Nuclear weapon accidents involving the Air Force, Navy and the Department
of Energy (DoE)
Subject: Re: neptune papers
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 13:13:52 -0400
From: "Lt.Col. Piers Wood" <pwood@cdi.org>
To: Denise and / or Roger Lagassé<roger_lagasse@dccnet.com>
Dear Mr. Lagasse,
Thank you for your message. The CDI website has devoted a section
to the subject of nuclear weapons accidents/incidents [SEE:
http://www.cdi.org/issues/nukeaccidents/ ]. The ones that involve US
naval vessels are copied below.
You may want to follow up with some of the other sources also
listed below.
Good luck with your research.
Warm regards,
Piers Wood, Lt. Colonel, USAR (Ret.), Senior Fellow
{ Although the list is far from complete, it includes all accidents that
can be verifiably documented and corroborated from more than one
source. Accidents which have not been acknowledged or verified from
government sources are marked by an asterisk (*) and the source(s)
of information provided. This list includes nuclear weapon accidents
involving the Air Force, Navy and the Department of Energy
(DoE). We are not aware of any public information available about nuclear
weapon accidents involving the Army. }
**********************************************************
December 5, 1965, Aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) in the Pacific Ocean
An A-4E Skyhawk strike aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon rolled off an
elevator on the U.S. aircraft carrier Ticonderoga and fell into the sea. Because the bomb was
lost at a depth of approximately 16,000 feet, Pentagon officials feared that intense water
pressure could have caused the B-43 hydrogen bomb to explode. It is still unknown whether an explosion
did occur. The pilot, aircraft, and weapon were lost.
The Pentagon claimed that the bomb was lost "500 miles away from land."
However, it was later revealed that the aircraft and nuclear weapon sank only miles from the
Japanese island chain of Ryukyu. Several factors contributed to the Pentagon's secretiveness. The
USS Ticonderoga was returning from a mission off North Vietnam; confirming that the carrier had
nuclear weapons aboard would document their introduction into the Vietnam War. Furthermore,
Japan's anti-nuclear law prohibited the introduction of atomic weapons into its territory, and U.S.
military bases in Japan are not exempt from this law. Thus, confirming that the USS Ticonderoga carried
nuclear weapons would signify U.S. violation of its military agreements with Japan. The
carrier was headed to Yokosuka, Japan, and disclosure of the accident in the mid-1980s caused a
strain in U.S.-Japanese relations.
**************************
Spring 1968, Aboard the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) in the Atlantic Ocean
Although the Pentagon has not publicly released details of the accident, it
probably refers to the nuclear powered attack submarine USS Scorpion that was lost at sea. The
sub, carrying unidentified nuclear weapons, was last heard from on May 21, 1968, while returning to
Norfolk, Virginia, after a three month training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. The USS Scorpion
sank 400-500 miles southwest of the Azores.
The U.S. initially suspected that the Soviet Union was somehow involved.
The suspicions were allayed when the research ship Mizar (T-AK-272) photographed the wreckage
lying on the sea floor at 10,000 feet. A Navy court of inquiry found "no evidence of any kind to
suggest foul play or sabotage," and found that the "certain cause of the loss of the Scorpion
cannot be ascertained from evidence now available."
******************************
*August 18, 1959, Aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Wasp (CVS-18)
A severe fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp threatened to engulf the
nuclear weapons storage space and required flooding of the forward ammunition stores. Foam was
pumped through the flight deck, and the crew prepared to flood the nuclear weapons storage spaces.
The fire was brought under control before that command was given. William Arkin and Joshua Handler, Naval Nuclear Accidents: The Secret
History, Greenpeace, Vol. 14, #4, July/August 1989, p. 17.
******************************
January 19, 1966, Aboard the USS Luce (DLG-7)
A W-45 nuclear warhead separated from a Trier surface-to-air missile and
fell 8 feet while it was being loading on the frigate USS Luce. The warhead was dented but otherwise
unharmed. The incident was first documented in the "Chronology of Nuclear Accident
Statements" released by the Department of Defense in 1968.
***************************
*November 10, 1970, USS Canopus (AS-34)
A fire broke out in the stern of the U.S. Navy submarine tender USS Canopus
which was carrying several nuclear-armed missiles. The tender was at the Holy Loch submarine
base in Scotland moored alongside two American nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. It
took four hours to bring the fire under control.
"Selected Accidents Involving Nuclear Weapons -1950-1993," Greenpeace,
http://www.greenpeace.org.
***************************************
*November 22, 1975, Aboard the USS Belknap (DLG-26) and USS John F. Kennedy
(CVA-67), 70 Miles East of Sicily, Italy
During night exercises the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy and the
cruiser USS Belknap collided, lodging the Belknap's superstructure beneath the Kennedy's
overhanging flight deck. The carrier's fuel lines were ruptured, spreading gasoline over the deck of the
Belknap, which ignited and burned for more than two hours.
Although this accident is one of the best-known and well-documented nuclear
weapons accidents, the presence of nuclear weapons on board the Belknap and the Kennedy have
never been publicly acknowledged by the Navy or Pentagon. However, documents obtained by
Greenpeace show that minutes after the incident occurred, the commander of Carrier Striking
Forces for the Sixth Fleet sent a secret nuclear weapons accident message (a "Broken Arrow") to the
Pentagon, warning of the "high probability that nuclear weapons aboard the Belknap were involved in
fire and explosion." The story has been corroborated by a retired admiral who was aboard the Belknap
at the time of the accident. One of the ships that came to the Belknap's aid was the nuclear-capable
frigate USS Bordelon, which collided with the USS John F. Kennedy a year later 75 miles north of
Scotland. That ship's anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) container, where nuclear weapons would
normally be held, was nearly crushed.
****************************************
*April 16, 1976, Aboard the Cruiser USS Albany (CG-10)
The Cruiser USS Albany experienced a nuclear weapons incident -- known as a
"Dull Sword" -- when a TALOS surface-to-surface missile's nuclear warhead was damaged.
"Selected Accidents Involving Nuclear Weapons -1950-1993," Greenpeace, <
http://www.greenpeace.org.
***********************************************
*April 9, 1981, Aboard the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) in the South
China Sea
The nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington
collided with a Japanese freighter in the East China Sea, causing slight damage to the submarine's
sail and sinking the freighter. The submarine carried up to 160 nuclear warheads on its 16 Poseidon C-3
sea-launched ballistic missiles.
"Selected Accidents Involving Nuclear Weapons -1950-1993," Greenpeace,
http://www.greenpeace.org.
********************************************************
March 12, 1984, Aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk collided with a Victor-class Soviet
nuclear-powered attack submarine in the Sea of Japan. At the time of the collision, the USS Kitty
Hawk was carrying up to several dozen nuclear weapons, and the Soviet submarine probably carried
two nuclear torpedoes.
"Selected Accidents Involving Nuclear Weapons -1950-1993," Greenpeace,
http://www.greenpeace.org.
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Lt. Colonel Piers M. Wood, USAR (Ret.)
WEB site for the Center for Defense Information:
HTTP://www.cdi.org
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