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1956, a B-47 carrying two nuclear weapon cores (not assembled bombs) disappears somewhere near the Mediterranean, never seen again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wik
by MichaelCollins 4y ago
1956, a B-47 carrying two nuclear weapon cores (not assembled bombs) disappears somewhere near the Mediterranean, never seen again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_B-47_disappearance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_B-47_disappearance
1959, A USN P5M carrying an unarmed Mark 90 nuclear depth charge (no core) is lost in the Puget Sound, never recovered: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whidbey_Island#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whidbey_Island#History
- ourmandave 4y agoI didn't know nuke depth charge were a thing. That sounds like a nuke hand grenade. How do you get out of the way? Dropped from aircraft I suppose.
- kayodelycaon 4y agoNuclear torpedoes where also a thing. :)
- jskrablin 4y agoNuclear torpedoes are still a thing - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status-6_Oceanic_Multipurpose_System https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status-6_Oceanic_Multipurpos...
- meepmorp 4y agoi'm just gonna press X to doubt on this one
- mbrodersen 4y agoRussian submarines armed with nuclear torpedoes is still very much a thing. The idea is to target US cities along the coastline. It neutralises any anti-ballistic missile defences the US has deployed.
- MichaelCollins 4y agoDropped from aircraft, or thrown by missiles. Missiles that deliver homing torpedoes are also a thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-submarine_missile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-submarine_missile
- kiliantics 4y agoThese seem like pretty reasonable ways for them to be lost. Though the headline suggestion did give me a scary thought: if we do end up on a trajectory of social collapse, most likely caused by ecosystem breakdown, then the resulting failed states could make it very easy for weapons such as these to get "lost".
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Enginerrrd 4y agoYes, but they don't maintain efficacy for very long. The tritium bomb triggers have a short shelf-life. The radioactive material could be used for dirty bombs, but if there's societal collapse, I don't think such a tactic would have much of a useful place for anyone.
- ffggvv 4y agoyou dont need ecosystem breakdown. could easily happen in pakistan right now
- tsol 4y agoWhy Pakistan in particular? I would think a country like North Korea is the most likely candidate
- User23 4y agoNorth Korea is a Chinese client state. The Chinese aren’t going to permit that.
- deepdriver 4y agoPakistan has a porous border with Afghanistan and thousands of its own armed extremists (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, Islamic State offshoots) who are frequently at odds with the government.
- missedthecue 4y ago
- ecdavis 4y ago> Whidbey Island Great ice cream there.