…Itself
"There was a time when the greatest threat during the Cold War was a nuclear strike by the Soviet Union. But for a moment during those tension-filled years, the United States almost nuked itself.
The U.S. narrowly avoided a catastrophic disaster when two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina, on January 23, 1961. The bombs were released when a B-52 United States Air Force bomber broke apart midair. One of the bombs performed precisely in accordance with its design: its parachute deployed, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and, remarkably, one single low-voltage switch thwarted unimaginable destruction.
"Keep 19," a Boeing B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress with the 4241st Strategic Wing, was on a 24-hour airborne alert mission off the Atlantic Coast of the United States. At that time, while the U.S. and the Soviet Union were engaged in the Cold War, the Strategic Air Command kept B-52 bombers, armed with nuclear warheads, flying 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The plane was commanded by Maj. Walter S. Tulloch, U.S. Air Force, with pilots Capt. Richard W. Hardin and 1st Lt. Adam C. Mattocks. It was armed with two Mark 39 thermonuclear bombs, each with an explosive yield of 3–4 megatons…"
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Amicalement
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