The Day We Lost the H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes, and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster in History

In July 1961 the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC) began its “Airborne Alert” program under which a dozen B-52 bombers were to be kept in the air at all times, with each plane carrying several thermonuclear bombs. Already difficult to fly, these bulky planes were overloaded by their nuclear payload and required meticulous piloting and multiple mid-air refuelings—a dangerous operation even under the best conditions—while traversing the usual flight plan from the U.S over Europe, skirting S [...]

During much of the Cold War, the United States Strategic Air Command (SAC) constantly maintained nuclear laden bombers near Soviet airspace as a form of deterrence. On January 17, 1966, one of SAC’s B-52s rendezvoused with a KC-135 tanker over Palomares, Spain to conduct a final mid-air refueling before returning home. An accident occurred during the refueling and both aircraft collided. In the debris that rained down on the Mediterranean coast were chunks of burning aircraft, chuffing jet fue [...]

In 1966, a U. S. Air Force B-52 bomber from North Carolina was refueling from a tanker plane above southern Spain when something went terribly wrong. Possibly the planes collided, or perhaps there was a failure in the bomber's fuselage, but either way the planes broke up in the sky. Several crew members survived from the bomber. The bomber had been carrying four hydrogen bombs as part of the Strategic Air Command's aerial alert program, designed to foil a surprise Soviet attack on American bases [...]

I suspect a large proportion of people who know about Cold War history are at least aware of this incident, but Ms. Moran's work sheds a lot more light on the details. What's more, she does it in a way that also makes it accessible to readers who AREN'T quite as familiar with the event's historical context in such a way that doesn't bog the story-telling down. Military/Cold War history buffs won't find anything they don't know in the background history of the Strategic Air Command, for example, [...]

It's got everything - a plane crash, a missing hydrogen bomb, submarines, Bayesian search theory, diplomatic PR stunts and Cold War political chicanery, and a bumper crop of tomatoes that the US Air Force swore was not radioactive. And it's all completely true, which is a little terrifying.I liked it, though. One of those books that has enough compelling narrative to keep you engrossed, and enough historical detail that you keep jumping on to to look things up. The drier historical detail is ba [...]

Terrific history of an incident in 1966 when a routine (!) air flight over Europe resulted in an accident, dropping four nuclear bombs near the coast of Spain (!). Sounds like military history but it reads more like a well contextualized social history of the Cold War. The conflict is not so much with the Soviets as between branches of the US military, between the military's reflexive secrecy and sensationalizing journalists, and between the people "on the ground" and the institutions that are d [...]

In January 1966, we (the U.S. air force) lost four hydrogen bombs over the southeast coast of Spain. Three fell over land and were quickly recovered, but one fell into the ocean, and we had a lot of trouble finding it and pulling it out. This book follows the story from start to finish, with some short detours into the history of the Strategic Air Command in charge of flying these bombs around in the first place. It's a pretty interesting story about the largest, most expensive sea salvage opera [...]

I enjoyed this book and felt that it gave a good overview of what happened, was well researched and delved into some of the sidelines to help explain why some things were approached the way they were. It provided a good introduction to the SAC which helped to explain why the 24 hour bomber flights were instituted, explored the search for the bombs following the accident and then the ensuing naval recovery exercise and all the compliactions associated with that.A good overview with references bac [...]

Interesting window in to the cold war. The idea of keeping bombers in the air at all times as a deterrent, seems unbelievable in todays world. This book seemed to plod along at times with names and facts that seemed unimportant most of the time. It reads like a doctoral thesis instead of a play by play. I realize that the subject is cut and dry, but at least add some drama to it. I would recommend to students of the cold war.

This book is an incredibly thorough and exhaustively researched account of the loss of four nuclear warheads in an air accident over Spain in 1966. It was the first of two such accidents before the U.S. Strategic Air Command was ordered by the Secretary of Defense to stop carrying armed nuclear weapons.

A really good, focused, piece of research on an interesting time in America's nuclear history.

not really my type of book, but it was quite interesting

Interesting, some tech parts were too detailed and as a result become boring

If you're looking for a fascinating read, this is it!

Very quick read that recounts when the U.S. lost a nuclear weapon in mediterranean in 1966. Great detail, engaging writing.

Fair, but left many questions.