A Convair B-36 Peacemaker on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona
(Photo: Tom Demerly/TheAviationist)
A boxed Mk17 hydrogen bomb, the largest ever dropped by the US, on display at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio
The day a B-36 accidentally dropped the US’s largest hydrogen bomb on Kirtland AFB
In light of yesterday’s news that the US has pulled out of surveillance flights verifying compliance with nuclear arms limitation treaties, it’s worth revisiting a terrifying incident 63 years ago today: the Kirtland AFB Accidental B-36 hydrogen bomb launch on May 22, 1957
The Mk 17 hydrogen bomb was an attempt to dramatically increase the destructive power of a nuclear weapon
In technical terms, Pulitzer Prize finalist and investigative journalist Eric Schlosser in his book, “Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, The Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety” (pp
161,), the Mk 17 was the largest operational hydrogen bomb ever deployed by the United States
It is difficult to make a meaningful comparison of its destructive power to the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but a reasonable estimate is that the Mk 17 “Little Man” is 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima nuclear bomb
Trying to imagine the destructive power of a Mk 17 is beyond normal comprehension
1148 hours Local, Wednesday, May 22, 1957; Lower Traffic Leg, Runway 26, Kirtland AFB
Heran, pilot-in-command of B-36 J Peacemaker No 52-2816, directed his control yoke after completing a sweeping, graceful windward turn on final approach on Runway 26 at Kirtland AFB outside Albuquerque, New Mexico
Goliath, the sleek bomber, the largest ever made, is moving toward the end of the runway in seemingly slow motion
In the back of the B-36J cave, two men guard the safety of a giant Mk 17 hydrogen bomb
As with most protocols associated with handling nuclear weapons, two people must be present at all times
One of the two men unzips his flight jacket as the temperature inside the bombardment warms with decreasing altitude
A minute later: 1149 Hrs Local, Wednesday, May 22, 1957; Lower Traffic Leg, Runway 26, Kirtland AFB
Droning towards the end of the runway, now descending below 1700 feet
At the back of the B-36J, an accidentally exposed control cable becomes attached to the Mk 17’s transport rack release lever at one point on the zipper pull of a crewman’s flight jacket, as he confirms that he is removing a manual safety locking pin preparing for landing
Eleven seconds later: 1150 hours Local, Wednesday, May 22, 1957; Lower Traffic Leg, Runway 26, Kirtland AFB
A sudden gust of wind fills the cavernous bomb bay of the B-36J as the aircraft suddenly soars, as if without a massive payload
The sounds of a loose bomb cradle are barely audible above the deafening gust of wind
Daylight penetrates the dark expanse of the plane’s fuselage
The giant bomb is suddenly empty, the bomb bay doors are cracked open and flap in the gusts of wind outside the plane
The weapon’s suspension chain swings back and forth, now relieved of its 20-ton load
The Mk 17 hydrogen bomb, the largest in the US arsenal, is gone
He accidentally falls out of the plane, opening the bomb bay doors and disappearing into space
The way seemingly trivial actions can turn into unimaginable calamity, either the bomb spotter’s zipper pull accidentally (accidentally) rested on an 8-inch length of exposed manual release cable, or one of the two spotters accidentally placed it body weight on the control cable
The cable, cocked at that time to release the weapon, release
The huge 20-ton hydrogen bomb fell from the plane
A Mk17 hydrogen bomb, the largest ever fired by the US, on display at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio
(Photo: National Air Force Museum)
(Photo: National Air Force Museum)
Thirty seconds later: 1151 h Local, Wednesday, May 22, 1957; Emergency departure, downwind traffic, Runway 26, Kirtland AFB
According to Dave Jackson, a spokesman for the US Department of Energy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, “a portion of the actual weapon was removed and placed elsewhere “
Jackson, speaking to the Associated Press when the accident was finally declassified in August 1986, said it was “standard procedure at the time “
If it hadn’t been, the accident could have ended in a different way to change human history
However, the bomb had the usual tremendous impact
When it hit the ground 45 miles south of Kirtland AFB’s control tower and three-tenths of a mile outside the Sandia nuclear reserve, ironically, when the weapon was handed over for final disarmament, it carried 300 pounds of conventional explosives he drilled a hole 12 meters deep and 25 meters in diameter to trigger the nuclear explosion
It dropped bomb fragments a kilometer away
The explosion also scattered low-level nuclear material throughout the site
Nearly three decades later, details of the crash finally emerged in the media, in August 1986, following a Freedom of Information Act request by a reporter from the Associated Press and Journal
Today, the incident is recounted in the book “Broken Arrow: The Declassified History of US Nuclear Weapons Accidents” by Michael H
Oskins (Lulucom, January 2008) and in several articles released after the incident it was eventually declassified
But for some reason, the story has never gained traction outside of aviation history buffs and a small group of Cold War veterans, but it remains one of the scariest reminders of the unchecked nuclear arms race
instagramTom Demerly is a writer, journalist, photographer and columnist who has published articles around the world on TheAviationistcom, TACAIRNETcom, Outside magazine, Business Insider, We Are The Mighty, The Dearborn Press & Guide, National Interest , the Russian government’s Sputnik media and many other publications
Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan
Tom Demerly served in an intelligence gathering unit as a member of the US Army and the Michigan National Guard