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1966 Palomares B-52 crash

1966 Palomares B-52 crash
Palomares H-Bomb Incident.jpg
The B28RI nuclear bomb, recovered from 2,850 feet (870 m) of water, on the deck of the USS Petrel.
Collision summary
Date 17 January 1966
Summary Mid-air collision
Site Mediterranean Sea near Palomares, Almería, Spain
37°14′57″N 1°47′49″W / 37.24917°N 1.79694°W / 37.24917; -1.79694Coordinates: 37°14′57″N 1°47′49″W / 37.24917°N 1.79694°W / 37.24917; -1.79694
Total fatalities 7
First aircraft
Type B-52G
Operator Strategic Air Command, United States Air Force
Registration 58-0256
Flight origin Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
North Carolina, United States
Destination Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Crew 7
Fatalities 3
Survivors 4
Second aircraft
Type KC-135 Stratotanker
Operator United States Air Force
Registration 61-0273
Flight origin Morón Air Base, Spain
Destination Morón Air Base
Crew 4
Fatalities 4 (all)

The 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, or the Palomares incident, occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The KC-135 was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all four crew members. The B-52G broke apart, killing three of the seven crew members aboard.

Of the four Mk28-type hydrogen bombs the B-52G carried, three were found on land near the small fishing village of Palomares in the municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería, Spain. The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a 2-square-kilometer (490-acre) (0.78 square mile) area by plutonium. The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a 2½-month-long search.

The B-52G began its mission from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, carrying four type B28RI hydrogen bombs on a Cold War airborne alert mission named Operation Chrome Dome. The flight plan took the aircraft east across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea towards the European borders of the Soviet Union before returning home. The lengthy flight required two mid-air refuellings over Spain.


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