Jan. 28, 2026

The Origin Of Weird: Atomic Bombs Fall on North Carolina, 1961 Goldsboro Incident

The Origin Of Weird: Atomic Bombs Fall on North Carolina, 1961 Goldsboro Incident
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A midnight breakup over rural North Carolina. Two hydrogen bombs sheared from a disintegrating B-52. And one small switch that kept the East Coast from waking to a mushroom cloud. We dive into the Goldsboro incident of 1961, where a routine Cold War alert flight turned into one of the closest brushes with accidental nuclear detonation in U.S. history.

We walk through the tense chain of events: the fuel leak, the low-altitude emergency approach, and the violent structural failure that scattered wreckage across fields near Faro. You’ll hear the gripping survival stories—parachutes failing and restarting, a pilot climbing out a cockpit window mid-breakup—and the surreal aftermath where a soot-covered airman was briefly arrested at his own base. Then we unpack how the Mark 39 thermonuclear bombs behaved once torn free: one drifting under a parachute and completing every step of its arming sequence but the last, the other plummeting into mud before its timer could finish. The difference between devastation and a close call came down to a single arm/safe switch that stayed on safe.

From there, we examine the recovery: EOD teams combing the crater, securing the plutonium core, and digging more than 70 feet in search of a missing uranium secondary stage that remains buried to this day under a cotton field. We connect the technical dots—arming logic, failed redundancies, and Parker F. Jones’s blunt assessment that one low-voltage switch separated the United States from catastrophe—and trace how Goldsboro, along with accidents in Spain and Greenland, helped bring Operation Chrome Dome to an end in 1968. Along the way, we confront the uneasy truth about nuclear safety: complex systems can fail in complex ways, and deterrence carries its own hidden risks.

If stories like this fascinate you, stick with us for more strange origins and forgotten close calls. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves Cold War history, and leave a review to help others find the show. Got a burning question or a wild historical theory? Hit us up on YouTube, X, Instagram, or Facebook, or email us at historybuffoonspodcast@gmail.com.

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00:00 - Cold Open And Banter

01:31 - Introducing The Goldsboro Incident

02:26 - Operation Chrome Dome Explained

03:54 - Fuel Leak And Midair Breakup

05:12 - Crew Ejections And Survival Stories

08:15 - Bombs Separate And Fall

10:58 - On-The-Ground Recovery Efforts

13:30 - The One Switch That Saved Goldsboro

16:20 - Bomb Two’s Impact And False Alarm

19:00 - What Went Missing Underground

21:15 - Public Reassurance And Later Revelations

24:05 - Chrome Dome’s End And Wider Risks

26:10 - Landmarks, Fallout Fears, And Wrap-Up

28:40 - Outro And Calls To Action

WEBVTT

00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:16.480
Oh, hey there.

00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:17.359
Oh, hey there.

00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:18.480
How's it going today?

00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:19.199
Good.

00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:19.839
How are you?

00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:20.719
I'm well.

00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.199
We are uh the history of buffoons, and this is another origin of weird.

00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:26.480
Number 31.

00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:27.920
Yeah, I am Bradley.

00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:28.800
I am Kate.

00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:29.280
Yeah.

00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:30.160
How are you today?

00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:31.359
I think I might have asked that.

00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:32.719
I'm doing pretty good.

00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:33.840
Awesome, awesome.

00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:35.200
It's cold outside.

00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:36.880
It is frigid outside.

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Frigid.

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And you know how much I don't mind cold?

00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:41.679
This is fucking cold.

00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.759
I mean, you're bald and you wear a hat, which is a first.

00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:46.719
A first.

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You're bald and you don't wear a hat.

00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:50.479
Normally, no, never.

00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:54.880
Today I saw you with a hat and I was like, oh shit, it must be really cold outside.

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My uh my boss yesterday at work said he came up to me and it almost sounded like he was joking, but he's like, make sure you wear something tomorrow.

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I'm like, okay.

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He's like, no, really.

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Seriously.

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I don't I don't normally wear I wear a polo in my my work pants, and that's usually what I wear for work.

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Even when it's like 12 degrees out, that's all I wear.

00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:19.439
Yeah.

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I don't wear I bring a sweatshirt with me just in case.

00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:22.719
Yeah.

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But literally, just a sweatshirt.

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So, anyways, it's fucking cold.

00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:28.159
It is.

00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.640
So, what do you got for us today on the origin of weird?

00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:39.840
So, we are going to talk about the night that two atomic bombs fell on North Carolina.

00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:40.640
Okay.

00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:42.319
That happened?

00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:43.200
That happened.

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What year are we talking about?

00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:46.319
We are talking about 1961.

00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:47.359
Oh dear.

00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:51.200
And actually, there was quite a few of these instances.

00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:57.840
Um, not this one in America, and then there's been a couple others, not in America.

00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:03.439
Isn't that the year JFK was inaugurated?

00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:04.480
I don't know.

00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:05.519
I believe that's right.

00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:05.920
Yeah.

00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:06.560
Could be.

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Anyways.

00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:12.960
I know enough just enough about JFK, but I don't I don't do numbers, so I don't do all of years.

00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.680
Oh, I'm well aware of that.

00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.439
That that is uh very, very true on your part for saying that.

00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:20.960
So thank you for being transparent.

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You can see right through me.

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You can't see anyway John Cena.

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In the early hours of January 24th, 1961, a B-52G Strato Fortress bomber was flying a routine mission over Goldsboro, Goldsboro, North Carolina, as a part of the Operation Chrome Dome.

00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:50.639
Chrome Dome?

00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:51.840
Like me?

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Kind of, only shinier.

00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:55.520
Only chrome year?

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Chrome year.

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You know what's really weird?

00:02:59.599 --> 00:02:59.919
Okay.

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Transparency.

00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:02.400
Yes.

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The day we're recording this, the anniversary is 65 years tomorrow.

00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:07.759
Oh shit, yeah.

00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:09.439
Wait a way to put that together.

00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:09.919
Wow.

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Like she said, she doesn't do numbers.

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Like I said.

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But Operation Chrome Done was a Cold War program.

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Okay.

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That kept armed nuclear bombers at the ready.

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At the ready, in the air, flying 24-7.

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They did it for about eight years.

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That's crazy.

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24-7.

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That is weird that they would be like that.

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I mean, shit was tense back then.

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I mean, so I get it, but Jesus Christ.

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Yeah.

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Eight fucking.

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And then between North Carolina and then the other places that had these incidences that I'm going to talk about, we're like, maybe let's not do chrome dumb anymore.

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Maybe we should shut that operation down.

00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:57.439
So it had a crew of eight, and they had been airborne for about 12 hours.

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Okay.

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When they noticed that their plane was starting to leak fuel.

00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:02.960
Oh dear.

00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:11.680
So they were carrying two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs, and Mark 39 is just like their serial number type of thing.

00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:12.159
Sure.

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So Mark 39 hydrogen bombs, each with a yield of about 3.8 megatons.

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Jesus Christ.

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Roughly 250 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb.

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That would have fucked some shit up.

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Damn.

00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:35.439
So the B-52 was ordered back to base for an emergency landing, which is also in North Carolina.

00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:36.639
The base is also in North Carolina.

00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:38.160
I figured as much, yeah.

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Captain Walter Tullock, the aircraft commander, initially wanted to burn off fuel before landing to reduce the risk of an explosive landing.

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But as the bomber descended to about 5,000 feet on approach to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

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Seymour Johnson.

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That's his name is funny.

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Um, things took a little bit of a turn.

00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:01.199
Yeah.

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The structural stress on the fuel weakened wing proved too much.

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And the B-52 started to break apart in mid-air.

00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:11.759
Oh, damn.

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Literally break apart, just disintegrate.

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Yeah, I got that.

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So inside the aircraft, Tuluk sounded the bailout alarm as the plane began disintegrating.

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And of the eight crew members, five managed to eject and parachute down safely.

00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:31.040
What happened to the other three?

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One crewman ejected, uh, did not survive the landing.

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Oh shit.

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And two never managed to escape the plane.

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Oh, really?

00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:40.480
Yeah.

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Oh, that's sad.

00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:42.000
Yeah.

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So Lieutenant William R.

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Wilson, one of the survivors, described parachuting in the dark, um, saying, I don't know how it happened.

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I don't, I know when I landed in the field, I felt awfully good.

00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:54.639
Like I wanted to run.

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He was running on pure adrenaline at this point.

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Oh, could you imagine?

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Yeah.

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Jesus.

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He wandered to a nearby fire um nope farmhouse for help.

00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:05.040
Okay.

00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:13.120
And when he told the owner homeowners he jumped out of an airplane, he said, quote, they thought at first I was a prowler.

00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:14.879
I must have been bad looking.

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Oh, geez.

00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:22.560
Well, I mean, yeah, you get some random guy in a farmhouse, especially in the middle of nowhere.

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He was like, um, where'd you come from?

00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:27.199
Right, son?

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I I I jumped out of a plane.

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Say what now?

00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:41.519
Another crewman, uh, Major Richard Dick Rarden, came down in a tree and then started hiking back through the rural back roads.

00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:42.079
Okay.

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One pilot, Captain Adam Maddox, survived without an ejection seat by literally climbing out of the cockpit window as the B-52 broke up.

00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:55.680
That's wild.

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But he had no seat.

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He just literally crawled his way out.

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Opened the window.

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Pretty much.

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Sayonara.

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Pretty much.

00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:02.720
Wow.

00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:05.519
So Maddox nearly didn't make it.

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His parachute initially failed to open.

00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:08.720
Oh boy.

00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:16.399
And the shock wave of the plane's explosion collapsed it briefly, but he did eventually get it to work and he obviously lived to tell the tale.

00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:17.199
Clearly, yeah.

00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:17.600
Yes.

00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:18.560
That's crazy though.

00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:22.639
That would be fucking just like people are like, oh, go skydiving.

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It's in general.

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I'm like, no, go fuck yourself.

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I don't, I don't, I don't need to watch myself splat into the ground and then I'm pretty sure that my sister-in-law Lisa gave my brother a 30-year birthday gift of flying out of a plane.

00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:40.319
Oh, really?

00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:40.720
Yeah.

00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:42.959
I think he I think she gave him skydiving.

00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:44.480
It's his 30th birthday.

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I got a cake on mine.

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If if Sarah gave me that for a present, I'd file for divorce.

00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:55.120
Because I clearly you don't know me.

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Because fuck that.

00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.519
I I am not a huge heights person to begin with.

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And the older I get, the less heights I like.

00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:04.160
Yeah.

00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:10.160
Like I love going up in the mountains, but even like I don't walk as far to the edge as I used to when I was younger.

00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.800
And uh well, you don't have the balance anymore.

00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:14.160
What are you saying?

00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:17.279
I'll just have a beer.

00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:29.360
Um but uh I know there's nothing could I mean maybe a certain dollar amount, but it have to be pretty high, would get me up in a plane, but nothing else would.

00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.040
Yeah, literally nothing else would.

00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:31.839
Fuck that.

00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:32.320
Yeah.

00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:34.559
I hear about too many people bouncing off the ground.

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And obviously you don't live.

00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:48.320
So in a weird twist, guards at the gate at the Air Force Base gate arrested um Captain Adam Maddox on the spot.

00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:49.039
Why?

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They thought this disheveled individual must have stolen a parachute from the Air Force.

00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.759
Did he have no insignia, nameplate, nothing on his on this person?

00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:01.360
I would assume he did.

00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:03.840
Eventually he was completely cleared.

00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:05.360
We're like, oh yeah, you're one.

00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:06.639
Oh, dude, I know you.

00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:16.159
Oh, dude, I didn't see you with that that shit on your face or you know, soot or something, but fuck that would be like really, dude, guys, it's me.

00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:16.639
Yeah.

00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:17.519
What the fuck?

00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:18.159
Yeah.

00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:19.840
Dude, it's Maddie.

00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:20.879
Natug.

00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:26.399
So when you said Richard Dick, whatever the last kind of is, did he go by Dick then?

00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:35.279
Okay, because I'm like, what kind of asshole parents would name their kid Richard Dick and then answer last name here?

00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:48.320
So while the surviving crew um were having like the craziest night of their lives, the B-52's broken pieces rained down across farms and woods near the little community of Pharaoh.

00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:49.279
Pharaoh?

00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:59.200
Flaming wreckage set fields on fire, which is what a local farmer saw when he looked out of his window at his land.

00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:00.720
It's like, honey, come look at this.

00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:06.720
Yeah, he's like, it looked like a roaming candle flying through the sky and just landing in like in the dirt.

00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:07.360
Yeah.

00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:17.120
So after crash, the cra if excuse me, as if a crashing bomber wasn't enough, there was another terrifying element to this story.

00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.240
The hydrogen bombs.

00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:23.679
The plane's two nuclear bombs were torn loose as the aircraft disintegrated.

00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:24.639
Oh boy.

00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:37.279
The centrifugal forces of the spinning bomber pulled, pulled, like it's got hands, pulled a release lanyard in the cockpit.

00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:37.919
Oh god.

00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:44.639
Exactly as it was designed to do if the crew had intentionally released the weapons.

00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:45.279
Okay.

00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:48.480
So the bombs didn't just fall out.

00:10:48.639 --> 00:11:00.320
The B-52 accidentally dropped its nuclear bombs as it broke apart because the system assumed that if the bomber was coming apart, these bombs were meant to be deployed.

00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:01.840
That's wild.

00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:07.919
So bombs, as one weapons engineer said, are relatively dumb.

00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:08.559
Okay.

00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:15.039
They sort of think that if you drop the bomb out of the bomb bay, you must have intended to do that.

00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:18.159
Wow.

00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:28.159
So the two Mark 39 thermonu nuclear devices separated from the aircraft as if they were being intentionally used in war.

00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:33.279
Each bomb weighed over six tons and was nearly 12 feet long.

00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:35.200
That is insane.

00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.600
As they plummeted downward, one of the bombs, we'll call it number one.

00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:40.320
Okay.

00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.799
Um, miraculo miraculously deployed its parachute.

00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:45.360
Oh.

00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:45.919
Mm-hmm.

00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:49.840
The mechanism sensed it had been released and did what it was supposed to do.

00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:50.480
Right.

00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:56.240
The first bomb drifted down relatively gently and lodged into the soft ground of a field.

00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:56.879
Sure.

00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:01.519
Coming to rest with its parachute um tangled in the trees.

00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:02.080
Okay.

00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.720
The bomb number two was not so kind.

00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:07.440
Oh dear.

00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.440
The parachute failed to deploy.

00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:10.000
Okay.

00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:14.799
Weapon two fell like a rock straight down at nearly the speed of sound.

00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:15.600
Oh, geez.

00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:19.039
I mean, I suppose, I mean, would you say 12 tons?

00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:19.440
No.

00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:20.559
Two two, twelve feet.

00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:21.440
Six tons.

00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:22.320
Six tons.

00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:23.360
Wow.

00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:24.399
That's wild.

00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:30.879
It slammed into a muddy field about half a mile from the other bomb and buried itself deep in the ground on impact.

00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:32.720
Did it say how far deep it went?

00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:37.919
About five to ten feet deep, which five to ten seems like a kind of a wide range.

00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.240
I know it's only feet, but still I don't know.

00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:41.039
Either way.

00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:41.679
Yeah.

00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:47.519
Um, the bomb literally disintegrated into pieces and it scattered debris over like a huge area.

00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.759
So how did they not like detonate?

00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:50.720
Oh, I'll tell you.

00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:51.039
Oh.

00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:51.440
Yeah.

00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:52.159
Do tell.

00:12:52.480 --> 00:13:02.399
So emergency teams from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and Exclusive Ordnance Disposal, the EOD units, rushed to the scene that night.

00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:03.120
Sure.

00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:09.519
Um, they found and they were trying to find and secure the two lost hydrogen bombs.

00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:10.159
Right.

00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:17.039
So the fires from the crash and the chaos of scattered wreckage complicated a little bit of efforts.

00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.720
Um, but it was at night, and you know, which obviously didn't help.

00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:23.759
But by daybreak, they did locate both of the bombs.

00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:24.159
Okay.

00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:30.320
The first bomb hanging by its parachute was easy to spot, swinging from the trees with its nose poking into the dirt.

00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:39.840
The second bomb had driven itself deeply into a muddy field, leaving bits of high explosive and components strewn around a crater.

00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:40.639
Oh boy.

00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:44.879
EOD personnel carefully combed the site, recovering what they could.

00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:53.919
Incredibly, they found the central primary sphere of the second bomb, the plutonium-containing core of the weapon, intact.

00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:54.799
That's impressive.

00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:57.120
And unexploded, not too far away.

00:13:57.360 --> 00:13:57.919
That's crazy.

00:13:58.159 --> 00:13:58.960
Not too far down.

00:13:59.039 --> 00:13:59.279
Sorry.

00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:00.320
Not too far down.

00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:07.919
Huge relief as any detonation of the conventional explosives could have scattered radioactive material.

00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:08.399
Right.

00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:17.360
The Air Force announced that this nuclear core had been safely recovered and assured the public that both bombs were unarmed and had never posed a serious threat.

00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:19.919
So these were never armed to begin with.

00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:23.840
That's why they didn't technically do what they were supposed to do.

00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:26.000
Sure.

00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:26.720
Yeah.

00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:37.759
So on the surface, it appeared that aside from the tragic loss of the three crewmen in some smashed-up farmland, Goldsboro had dodged literally a nuclear bullet.

00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:48.000
Residents were told there was no risk of radiation, and curious onlookers who flocked to the crash sites were kept at bay due to the remaining high explosive hazards.

00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:48.559
Right.

00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:58.720
So behind the scenes, however, the Air Force and bomb experts were nervously examining the weapons to answer a critical question.

00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:03.840
Just how close were they to creating a nuclear detonation?

00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:04.639
Yeah.

00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:05.600
How close?

00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:06.559
It was close.

00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:07.440
Like really close.

00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:08.080
Really close.

00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.000
Like a couple inches close.

00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:11.600
Like a toggle.

00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.159
That's really close.

00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.080
Like a light switch toggle.

00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.960
I don't know if you can see the light switch, but I mean it will be edited out.

00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.399
Light switch toggle.

00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:22.559
That was pure cinema.

00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:24.000
Cinematic, I don't.

00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:34.720
When weapons specialists inspected bomb number one, they discovered the bomb had gone fully gone through its arming sequence in mid-air.

00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:39.360
The B-52 broke up and the bomb was flung free.

00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:43.840
It behaved exactly as a nuclear bomb would if deliberately dropped on a target.

00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:47.039
I guess I never knew that new nuclear bombs could behave.

00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:50.240
If they're engineered that way.

00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:54.879
But they're they're talking about it like it's a person or something.

00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.559
Because the person from ChatGPT is a person.

00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.480
Whose name is Chippy.

00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:02.080
Anyways.

00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:07.600
So the pulling of that lanyard initiated a sequence.

00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:08.240
Yeah.

00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:15.360
Internal switches were energized, the weapons triggers engaged, and a timer started taking down.

00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:15.919
Okay.

00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.080
How long is the timer for, did it say?

00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:18.639
Yes.

00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:23.519
So by the time bomb number one hit the ground, it was ready to detonate.

00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:28.879
It even sent an electrical firing signal to ignite its nuclear core.

00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:42.879
The only thing that prevented a mushroom cloud from appearing over North Carolina was literally one switch, toggle, if you will, being in the safe position instead of armed.

00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:45.279
That's fucking wild.

00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.320
And I will get to that how many, how long it takes.

00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:49.039
I will get to that.

00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:53.519
The single saving grace was the bomb's arm safe switch.

00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:59.279
A low voltage trigger that remained, thankfully, in safe mode.

00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:10.960
And that last switch, if that last switch had flipped over to ARM, either by the breakup or an electrical short, we would have had a nuclear explosion on U.S.

00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:11.599
soil.

00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:21.680
The blast could have easily devastated a wide region of eastern North Carolina and dumped radioactive fallout over many downwind miles.

00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:26.559
And it's funny the way you worded that, it's not like we've never had a nuclear explosion in U.S.

00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:28.720
soil, but they did it in Nevada all the time.

00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:29.200
Yeah.

00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.519
Because, you know, that's where they tested a lot of shit.

00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:33.039
Like, hey, we'll go to the desert.

00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:33.680
Yeah.

00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:38.319
But I mean, even back then, if it's farmland, but fuck.

00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:41.039
Those are my crops.

00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:42.799
My cows got pulverized.

00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:52.240
The Air Force Initial Internal Report after the accident confirmed that bomb number one underwent a normal release sequence.

00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:59.759
Full operation of this weapon was prevented by the MC772 ARM safe switch.

00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:00.799
That's wild.

00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:05.039
The primary safe safety or safetying device.

00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:05.839
Sure.

00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:13.759
Meanwhile, other safety features that should have um added redundancy had failed or been bypassed by the accident.

00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:14.880
That's crazy.

00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:20.720
Even safety, every safety mechanism except for one had failed.

00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:23.519
Just that one switch.

00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.359
Could you imagine like wow, that would just be wild?

00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:31.039
Because I mean that would have blown a big ass fucking hole in North Carolina.

00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:38.880
How far are we talking from like um like Charlotte?

00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:40.240
Charlotte's in North Carolina, right?

00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:42.640
Yeah, Charlotte's in North, correct.

00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:43.839
Let me let me see.

00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:48.319
Because I'm just curious like what the distance would kind of be.

00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:49.200
Yeah.

00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:50.960
Because good lord.

00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.480
I mean, still again.

00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:55.680
Um farmland, but fucking hell.

00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:00.640
Because at least that radiation fallout could have, you know, the wind pick up.

00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.200
Fuck that would fuck a lot of people up.

00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:04.559
It would.

00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:06.640
It would.

00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:16.079
So my computer is effing up right now because it's using Yahoo and not Google, and it's I don't have the time.

00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:16.960
We'll look at it later.

00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:17.599
That's fine.

00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:17.920
No problem.

00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:18.720
I was just curious.

00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:24.559
But because it defaults to Yahoo, and I can't go to Google Maps because it's Yahoo.

00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:27.039
So like it would take too much time just to get there.

00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:27.599
Okay.

00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:32.960
So bomb number two, that same one that slammed into the ground at high speed.

00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:39.759
That one turned out to be less likely to detonate purely because it was destroyed by the impact so quickly.

00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:40.319
Okay.

00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:42.559
So its parachute never opened.

00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:43.680
Yeah, which is crazy.

00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:50.240
So it didn't have time to complete the full arming sequence before before it buried itself in the mud.

00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:51.039
Right.

00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:59.599
The timer on bomb number two had only run 12 seconds, and here's your answer out of a required 42.

00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:04.559
Second sequence before the crash interrupted everything.

00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.359
So if it would have hit 42, I would have exploded.

00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:07.839
Yes.

00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.720
If the safety triggers weren't in place and all that.

00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:11.440
Wow.

00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:12.000
Yes.

00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:15.759
So how how far was number one then?

00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:20.160
Was that like so um I don't know?

00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:23.599
It might have counted down and it still was in that switch position.

00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:26.480
Because the safety switch that one safety switch was on.

00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:26.880
Yeah.

00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:27.519
Okay.

00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:33.680
So also bomb number two's arm safe switch stayed in safe as it fell.

00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.000
That's crazy that both of them did that.

00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:38.720
I mean, kind of designed for that, I guess.

00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:39.039
Yeah.

00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:39.920
But okay.

00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:40.960
Jesus.

00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:51.519
So initially, recovery crews feared that the conventional explosives in beer number two pri build beer bomb number two's primary might have detonated on impact.

00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:58.319
Um, but later analysis found no detonation occurred and no re radioactive contamination was released.

00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:02.160
But as as the bomb came down, it created a massive crater.

00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:03.200
Oh, I'm sure it did.

00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:03.519
Yeah.

00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:03.759
Yeah.

00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.240
So they were like, oh crap, it was a did it go off.

00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:07.039
Yeah, did it go off?

00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.720
So that said, bomb number two gave everyone a scare.

00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:11.279
Yeah.

00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:18.240
After days of digging in the muddy water, the EOD team finally found the weapons arm safe switch hardware.

00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:19.440
Jesus.

00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:27.359
And initially they thought that it was in the safe position.

00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:28.880
But it wasn't.

00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:38.319
Upon further review, Lieutenant Jack Ravel said that no, it's on ARM.

00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:46.079
They looked again even closer because apparently it's just hard to decipher right away.

00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.519
I don't know what the situation was.

00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:48.400
Maybe it got muddy.

00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:48.799
I don't know.

00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:49.279
You can't tell.

00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:50.160
Sure.

00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:55.359
But the switch was physically stuck in between both positions.

00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:56.559
Oh my God.

00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:57.279
Mm-hmm.

00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.920
Jesus Christ.

00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:08.079
So the impact truck had knocked it askew, making it look like it was set to arm when in fact it was never completed.

00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:08.640
And yeah.

00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:10.000
Right, right, right.

00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:10.720
Wow.

00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:13.359
What a fucking close call.

00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:14.880
Yeah.

00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:20.480
So is it because of this incident that they stopped Operation Chrome Dome?

00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:21.680
Um, I don't remember.

00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.839
No, I don't even I don't even think this was the last crash when they're like, okay, we should start.

00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:27.920
Oh, because you said there was other ones, that's right.

00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:28.880
I want to say, yeah.

00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.000
They did this for eight years.

00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:33.359
And I I don't know.

00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.839
This this was, I think it was 1960 to 68 or something.

00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:39.359
Oh, so this would have been earlier.

00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:40.000
Yeah.

00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:40.640
Gotcha.

00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:41.039
Gotcha.

00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:41.279
Okay.

00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:44.000
But don't quote me on that, but that's something that I read.

00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:45.039
So hopefully it's right.

00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:46.240
But quoted.

00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:51.359
Um, in the weeks and years after the Goldsboro incident, more information did trickle out.

00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:51.920
Okay.

00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.759
In 1963, just two years after the crash.

00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:57.759
The crash.

00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:01.839
It's like a a combination between crash and crotch.

00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:03.599
Yeah, the crotch.

00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:15.440
Um, Goldsboro had a um a meeting acknowledging how, despite all safeguards, sheer chance prevented a disaster.

00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:22.799
So at this point, they're starting to be like, oh, it wasn't just it was good luck that we that it didn't go off.

00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:24.240
That's what it sounds like.

00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:24.559
Yeah.

00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:25.359
You know.

00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:33.039
So in 1983, it was publicly admitted that one of the bombs had gone through all but one of the six or seven steps to detonate.

00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:33.759
Jesus.

00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:36.720
Confirming um what many had already long suspected.

00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:37.359
Sure.

00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:40.480
Nuclear weapons engineers like Parker F.

00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:46.880
Jones at Sandia Labs, who studied the incident in detail, was a little bit more blunt.

00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:48.240
Jesus.

00:23:48.559 --> 00:24:07.039
He said um, in an internal report in 1969, it was titled How I Learned to Mistrust the H-Bomb, said that the NK-39 mod 2 bomb did not possess adequate safety for the airborne alert role in the B-52.

00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:16.480
So he noted that one simple dynamo technology low voltage switch stood between the United States and master catastrophe.

00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:18.160
Major catastrophe.

00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.000
Master catastrophe.

00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:23.440
I love that.

00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:26.799
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the U.S.

00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:31.519
Air Force worked quickly to clean up the wreckage, recover the weapons, and reassure the public.

00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:40.240
The Goldsboro incident was splashed across um the headlines, often with um two atomic bombs fell on North Carolina.

00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.599
I mean, yes, but also you're making it seem like they detonated them.

00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:46.240
No, no.

00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:46.559
Okay.

00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:56.079
The military cornered off the area not only to manage the recovery, but also keep curious civilians and potentially souvenir hunters away from any sensitive debris.

00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:56.640
Yeah.

00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:10.640
Just two days after the crash, nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base officials publicly urged anyone who had picked up pieces of the wreck to please return them officially so they can determine the cause of the accident.

00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:19.440
Despite an intensive excavation effort, one major part of bomb two was never recovered.

00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.400
Oh wow.

00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:32.400
The mom the bomb had broken apart upon impact, and while the primary plutonium core was intact, found intact, the uranium secondary stage was nowhere to be seen.

00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:41.599
It's believed that that chunk of the bomb drilled itself so deep into the waterlogged soil that it essentially vanished underground.

00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:49.759
The crews dug over 50 feet into the crater, um, battling like high water tables that kept flooding the pit.

00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.119
Gotcha.

00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:56.480
They brought in pumps and heavy equipment and kept at it for weeks, but they never found it.

00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:57.279
That's crazy.

00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:06.559
By mid-February 1961, after reaching depths of 70 feet, with still no sign of the missing uranium component, the recovery operation was called off.

00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:07.599
That's crazy.

00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:14.799
The government quietly decided to leave the secondary buried rather than excavate half of North Carolina to find it.

00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:15.440
Yeah.

00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:23.440
To ensure that lost nuclear material stayed out and posed no, sorry, stayed put and posed no um public hazard.

00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:41.920
The Air Force later bought permanent rights to the land, essentially purchasing an easement for the crass crash site and the surround crash site crash site and the surrounding radius so that no one could dig too deep or build there.

00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:42.480
Right.

00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:48.480
So they filled the crater back in, and today that patch of ground is just an ordinary cotton field.

00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:56.319
Um in multiple tests over the years had found no radiation leakage, no contamination in the area.

00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:56.960
That's weird.

00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:04.240
The plutonium and uranium are encased far underground, and the soil itself shields any radiation.

00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:04.720
Okay.

00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:12.880
Plutonium has a 24,000-year half-life and it will be decaying underneath the ground for that long.

00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:14.079
That's crazy.

00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:21.920
Locals continue to farm the land with a rule that they aren't allowed to dig more than five feet deep when plowing.

00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:34.480
There's even a North Carolina highway historical marker nearby that matter-of-factly commemorates the event, noting where two atomic bombs fell in 1961.

00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:40.480
I mean, you gotta make some tourist money somehow, I suppose.

00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:40.880
Yeah.

00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:44.559
Hey, come visit the atomic bomb site site.

00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:49.440
So yeah, it's really too bad that the three people died, obviously.

00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:51.119
That's really sad.

00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:59.680
Um it's just wild that they had hovering fucking bomb atomic bombs at the ready during that.

00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:01.599
I know, isn't it crazy?

00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:02.240
Yeah.

00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:07.599
Because what the the Cuban missile crisis was then the next year or two, 63?

00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:09.200
63, right?

00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:10.319
Or 60.

00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:15.839
It's I know because it was around JFK, so I mean, I get it.

00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:16.480
Yeah.

00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:20.160
Because holy shit, but that's just crazy.

00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:23.519
Like uh, hey Martha, we almost blew up.

00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:24.720
I know it.

00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:28.000
Okay, so I don't do impressions, I'm not good at North Carolina.

00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:29.359
I was just gonna let it pass.

00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:34.799
Um, but um, so Faro is near um Raleigh.

00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:36.240
Oh, sure, okay.

00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:41.680
Um, and it's approximately um an hour, just an hour away by car.

00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:42.319
Okay.

00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:44.880
So pretty close.

00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:53.519
The only thing in the area that that is kind of a landmark other than that sign on the highway, yeah, is like a group of trees.

00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:54.000
Oh.

00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.519
And the group of trees just kind of tells you north of this site.

00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:58.160
Gotcha.

00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:00.000
North of the trees is where it is.

00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:00.400
Okay.

00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:00.880
Yeah.

00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:01.599
Fair enough.

00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:01.839
Yeah.

00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:03.039
Oh, that's weird.

00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:06.240
Yeah, I'm really glad they didn't explode.

00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:07.920
I know, isn't that crazy?

00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:14.480
Yeah, because just could you imagine like the fallout, like how long it would take for it to clear out?

00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:18.640
I'm not even sure how long that would be, but I feel like it would be a long time.

00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:22.000
I mean, it's probably no Chernobyl, but who knows?

00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:22.640
I I don't know.

00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.279
I'm not, I'm not sure on how that all works, but yeah.

00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:26.480
Oh, that is really weird.

00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:30.559
Yeah, I didn't know that we dropped atomic bombs on North Carolina.

00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:32.079
Yeah in an accidental way.

00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:33.200
Isn't that crazy?

00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:34.000
That's really weird.

00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:35.359
Isn't that a good story though?

00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:38.000
Yeah, and I've never, never, ever heard of that before.

00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:39.440
So that's pretty cool.

00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.680
But yeah, no, that's awesome.

00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:47.839
So Operation Chrome Dome began in 1960 and went to 1968.

00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.599
Oh, so yeah, you got that right though.

00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:57.519
Um, it officially ended in 68 after near misses and accidents happened, Goldsboro in 1961.

00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:04.559
Yeah, um, a crash in Spain in 1966, and in Greenland in 1968.

00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:09.759
And at that point, the Pentagon was like, Maybe we should let's rein it in a little.

00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.680
Let's let's pull this operation.

00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:14.000
It's just bleeding money.

00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:15.359
Yeah, isn't that crazy?

00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:16.319
It is crazy.

00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:17.839
That's fucking weird.

00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:24.000
I mean, no, I mean, just think how close some people were to just literally getting obliterated.

00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:31.680
Obliterated, and who knows how populous it was there, but yeah, one person, 20,000 people, doesn't matter.

00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:33.519
Yeah, that would have been fucked up.

00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:33.839
Yeah.

00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.799
Did you hear grandpa got blown up by an atomic bomb?

00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:38.799
Welp, I suppose.

00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:40.240
All right, buffoons.

00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:41.680
That's it for today's episode.

00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.079
Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time.

00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.480
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00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:53.440
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00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:55.039
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00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:59.920
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00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:04.400
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00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:07.359
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