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Nuclear Weapons Complex
Trends
- 1The 1966 Palomares Incident: B-52 Crash Lost a Hydrogen Bomb for 80 Days▼It Took 80 Days to Find It: A US Air Force B-52 Bomber Collided Into a Tanker and Lost a Hydrogen Bomb in the Mediterranean in 1966
In January 1966, a US Air Force B-52 bomber carrying hydrogen bombs collided mid-air with a KC-135 tanker during refuelling off the coast of Spain, scattering nuclear weapons near Palomares. One bomb fell into the Mediterranean and took 80 days to recover, in one of the most complex search operations of the Cold War. Renewed attention to the accident continues to highlight the risks of nuclear-armed airborne alert missions and the long aftermath of contamination in the area.