fayetteville, Arkansas |editor2-last=Slater |editor2-first=Cathryn H.}}</ref>