An atom bomb came very close to exploding in North Carolina back in 1961, according to a newly declassified report. Thanks to safety mechanisms, the bomb thankfully did not go off.
A document obtained by http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961>The Guardian through the Freedom of Information Act shows that two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs were dropped on Greensboro, North Carolina on Jan. 23, 1961. The bombs were being carried by a B-52 bomber that broke up in the air over the state.
One of the bombs deployed just as it would have as if it was supposed to be dropped. The parachute deployed and the trigger mechanisms began. But the only thing that stopped it from exploding and wreaking total havoc on the East Coast was a low-voltage switch, notes the Guardian.
The bombs carried 4 megatons, which would have put cities as far north as New York City at risk. The documents released this weekend were from a report written in 1969. Parker F. Jones wrote the report and called it “Goldsboro Revisited or: How I Learned to Mistrust the H-Bomb,” a clear reference to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: Our How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb.
As USA Today notes, the 1961 incident occurred just three days after President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration and, of course, at the height of the Cold War.
Eric Schlosser first obtained the report and did an interview with Mother Jones about the incident, which will be featured in his book, Command and Control. He found that from 1950 to 1968, there were 700 “significant” accidents with nuclear weapons.