CASE OF THE LOST H-BOMB
SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS INTO THEIR TRAINING MISSION, MAJOR HOWARD RICHARDSON AND HIS BOEING B-47B STRATOJET FLIGHT CREW FINALLY BEGAN TO RELAX AFTER AN EVENING OF DEPLOYING ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES AND CHAFF TO EVADE PROWLING NORTH AMERICAN F-86 FIGHTERS.
The sky was clear and full moonlit. Heading south at 35,000 feet and 495 mph over Hampton County, S.C., their next stop was home.
Suddenly, without warning, a massive jolt yawed their aircraft to the left, accompanied by a bright flash and ball of fire off their starboard wing.
The three airmen assumed they had been struck by something, but observed nothing. Training and experience took over as Richardson delicately descended his bomber to 20,000 feet to assess the damage and stability of the aircraft. At the far edge of the right wing, the crew could clearly see the no. 6 jet engine pointing upward at a 45-degree angle and strips of metal extending off the normally smooth aluminum-clad wing. The starboard wing external fuel tank was gone.
Richardson ordered his crew to prepare to eject as he pushed the fire shutoff switch to cut fuel to the still-thrusting engine, which was now nudging the aircraft into a left roll. His copilot, seated directly behind him, transmitted mayday alerts over the UHF Guard Channel. Richardson reduced his speed to 240 mph, extended the landing gear and wing flaps, and found that he could control the bomber. To trim it correctly he soon dropped the 1,780 gallon port wing tank after his navigator confirmed they were over an unpopulated area. With a barely flyable aircraft, Richardson soon realized he needed to lighten his load to increase his chances of landing safely. That load was an almost 4-ton hydrogen bomb. Thus began what is to this day one of the most controversial U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command “broken arrow” events of the Cold War.
During the late 1950s, SAC worked diligently to improve its ability to quickly
