Missing US nuclear bomb…Cannot be found despite efforts

The American nuclear bomb, which fell off the coast of Georgia in 1958, has not been found for 65 years.

As the Cold War gained momentum, two Air Force planes collided over Georgia, one of which was carrying a Mark 15 thermonuclear bomb. The plane managed to land after leaving the bomb on Tybee Island during the crash, but the bomb was destroyed. lost.

The bomb, which could not be found despite years of investigation, remains a secret that is discussed in the United States. The occasional increase in radioactivity levels in the region has long worried the US administration.

The US Navy has repeatedly searched the seabed with divers to find the bomb, which is estimated to be buried meters under the ocean, but to date no trace of the bomb has been found.

‘REMOVING IT IS TOO RISKY’

Many experts point out that it would be safer if the bomb remained buried under the sand. According to a 2001 report, efforts to find the bomb could cost $5 million and fail. Additionally, the risk of explosion as a result of efforts to remove the bomb also raises concerns.

Stephen Schwartz, author of the book “The Cost and Consequences of American Nuclear Weapons Since 1940,” said the missing bomb is an indicator of how the Cold War confronted the world with great dangers. During the period when the United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war, it was common for warplanes to practice with nuclear bombs, but there were also accidents in which some nuclear weapons were lost.

Howard Richardson, the pilot who dropped the bomb from the plane in the 1958 crash, reported that there was no explosion. Richardson also said he regretted leaving the bomb at sea.

Although the US military stated that there was no risk of explosion because the bomb did not carry a plutonium capsule, various reports continue to raise concerns about the missing nuclear bomb to this day.