50 Years Ago, a US Military Jet Crashed in Greenland – with 4 Nuclear Bombs on Board

[TomSea]

50 Years Ago, a US Military Jet Crashed in Greenland – with 4 Nuclear Bombs on Board
Timothy J. Jorgensen,The Conversation US

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.The Conversation

Fifty years ago, on Jan. 21, 1968, the Cold War grew significantly colder. It was on this day that an American B-52G Stratofortress bomber, carrying four nuclear bombs, crashed onto the sea ice of Wolstenholme Fjord in the northwest corner of Greenland, one of the coldest places on Earth. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and the Danes were not pleased.

The bomber—call sign HOBO 28—had crashed due to human error. One of the crew members had stuffed some seat cushions in front of a heating vent, and they subsequently caught fire. The smoke quickly became so thick that the crew needed to eject. Six of the 7 crew members parachuted out safely before the plane crashed onto the frozen fjord 7 miles west of Thule Air Base—America’s most northern military base, 700 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Read more at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/50-years-ago-a-us-military-jet-crashed-in-greenland-mdash-with-4-nuclear-bombs-on-board/