WHOOPS! THE DAY THE AF ACCIDENTALLY DROPPED A NUKE ON SOUTH CAROLINA

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2024

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In March of 1958 a US Air Force bomber accidentally dropped a 14,000 pound hydrogen bomb on a small community outside of Florence, South Carolina. This is the story of how it happened. Get all of our shows at one website: https://.1001storiespodcast.com REVIEWS NEEDED . My email works as well for comments: [email protected] SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! https://.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT APPLE/ITUNES AND ALL ANDROID HOSTS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! LINKS BELOW... Open these links to enjoy our shows! APPLE USERS Catch 1001 Heroes on any Apple Device here (Free): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2 Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at Apple Podcast App Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at Apple Podcast now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 NEW Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-greatest-love-stories/id1485751552 Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 NEW 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre is now playing at Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-ghost-stories-tales-of-the-macabre/id1516332327 NEW Enjoy 1001 History's Best Storytellers (Interviews) on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 NEW Enjoy 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories and The Best of Arthur Conan Doyle https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-sherlock-holmes-stories-best-sir-arthur-conan/id1534427618 ANDROID USERS- 1001 Radio Days right here at Player.fm FREE: https://player.fm/series/1001-radio-days 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6rzDb5uFdOhfw5X6P5lkWn 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries: https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Heroes%2C-Legends%2C-Histories-%26-Mysteries-Podcast-id1323418?country=us 1001 Stories for the Road on Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/1001-stories-for-the-road Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Stitcher here: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=479022&refid=stpr. 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5P4hV28LgpG89dRNMfSDKJ 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories (& Tales from Arthur Conan Doyle) https://open.spotify.com/show/4dIgYvBwZVTN5ewF0JPaTK 1001 History's Best Storytellers: (interviews) on Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/1001-historys-best-storytellers Catch ALL of our shows at one place by going to https://1001storiespodcast.com- our home website with Megaphone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	An atomic bomb breaks loose from a mounting shackle in a B-47 jet over Florence, South Carolina
0:09.7	plummets to Earth, causing a sensational freak accident.
0:13.0	There was near disaster for those within range of the TNT that is the bomb's trigger.
0:17.0	Six were injured.
0:19.0	The home of Walter Gregg was turned into a shamice.
0:21.0	In the Greg yard, the blast tore a 35-foot deep crater, but despite
0:28.3	the havoc, authorities emphasized the explosion was not a nuclear blast. The bomb was not assembled for firing, standard procedure during transportation.
0:37.0	No accident could make it explode and there was no fission, no radioactive fission products revealed as the Air Force scoured the area in an intensive
0:46.0	search for any information of value following the first accident of its kind in history.
0:51.2	Well, I'm kind in history. Well as they say we all make mistakes. We can usually blame them
0:59.0	on computers or mechanical failures even though there is almost always a human element lurking in there somewhere.
1:05.0	And hopefully, for that person or persons, that error or oversight is hiding so deep in the weeds that no one ever finds out.
1:12.0	And sometimes, the truth of... in the In the spring of 1958, the US Air Force accidentally dropped a 7,600
1:27.0	pound Mark 6 hydrogen bomb loaded with explosives in the backyard of a South Carolina family farmhouse.
1:35.5	For a short while the incident dominated national and then international news until about
1:40.4	two weeks later when the media moved on to other stories.
1:44.2	And the Air Force doesn't like to talk about it.
1:46.2	Obviously, it's not the kind of thing that instills confidence in our military
1:49.7	and its commanders.
1:51.1	And confidence can sometimes be in short supply, as we all know.
1:56.8	Although Mars Bluff is our lead story, there have been many other nuclear mishaps.
2:02.3	According to a 1981 Department of Defense report,
	...

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