1950s List of military nuclear accidents

the castle bravo fallout pattern.



march 1, 1954 – bikini atoll, republic of marshall islands (then trust territory of pacific islands) – nuclear test accident

during castle bravo test of first deployable hydrogen bomb, miscalculation resulted in explosion being on twice large predicted, total explosive force of 15 megatons of tnt (63 pj). of total yield, 10 mt (42 pj) fission of natural uranium tamper, fission reactions quite dirty, producing large amount of fallout. combined larger expected yield , unanticipated wind shift, radioactive fallout spread unexpected areas. japanese fishing boat, daigo fukuryu maru/lucky dragon, came contact fallout, caused many of crew become ill, 1 fatality. fallout spread eastward onto inhabited rongelap , rongerik atolls. these islands not evacuated before explosion due unanticipated fallout zone , financial cost involved, many of marshall islands natives have since suffered radiation burns , radioactive dusting , similar fates japanese fishermen , have received little, if any, compensation federal government. test resulted in international uproar , reignited japanese concerns radiation, regard possible contamination of fish. personal accounts of rongelap people can seen in documentary children of armageddon.


november 29, 1955 – idaho, usa – partial meltdown

operator error led partial core meltdown in experimental ebr-i breeder reactor, resulting in temporarily elevated radioactivity levels in reactor building , necessitating significant repair.


march 10, 1956 – on mediterranean sea – nuclear weapons lost

a usaf b-47 stratojet, af ser. no. 52-534, on non-stop mission macdill air force base, florida, overseas base descended cloud formation @ 14,000 feet on mediterranean in preparation in-air refueling , vanished while carrying 2 nuclear weapon cores. plane lost while flying through dense clouds, , cores , other wreckage never located.


july 27, 1956 – raf lakenheath in suffolk, uk – nuclear weapons damaged

a usaf b-47 crashed storage igloo spreading burning fuel on 3 mark 6 nuclear bombs @ raf lakenheath. bomb disposal expert stated miracle exposed detonators on 1 bomb did not fire, presumably have released nuclear material environment.


may 22, 1957 – kirtland afb in new mexico, usa – non-nuclear detonation of mark 17 thermonuclear bomb

a b-36 ferrying nuclear weapon biggs afb kirtland afb dropped nuclear weapon on approach kirtland. weapon struck ground 4.5 miles south of kirtland control tower , 0.3 miles west of sandia base reservation. weapon destroyed detonation of high explosive material, creating crater 12 feet (3.7 m) deep , 25 feet (7.62 m) in diameter. radioactive contamination @ crater lip amounted 0.5 milliroentgen.


july 28, 1957 – atlantic ocean – 2 weapons jettisoned , not recovered

a usaf c-124 aircraft dover air force base, delaware carrying 3 nuclear bombs on atlantic ocean when experienced loss of power. own safety, crew jettisoned 2 nuclear bombs, never recovered.


september 11, 1957 – rocky flats plant, golden, colorado, usa – fire, release of nuclear materials

a fire began in theoretically fireproof area inside plutonium processing building, in glovebox used handle radioactive materials, igniting combustible rubber gloves , plexiglas windows of box. fire spread plutonium various safety features failed. fire spread through ventilation system containment ability of facility became compromised, plumes of radioactive smoke sent high outside air. fire raged inside building 13 hours on night of 11th & 12th before firefighters extinguish it. in aftermath, department of energy officials, , dow chemical officials ran facility, did not admit extent of catastrophe, or radiation danger, local officials or media. knowledge of extent of damage , contamination kept public years. after fire, plutonium detected near school 12 miles (19 km) away , around denver 17 miles (27 km) away. independent group of scientists conducting off-site testing 13 years later found plutonium contamination in areas in nearby rocky flats 400 1,500 times higher normal, higher ever recorded near urban area, including nagasaki. atomic energy commission conducted own off-site study, , study confirmed plutonium contamination far 30 miles (48 km) plant.


september 29, 1957 – kyshtym, chelyabinsk oblast, russian federation (then russian soviet federative socialist republic, ussr) – explosion, release of nuclear materials

see kyshtym disaster. cooling system failure @ mayak nuclear processing plant resulted in major explosion , release of radioactive materials. large area subjected radioactive contamination , thousands of local inhabitants evacuated.


october 8–12, 1957 – sellafield, cumbria, uk – reactor core fire

see windscale fire. technicians mistakenly overheated windscale pile no. 1 during annealing process release wigner energy graphite portions of reactor. poorly placed temperature sensors indicated reactor cooling rather heating. excess heat led failure of nuclear cartridge, in turn allowed uranium , irradiated graphite react air. resulting fire burned days, damaging significant portion of reactor core. 150 burning fuel cells not lifted core, operators succeeded in creating firebreak removing nearby fuel cells. effort cool graphite core water quenched fire. reactor had released radioactive gases surrounding countryside, in form of iodine-131 (i). milk distribution banned in 200-square-mile (520 km) area around reactor several weeks. 1987 report national radiological protection board predicted accident cause many 33 long-term cancer deaths, although medical research council committee concluded in highest degree unlikely harm has been done health of anybody, whether worker in windscale plant or member of general public. reactor burned 1 of 2 air-cooled, graphite-moderated natural uranium reactors @ site used production of plutonium.


october 11, 1957 – homestead air force base, florida – nuclear bomb burned after b-47 aircraft accident

b-47 aircraft crashed during take-off after wheel exploded; 1 nuclear bomb burned in resulting fire.


january 31, 1958 – morocco – nuclear bomb damaged in crash

during simulated takeoff, wheel casting failure caused tail of usaf b-47 carrying armed nuclear weapon hit runway, rupturing fuel tank , sparking fire. contamination detected following accident.


february 5, 1958 – savannah, georgia, usa – nuclear bomb lost

see 1958 tybee island mid-air collision. usaf b-47 bomber jettisoned mark 15 mod 0 nuclear bomb on atlantic ocean after midair collision usaf f-86 sabre during simulated combat mission homestead air force base, florida. f-86 s pilot ejected , parachuted safety. usaf claimed b-47 tried landing @ hunter air force base, georgia 3 times before bomb jettisoned @ 7,200 ft (2,200 m) near tybee island, georgia. b-47 pilot landed in 1 attempt after first jettisoned bomb. 3-square-mile (7.8 km) area near wassaw sound searched 9 weeks before search called off.


march 11, 1958 – 1958 mars bluff b-47 nuclear weapon loss incident, usa – non-nuclear detonation of nuclear bomb

a usaf b-47e bomber, number 53-1876a, flying hunter air force base in savannah, georgia, england in formation of 4 b-47s on top-secret mission called operation snow flurry perform mock bombing exercise. flight navigator/bombardier checking locking harness on massive (7,600 pounds (3,447 kg)) mark 6 nuclear bomb when accidentally pushed emergency release lever. bomb fell on bomb-bay doors, smashing them open , going 15,000 feet (4,572 m) free fall. high-explosive detonator went off after hit ground 6.5 miles east of florence, south carolina, in mars bluff, creating 70 feet (21 m) wide crater, 30 feet (9 m) deep. nearby house destroyed , several people injured. nuclear detonation not possible because, while on board, weapon s core not in weapon safety reasons.


june 16, 1958 – oak ridge, tennessee, usa – accidental criticality

a supercritical portion of highly enriched uranyl nitrate allowed collect in drum causing prompt neutron criticality in c-1 wing of building 9212 @ y-12 complex. estimated reaction produced 1.3 × 10 fissions. 8 employees in close proximity drum during accident, receiving neutron doses ranging 30 477 rems. no fatalities reported.


november 4, 1958 – dyess air force base, texas, usa – non-nuclear detonation of nuclear bomb

a usaf b-47 bomber developed fire shortly after take-off , went down nuclear weapon on board altitude of 1,500 ft (460 m). detonation of high explosive material in bomb created crater 6 feet (1.8 m) deep , 35 feet (10.7 m) in diameter. 3 crew members escaped, , 1 killed.


november 26, 1958 – chennault air force base, louisiana, usa – non-nuclear detonation of nuclear bomb

a usaf b-47 bomber nuclear weapon on board developed fire while on ground. aircraft wreckage , site of accident contaminated after limited explosion of non-nuclear material.


december 30, 1958 – los alamos, new mexico, usa – accidental criticality

during chemical purification, critical mass of plutonium solution accidentally assembled @ los alamos national laboratory. chemical operator named cecil e. kelley died of acute radiation sickness. march 1961 journal of occupational , environmental medicine printed special supplement medically analyzing accident. hand manipulation of critical assemblies abandoned matter of policy in u.s. federal facilities after accident.


january 18, 1959 – classified usaf air base somewhere in pacific – nuclear weapon on fire

a parked usaf f-100c super sabre, loaded nuclear weapon, developed fire on 1 of usaf pacific bases after external fuel tanks dropped , exploded during practice alert. resulting fire put out in 7 minutes , there no nuclear weapon explosion.


july 6, 1959, – barksdale afb, louisiana, usa – limited contamination

a usaf c-124 transporting 2 nuclear weapons without fissile cores crashed , burned down during take-off. high explosive detonators did not go off. wreckage area experienced limited contamination.


september 25, 1959, – off whidbey island, washington, usa – lost nuclear weapon

a u.s. navy p5m antisubmarine aircraft unarmed nuclear depth charge on board crash-landed puget sound near whidbey island, washington. nuclear weapon not recovered.


october 15, 1959, – hardinsburg, kentucky, usa – nuclear weapon partially damaged

after both planes took off columbus air force base in mississippi, usaf b-52f-100-bo (no. 57-036), 2 nuclear weapons collided @ 32,000 feet (9,754 m) kc-135 refueling aircraft (no. 57-1513), during refueling procedure near hardinsburg, kentucky. both planes crashed killing 8 crew members. 1 unarmed nuclear weapon partially damaged, no contamination resulted.


november 20, 1959 – oak ridge, tennessee, usa – explosion

a chemical explosion occurred during decontamination of processing machinery in radiochemical processing plant @ oak ridge national laboratory in tennessee . (report ornl-2989, oak ridge national laboratory). accident resulted in release of 15 grams (0.53 oz) of pu.






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