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

29 Pilots usually refer to the B-52: The background on the B-52 comes from the author's visit to Minot Air Force Base on August 23, 2005; author's visit to the Strategic Air and Space Museum on August 25, 2005; and interviews with airmen with B-52 experience. Statistics on the number of B-52s in SAC's inventory can be found in Lloyd, Cold War Legacy, p. 677.

29 The G model: Information on the B-52G can be found at www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-52g.

29 B-52 pilots injected 10,000 pounds of water: The background on water augmentation comes from the author's visit to Minot Air Force Base on August 23, 2005.

30 Rooney and Wendorf suspect that fatigue failure: In one famous example, the horizontal stabilizer snapped off a B-52 during severe turbulence. The plane landed successfully. See “Something Missing,” Aerospace Safety, April 1964, pp. 4–7. The fatigue failure problem is also discussed at www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-52g.

31 The one surviving member: To the best of the author's knowledge, Ross C. Cox is the only living member of the accident investigation board. He refused several requests for an interview.

31 Buchanan, in the lower compartment: Buchanan's story comes from author's interviews with Mike Rooney and SAC Historical Study #109: Sixteenth Air Force Operation Recovery, 17 January–7 April, 1966 (History and Research Division, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, U.S. Department of the Air Force, 1968), vol. 1, pp. 13–14.

34 about eight miles from land: Different accounts place Messinger between five and fifteen miles from shore. “Eight miles” comes from SAC Historical Study #109, p. 15.

35 The survivors stayed: The chronology of the survivors' movements is from SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 14–16.

35 At 7:05 a.m. Washington time: Letter, Bill Moyers to Flora Lewis, August 11, 1966 (LBJ).

CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS

37 Manolo González Navarro believed in fate: Manolo González's story comes from author's interview with Manolo and Dolores González, February 24, 2007, and “Operación Flecha Rota: Accidente nuclear de Palomares (Almería),” directed by José Herrera Plaza, 2007. Some additional information about Manolo and Dolores is in Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, pp. 26–29.

38 Fiery debris rained onto Palomares: Additional information about the debris shower can be found in Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, pp. 41–42, and Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, pp. 22–28.

38 Palomares sat on the southeastern coast: The description of Palomares in 1966 comes from author's interview with Manolo and Dolores González, February 24, 2007; Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, pp. 14–22; author's visit to the area, February 24–27, 2007.

40 Wendorf's bomber had not been alone:SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 5–10.

40 The two planes had planned to switch:Report of Major Aircraft Accident, Wendorf's statement, p. 2.

41 the Morón Command Post radioed:SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 8–10.

41 The tanker, after finishing the refueling: Ibid., p. 20.

41. Morón reported the incident to SAC:

Ibid., p. 9.

42 the phone rang on the desk: Joe Ramirez's recollections of the first twenty-four hours and his personal background are from author's interviews with Ramirez, January 27, 2007, and April 27, 2007.

44 About twenty minutes before 2 p.m.:SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 67–69. The times noted in the SAC Historical Study are “Zulu” time, or Greenwich Mean Time. The local time in Palomares was Zulu plus 1 hour.

44 He was a steady, capable leader: The characterization of Wilson comes from author's interviews with several men who served under him, including Walter Vornbrock on April 23, 2007, and Ralph Jenkins on March 14, 2007.

44 Wilson also had a unique link: Coffey, Iron Eagle, pp. 148–149.

45 he learned that three: Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, p. 71; Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, pp. 79–81.