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

107 Right after the accident: The account of Smith and Towell's first visit to Palomares comes from author's interviews with Joseph Smith, January 23, 2007, and Timothy Towell, January 5 and 8, 2007. Their visit is also discussed in Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, pp. 162–163.

107 “Just go in”: Joseph Smith interview, January 23, 2007.

107 “General Wilson was totally dismissive”: Timothy Towell interview, January 5, 2007.

107 “If you take care of sovereign people”: Timothy Towell interview, January 8, 2007.

108 Duke had already complained: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 27, 1966, #903 (LBJ). Duke's views on openness with the press also come from the author's interview with Robin Duke, June 7, 2007.

109 he called a press conference:SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 320–321; Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, p. 166.

109 approximately six hundred people gathered:SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 299–300 (a copy of the handbill is on p. 300); Szulc, The Bombs of Palo mares, pp. 166–167; “600 Spanish March in Anti-U.S. Protest,” The New York Times, February 5, 1966, p. 8; Simons, “Some Experts Fear Strategic Loss,” p. 11.

CHAPTER 8: ALVIN AND THE DEEP, DARK SEA

110 Alvin and her crew had arrived:Alvin's trip to Rota and the mechanical problems discovered there are discussed in Aircraft Salvops Med, Final Report, vol. 1, part I, chap. 2, p. 21; Memo, W. O. Rainnie to Office of Naval Research, “Quarterly Informal Letter Status Report of Contract Nonr 3834(00), Deep Submergence Research Vehicle Project, January 1, 1966 through April 9, 1966,” June 10, 1966 (WHOI). Also, author's interviews with Arthur Bartlett, February 5, 2007, and Chester Porembski, November 17, 2006. Additional information about working at Otis Air Force Base is from author's interview with Clyde Tyndale, November 3, 2006. Footage of Alvin at Rota can be found at NARA, 342-USAF-40730A.

111 Marvin J. McCamis, known universally as “Mac”: Personal background on McCamis comes from author's interviews with Marvin McCamis, January 31, 2003; Arthur Bartlett, February 5, 2007; Chester Porembski, November 17, 2006; Andrew Eliason, October 4, 2006; Barrie Walden, July 25, 2006; and John Porteous, September 6, 2006. See also Victoria Kaharl, Water Baby: The Story of Alvin (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 57.

112 called the crew together: Marvin McCamis interview, January 31, 2003.

112 Alvin was an experimental sub: Kaharl, Water Baby, pp. 59–62.

112 “We knew the country had a big problem”: Marvin McCamis interview, January 31, 2003.

113 it also formed a small committee: The background on TAG comes from Aircraft Salvops Med, Final Report, vol. 1, part I, chap. 2, pp. 8–9; Aircraft Salvops Med, Interim Report, pp. 5, B1, B4, B15.

113 The idea of Alvin: The background on Allyn Vine comes from Naomi Oreskes, “A Context of Motivation: U.S. Naval Oceanographic Research and the Discovery of Sea-Floor Hydrothermal Vents,” Social Studies of Science 33, no. 5 (October 2003), p. 701, and Kaharl, Water Baby, pp. 10–11, 19.

114 By the 1950s: The background on SOSUS comes from Oreskes, “A Context of Motivation,” p. 702.

114 “Manned submersibles are badly needed”: Memo, Allyn C. Vine to Paul Fye, “ASW,” October 10, 1960 (WHOI).

114 signed a contract in 1962:Alvin, originally called Seapup, was contracted from General Mills in 1962. General Mills had a Mechanical Division to build and repair the machines that mixed and cooked cereal. In 1940, the firm began building torpedo and gun parts to support the U.S. war effort.

After the war, “the government contracts kept coming,” as one historian put it. For more on the complicated history of Alvin's purchase and construction, see Kaharl, Water Baby, chaps. 1–6.

114Alvin'scurious name: Kaharl, Water Baby, pp. 32–33.