When a B-36 Bomber ACCIDENTALLY DROPPED 15-Megaton Hydrogen Bomb near Albuquerque, NM

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On May 22nd 1957, while flying from El Paso, Texas to Albuquerque New Mexico, a B-36 bomber from the 334th bomb squadron accidentally dropped one of the most powerful hydrogen bombs that ever existed.
It's hard to imagine that words like "funny" or "amusing" could possibly be used to describe the “Broken Arrow” accidents (those that involve nuclear weapons). But the 1957 H-Bomb Accident in New Mexico is the rarest exception to this rule.
Chapters:
00:00 - Broken Arrow
02:23 - Revolt of the Admirals
04:49 - Peacemaker
08:07 - I didn't touch anything
11:28 - Lie to me
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[@roboko6618]

>Be a cow >Graze in a field for years >Get killed by a random Hydrogen Bomb

[@rubetz528]

Too bad the cow didn't get to appreciate that.

[@BartBe]

Uuuhhh... MOOO I guess

[@smokinsoldier6892]

@Tyler Buckley Crispy with a side of radiation.

[@dragoonTT]

Lucky cow, didn’t have to endure the pre-butcher experience.

[@aussiejezza]

@Tyler Buckley more like vaporised

[@Huntress_Hannah]

**builds one of the most technologically advanced bombs in human history** **kills a single cow**

[@rrai1999]

I just realized that the immense COST of this weapon wasn't mentioned anywhere in this video.. whoever had to pay for that mistake was probably fuming lol I wonder if Convair reached some sort of under the table settlement with the government to pay for the cost of one ultra-advanced hydrogen bomb lost because of one of their planes being defective..

[@devonlord99]

“Mission success. Returning to base.”

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@devonlord99 I mean, with a weapon so destructive you hope to NEVER use it, "total casualties: 1 cow" IS a success...

[@zxbzxbzxb1]

Think of all the money they saved by not trying to build a weapon that could kill 2 cows. Great prudence from the Pentagon there and they just aren't getting the credit for it.

[@alias7goldenletters]

i think its just god being like "bruh did you just..."

[@andrewshepherd1537]

"I DIDN'T TOUCH ANYTHING" That has to be the most US Military response to dropping a thermonuclear bomb ever

[@marinenukem]

Imagine being that one farmer, and being able to actually say, “yeah old bessie was tragically killed yesterday by an atomic bomb that dropped a few hundred yards from here”

[@4ardW0rKINGbarn1CAL]

And nobody believes them at first

[@killman369547]

@@4ardW0rKINGbarn1CAL Then you show them the crater and one of the broken bomb fins you hid before the air force showed up looking for their bomb.

[@foximacentauri7891]

Imagine being a farmer and one day the air force stands in front of your door saying "yeah we accidentally dropped a nuke on your cow sorry about that"

[@joelellis7035]

It'd be funny, but somehow I don't think it happened that way. More like the farmer went to the Air Force and complained about his dead cow.

[@anonymousarmadillo6589]

@@joelellis7035 How would he know that the cow was killed by a fucking thermonuclear bomb?

[@unclesam5230]

@Tyler Buckley ehh it’s nuclear so not good

[@joelellis7035]

@@anonymousarmadillo6589 Probably by the fucking crater nearby the cow.

[@matchesburn]

@@anonymousarmadillo6589 I don't think he specifically would've brought up "thermonuclear bomb," but it doesn't take a genius to live next to a United States *_Air Force_* base with *_bomber aircraft_* flying over your fields and then coming out to your field one day to see a gigantic crater and parts of a cow that could have only been from some sort of *_bomb falling and detonating._* I see a connection here. I think the farmer might have as well.

[@Sammers987Man]

I like how they released documents and then stated "No nuclear blast resulted in fall near Albuquerque" pretty sure people would have noticed if it did

[@RS-cw3oy]

Would they? The state is a desert wasteland where bomb after bomb was tested. Even if a city disappeared few would notice.

[@exmachina1405]

@@RS-cw3oy I live in Albuquerque and can confirm if a nuclear bomb went off while I was asleep I wouldn't notice a difference when I woke up.

[@archtower8564]

@@exmachina1405 the problem is if you would have even woken up after the fact

[@alastair9446]

Or they all dead.

[@joelellis7035]

Can't notice anything if you're vaporized in an instant.

[@SvrWxArchive1807]

Fun fact: Richard "Dick" Meyer, the pilot, is my great uncle. I remember him telling us this story when we were little. He had so many stories from his years in the Air Force I could sit and listen to him talk for hours. Unfortunately he died in 2013, but if the world remembered him for something, he would have wanted to be remembered for this ironically.

[@Dojyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan]

Proof?

[@triggatrey2112]

@@Dojyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan why would he randomly lie about this?

[@Zuvro_]

It's the internet!

[@vexfvl]

@@triggatrey2112 exactly

[@Dojyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan]

@@triggatrey2112 first time on the internet?

[@HaydenX]

The sound of the "Lie Detector" at the end being the same as the sound of a Geiger counter was a stroke of absolute genius.

[@dpm2937]

"Bombs away" "Oh shit" "I didn't touch anything" The best conversation I ever heard

[@steelfistgaming4046]

@@christianobabalao9302 I don't care if it is a millisecond old or A MILLION YEARS OLD if I see cuss words I WILL STOP THEM

[@steelfistgaming4046]

@@christianobabalao9302 IM STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. College is too expensive. I'm going into the film industry.

[@overanDownUnder]

@@steelfistgaming4046 “oh shit” - DMP

[@AnnieLeonhartAOT]

​@@steelfistgaming4046 fuck.

[@steelfistgaming4046]

@@overanDownUnder STOP IT

[@BartBe]

To quote a scene from the "broken arrow" movie. "What is more disturbing, the airforce loosing a nuclear bomb, or the fact that it happens so often they even have an official codename for it"

[@questionmark4348]

Yup!! Do you remember the time they dropped a nuke on B.C. Canada If I remember right....The bomb did not contain the plutonium core necessary for a nuclear detonation, but the core was on board and just needed to be installed. The plane later crashed on a mountain in the B.C. interior.

[@williamjohnson4475]

I was in the Navy long after the incident and long before the movie, what I find disturbing is the the term Broken Arrow was Secret at the time as well as it's meaning.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

And even funnier, the term for it isn't the movie title! "Broken Arrow" means "we had an oopsie but we know where the weapon is, no WW3 today." It's called "Empty Quiver" if they don't know where the can of sunshine is.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@questionmark4348 Who needs enemies when you have friends like US?!

[@GooseMcBruce]

i pick a third, even scarier option: we don't know how many nuclear bombs the soviet union ever lost

[@kennyfresquez7019]

This is insane. I've lived in Albuquerque my entire life, and I had no idea this happened! I'm a HISTORY TEACHER and I've never heard this!!!

[@cmc5394oparva]

A lot of the history related to Kirtland isn't really all that well-known because it was involved in so much classified activity during the Sandia/Manzano Base eras. I think the guys at DTRA are still trying to get a lot of the 40s and 50s-era stuff declassified, but it's always tricky when it comes to nuclear-related information.

[@kennyfresquez7019]

@@cmc5394oparva that's an excellent point. Still, knowing this is mind blowing. I told this to my students, and one of them, who LOVES history was blown away (no pun intended).

[@josephkanowitz6875]

ב''ה, this is America; you also don't know where babies come from.

[@thelastmanonearth2631]

@josephkanowitz6875 this was my first thought too. I'm not surprised a modern history teacher has gaps in their history knowledge, even local. They're too busy "affirming" the gender of kids and "protecting" them from their parents.

[@samantharay6098]

lol "history techer" thats a good one!!

[@Fuuq2]

A crewman named David Falconer told me he was on this aircraft when it dropped the bomb. He turned into a truck driver in the 1990s and told me this on a shipping/receiving dock in New Mexico. Thank you for your service.

[@user-eu2nf5sn6g]

"The US military compensated for the loss of the cow" I absolutely died when he said this

[@haroldwilkes6608]

Multi-million dollar bomb / 1600 pound cow = most expensive well-done hamburger in history.

[@Mr.Crawlyo]

They absolutely styled on that cow you gotta admit

[@foldervtolvr]

“Hey… sorry about the cow we killed with a H-Bomb. Here’s some money. Also don’t touch, eat, sell, or lick anything in this farm. It might be radioactive- anyway have a nice day!”

[@haroldwilkes6608]

@@foldervtolvr As we in the Air Force say, it was cow-lateral damage...

[@DeltaInsanity]

@@haroldwilkes6608 do you often kill cows?..

[@_lime.]

Pilot: "9 miles out on approach." Bombardier: "Bombs away." Pilot: "Roger, wait, what?" Bombardier: "What?"

[@k30ngamer28]

*Boom*

[@robothunter1035]

Ooops!

[@trimonmusic]

Cow: “What???”

[@iwttgbtn]

Im your 1k like

[@eriksand9262]

@@trimonmusic your simple comment has me cracking up. You son of a bitch! 🤣🤣🤣

[@spencerskip6252]

My grandfather was involved in this incident, he was part of the ground crew, a mechanic if I remember correctly. After this he was almost immediately transfered to an airbase in England and was basically blacklisted from promotions for the rest of his military career. He was stuck at Tech Sergeant until he retired from the airforce in 1971. Through some odd twist of fate he narrowly avoided being killed just a few months later when the hanger he had previously worked in was destroyed in a training accident. Everyone inside was killed.

[@aaronhis5204]

“We accidentally mis clicked and an hydrogen bomb is comming your way… Woops” -Sun Tsu, *The Art of War*

[@slick4401]

There's such thing as bad luck and that cow's fate proves it. Just imagine the amount of things that had to align perfectly for a massive thermonuclear bomb to drop exactly on the poor bovine.

[@kilianortmann9979]

All that without even the decency to get annihilated in a thermonuclear explosion. Poor cow got bludgeoned to death with worlds most expensive club.

[@someone6170]

@@kilianortmann9979 , no, it got blown up. The conventional explosives in the bomb went off. The nuclear core didn't.

[@whyjnot420]

If you want really long odds you need to state "that particular poor bovine". Without specifying that, you have to take into consideration all the other cows that were close enough to the planes path. If you want even longer odds, then you need to do more or less the same for the plane and then combine it with the cow.

[@greatpumpkinpatch9167]

Climate change fanatics ;)

[@devonlord99]

@@greatpumpkinpatch9167 Hell Yeah!!! nuke the cows!! 😆

[@kilianortmann9979]

The amazing B-36: Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking and two more unaccounted for.

[@Steve-GM0HUU]

In this case, "6 turning, 4 burning and poor cow smoking"?

[@Keldor314]

Alas, while the only engines "burning" were *supposed* to be the jet engines, this was only the case with one of the "two burning". The other was simply a prop engine on fire.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@Adrian EVERY piece of military hardware that wins a contract wins by lobbying. I'm not aware of the B-36 having been porkier than usual, but I could be missing something.

[@goosenuggets9693]

@@AnimeSunglasses No. The US Military gives the contract to the lowest bidder, not to mention that nearly every US military contract when viewed through the lens of a weapons developer makes sense relative to the other options on hand that had issues with: cost efficiency, supply chain, geopolitical needs, track record of the contractor, and who simply has the best design out of the bunch.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@goosenuggets9693 Ok, so I'm overstating things a bit. My point is that every manufacturer of military hardware does SOME lobbying, not that the one who lobbies most always wins.

[@danamcdonnell9064]

As always, informative and entertaining! I enjoyed when, around 3:23, a cursor is shown clicking on a "BUY" button on the lower right, like the Air Force was purchasing the B-36 online. Subtle, but amusing!

[@PositiveVibes-lw7gl]

6:59 I actually quite like these side-tracked explanations and “lessons” as they still somewhat pertain to the video, and are very informative. The more one learns, the better (in my opinion).

[@LordOceanus]

When first deployed the B-36 had the motto "Six turning Four Burning" referring to the aircraft's mixed piston-jet propulsion. Due to reliability issues it suffered the motto was unofficially changed to "Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two choking, and two more unaccounted for"

[@thomaskositzki9424]

LMAO

[@insertsomethingfuni2617]

Pffffffft

[@elysium7242]

New Airman: 'Unaccounted for?' Pilot: 'Yeah that shit fell off years ago, don't worry bout it tho'

[@johngori9477]

And don't forget the wing fuel tanks initially had a nasty habit of leaking fuel onto the hot engine firewalls...unfortunate events generally followed. Happened enough times that they actually let Jimmy Stewart include it in a movie about SAC since the public already knew about the problem.

[@gcrav]

The four-bank P&W Wasp Major was a disaster because of thermal defects, especially in pusher configuration.

[@matchesburn]

"Man, if we ever go to war against New Mexico, we're really going to kick their ass." "Bombs away!" "No, Bob, I was just joking!"

[@hiredmurderer6228]

DAMN IT BOB THAT COW WASNT FROM NEW MEXICO

[@1Xeo11]

Why did they say bombs away? Wouldn’t the person overseeing the payload know that the plane is nearing its landing approach and there would be zero reason to drop?

[@matchesburn]

@@1Xeo11 ...It's called a joke.

[@1Xeo11]

@@matchesburn No i meant in the video lol

[@undeadinside3571]

*Dan vs voice* NEW MEXICOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[@GamingCeo420]

“Jessie we need t-“ *vaporizing noises*

[@astrudwick75]

Your videos are excellent, definitely not too long. In fact I wouldn't mind them being even longer. Since I discovered this channel I have decided to watch every video and I am about 1/3 of the way through; going to be sad when I run out! Thank you for making them!

[@arwo1143]

“Bomb away” “OH SHIT!” ……understandable reaction

[@MachineMan-mj4gj]

"We are so fired."

[@bonaaq86]

@@MachineMan-mj4gj on fire considering the altitude

[@muscless89]

Probably the last thing going through the cow's mind too

[@jort93z]

Came to hear about accidentally dropping a hydrogen bomb, instead learned they had fridges in bombers in the 50s. Subbed.

[@avi8aviate]

Oh, and also a single, very unlucky cow was hit directly with a nuclear bomb.

[@garlicbreadstick404]

I mean yea fridges are save points why wont they have it

[@BDaltonYoung]

I'm sure that there's a joke about nuking the fridge somewhere in there.

[@Windows98R]

There’s a running joke from the post-war Japanese soldiers about analyzing why they lost. There’s always a statement about how Americans had access to washing machines, chocolate and the fridge…

[@jimhabben9394]

Microwaves also

[@scr00ge50]

That cow must've made some sarcastic remark like, "Man this day could not get worse."

[@railgap]

the little touches you add, the slides, the humor, is very enjoyable. Keep up the excellent work!

[@canadianwaffenwaffle2976]

"bombs away!" "oh sh*t" golden reaction

[@StrangeTerror]

And let's be honest, that's exactly what our reaction would be. Well, possibly swapping out an a S word for an F word.

[@professionaldisappointment1654]

Standard response for accidentally dropping a nuclear bomb

[@jackasshomey]

@@professionaldisappointment1654 lol yep like what else can you do in that situation if it goes off your fucked either way cause your right in the blast radius even if you throw the afterburners on you ain't escaping it.

[@avi8aviate]

@@jackasshomey Even worse, I'm pretty sure the B-36D doesn't have afterburning jets.

[@Blox117]

@@jackasshomey its not armed though, so nothing would happen

[@ultra_gagayay]

B-36 pilot:hey bro lmao I accidentally drop the hydrogen bomb you know lmao Ground control:coppy tha.. WAIT WHAT

[@asrielthespaceshiba7723]

Ground Control: Clear the fricking area, WE GOT NUKE INBOUND! B-36 Pilot: It's far from the Airfield don't worry.

[@aussiejezza]

Ground control: the what?

[@isaiahcampbell488]

"Don't worry, since we are able to have this conversation it's not ThAt BaD.

[@draKoowl247]

@@isaiahcampbell488 "hOpefUlly"

[@lordofantarctica142]

Pilot- *"uhh I accidentally dropped the mark 17 thermonuclear bomb over.."* Ground control- copy tha- **YOU DROPPED WHAT???!!**

[@ChelleC33]

I’ve only just discovered this channel. Brilliant video, thanks 😁 There is a lot of crappy aviation stuff out there, but this is not one of those. Glad to have found you!

[@ovni2295]

That little lie detector going off the charts at the end of the video made my day. Thank you for that!

[@rossikc]

Back in my high school days I was a stocker at my local grocery store. Late one night I was stocking pickles when one of the jars slipped out of my fingers and came crashing to the floor. I can completely sympathize with how this pilot must have felt.

[@monstersofthemidway4402]

Whaat?

[@bebopalloobop]

Rossi KC

[@mkvv5687]

If you had had a Norton bombsight, you could have hit the pickle barrel.

[@johnnunn8688]

But did someone say, ‘jars away’?

[@nitsu2947]

bombs away

[@johngori9477]

Classic military line: After accidentally releasing a 15MT fusion bomb on landing approach, the crewman exits the tunnel saying, "I didn't touch anything!!!" He knew SOMEONE was going to get flamesprayed over it.

[@blazingsturd875]

fortunately the military’s wrath did not befall the crew. it befell the cow.

[@AMNESIAA_]

@@blazingsturd875 the farm doesn't exist anymore so no more cows are at risk

[@edschramm6757]

Probably whoever wrote the procedure

[@realdragon]

Seeing how army loses nukes left and right i don't think anybody got punished

[@KennethColeman-ke1mh]

Love your sense of humor and also like that u went through all the details if u going to tell a story tell the whole story

[@twistedyogert]

There was also an incident in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1961 where a fuel leak caused a B-52 to break apart in mid air. One of the bombs the B-52 was carrying partially completed the arming sequence but was prevented from exploding by only a single switch.

[@frevazz3364]

I think I heard about this. They were extremely lucky it landed is a softer muddy land. They couldn’t retrieve one of the bombs because it was too dangerous so they just reburied it. 😳 Then the army bought the land to keep people away but I heard that in recent years they planned/or did put the property on sale, insane.

[@heirofaniu]

"Gee old man Abernathy, we're right sorry for dropping a nuclear bomb on your cow, we'd really like to make it up to you if we can."

[@user-hi3cw6vc9j]

“YA DROPPED A BOMB ON OL’ BESS YA DARN SCUMBAGS!”

[@MichaelJW72]

@@user-hi3cw6vc9j Hey just be glad it didn’t go off, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation because you know….you’d be dead.

[@user-hi3cw6vc9j]

@@MichaelJW72 no I’m from Hawaii so I wouldn’t be affected

[@thekinginyellow1744]

Well, I was gonna put a reservoir on that spot anyway. It woulda cost more than the cow to dig. Lets just call it even.

[@lashlarue7924]

🤣

[@mccari09]

Imagine being the guy that had to radio through to the boss that they accidentally dropped a H bomb… “You did what” 🤣

[@1597B]

"You WHAT?"

[@KV-2-2-2]

“We dropped the massive bomb sir” “The mark 17?” Yes sir. “YOU DID WHAT” “Sir it was an accident- “You fool.” “Why am I a fool sir?” “You just started a war.”

[@undeadinside3571]

@@KV-2-2-2 you just started planet of the cows! The radiation just made them stronger and angrier! 😂

[@noldo3837]

"Again?"

[@chainsawz5618]

I like how you put in a reminder about what the video was actually about, and acknowledged that you went off on an absolutely pointless tangent just to pad the run time

[@adamfrazer5150]

5:31 one of the most fascinating Vs. photos ever - the sheer size of the Peacemaker is usually lost on me in separate videos, but this one photo snaps reality back 👍

[@Combat-Wombat]

That lie detector became a rotary-wing aircraft

[@yb5515]

It became a military/political fan and is famous for the saying S... Hits The Fan.

[@Kokoshi]

"Is your Geiger meter also doing cartwheels?" ~Detective Nick Valentine, Fallout 4

[@joelellis7035]

New source of renewable energy: LIES!!

[@voornaam3191]

Lie detectors are irrelevant. When you are interrogated with a detector on, you got good reason to be nervous. Result? You look guilty, even if you have done nothing wrong! It is nonsense. Ban those things!

[@Vargas3499]

"Stop the cap"

[@Corsair114]

For all that the B-36 earned the derisive nickname "2 turning, 2 burning, 2 smoking, 2 choking, and 2 unaccounted for," due to its somewhat tempestuous engines, the plane itself had at the time a safety record that blew the doors off any previous heavy bomber.

[@bingusmctingus4395]

I will now add the word Tempestuous to my vocabulary

[@geezushasrisen]

Gotta feel for the guy tho. Everyone has had that day at work where they do everything correctly and something still fucks up and now YOU’RE the bad guy.

[@user-pg9jg2xe4n]

I for one enjoy your tangents! Very good information. Keep doing what you are doing. Love your videos

[@chillybrit2334]

"Imagine Lt. Carp's amusement when after pulling out the pin........" I laughed so hard at that at least :D

[@Art_Thompson]

I think he meant amazement.

[@ravensquote7206]

Ah yes, pant-shitting amusement of the highest order.

[@johngori9477]

@@ravensquote7206 I suspect that was a championship-sized loaf in his flight suit.

[@innocentiuslacrim2290]

@@Art_Thompson I think he meant what he said. There is so much very funny humor in these very small parts of the narration.

[@KyleCowden]

For all of my young life and into my teens, a B-36 sat static at Greater Southwest Airport in the D/FW area. In 1977 or so, a call went out for volunteers to help dismantle it. My friend and I drove out there and we probably spent as much time exploring the beast as we did turning screws. For a couple of young aviation nerds, this was Nirvana.

[@aixaburlison4]

Convaire built them in Ft Worth

[@ordinarydude2237]

Thank you for this documentary

[@BenSATX]

This was so interesting, thanks for making this video.

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

In order for a nuclear weapon to detonate properly, insanely precise timing of the conventional explosives must be achieved. Even a bomb that's on fire will not achieve a nuclear detonation. It might make a bit of a radioactive smear, but no mushroom cloud.

[@MattVarnish1103]

Which is exactly what happened in Thule AB Greenland with a B-52

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

@@MattVarnish1103 And in Arkansas in 1980 where a sustained fire in a Titan missile silo just made a mess.

[@kefsound]

A BIT??

[@ZaHandle]

@@kefsound Only fukushima level stuff worst case scenario you get a dirty bomb

[@Markus-zb5zd]

@@ZaHandle way less

[@kokoeteantigha389]

To the assertion that the Soviet Union never suffered a nuclear accident of any kind, the Russian Navy submarine K-9 and the Chernobyl Reactor say hold my hammer and sickle.

[@deadmangaming2535]

Don't you mean K-19?

[@IldarIsm]

he said in air accident.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

You missed the lie detector on the lower right corner of the screen, turning like if the girl in The Exorcist was doing ecstasy.

[@Tentacl]

Noone ever said this. Also, comparing dropping a nuclear bomb by mistake with malfuncions and accidenta with nuclear REACTORS is pretty dishonest.

[@mcr-1266]

@@Tentacl Too be fair, I'm willing to bet my entire life's savings that the Russians dropped multiple nuclear devices on accident. It's something that can happen and since the Soviets were super secretive, I definitely think it occurred.

[@richiepoo]

Every video I’ve seen today…. wrongfully convicted, struck by lightning, shark attack, accidentally dropped a nuke… all of them named Richard. Thanks mom.

[@cptairwolf]

Great work on this short documentary!

[@aidanpysher2764]

I've stood beneath the wing of a 36, and it's intimidating how BIG it is. The fact it was able to brute force it's way into the air is a testament to the insanity of our engineering at the time. It's like the Soviets designing a cinder block to hit just under mach 3 and calling it a Foxbat/Foxhound.

[@geraltofrivia323]

The soviets never called the plane the foxbat, that was the NATO designation for it.

[@johndododoe1411]

@@geraltofrivia323 And it's nothing like a cinder block, Aiden is just jealous they built a better fighter jet.

[@dakota9821]

@@johndododoe1411 If going fast and falling apart is better, then sure.

[@hermes_0440]

@@johndododoe1411 the only thing it could do was go fast. It was the US that thought it was an airsuperiority-fighter instead of a interceptor. This is also the reason why the us built the F-15 because they believed the Mig25 was made out of light aluminium alloys and was highly manoeuvrable, turns out it was made out of steel and could turn like a truck on a highway.

[@user-nb8yt2il2r]

The only un-aerodynamic things about the foxbat are the intakes, which dont really matter since the whole point if them is to catch air

[@kilianortmann9979]

I mean, at least they didn't drop it intentionally.

[@ytytiuiu2590]

In Hiroshima they did.

[@bradhaines3142]

@@ytytiuiu2590 hiroshima wasnt hydrogen, that was a standard fission bomb. hydrogen is a fusion bomb, a step bigger

[@boringveil4783]

Brad Haines I'd say it's more than one step bigger

[@bradhaines3142]

@@boringveil4783 what's between them? i know the magnitude of the boom is dramatic difference, but i couldnt think of something after fission but before fusion

[@hunterbear2421]

@@bradhaines3142 i think why its much more explosive? is because its spilting hyrogen instead of urianium 234, or plutioum edit hopefully i spelled that right

[@guiii0696]

10:05 Nooo! Not the cow!

[@walter.bellini]

Thank you for the very interesting video

[@johnwatson3948]

This is really well done and great selected footage. Though used all the time the term “Broken Arrow” wasn’t invented until after this accident - bomb was actually being returned not for maintenance but to be decommissioned as all MK-17s were in 1956/57 - another story was the cable had been adjusted too tightly making it easy to trigger - no one ever mentions how the 2000 B-47s built also “never dropped a bomb in combat”.

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

I just don't have a proper story yet feat. B-47. But it will come. I promise. The plane deserves it.

[@johnwatson3948]

This is already better than most. I should note that everyone uses “Broken Arrow” no matter when it happened - the “returned for maintenance” story has also been published before for some reason - the “overtight-cable” idea was one of many but in fact no cause was ever determined for why it happened and no one was blamed.

[@ironhead2008]

@@johnwatson3948 Probably why no one got hammered for the incident: it was the very definition of a freak accident and the fact that it happened with a inactive payload was a blessing in disguise. Better to pat the crew on the back, tell them it's no one's fault, pay the farmer off, and revise procedures and protocols so that NONE of the possible causes could recur with a LIVE payload!!!

[@mkvv5687]

@@PaperSkiesAviation Yes, the B-47 is an old favorite. That thing could outperform fighters and do barrel rolls (empty, presumably).

[@hirisk761]

the B47 had a unique nuclear bomb release technique. it would go into a rapid climb and release the bomb. then they would rollout while the bomb was still ascending. this was done to give the crew a chance to get to a safe distance before detonation!

[@pastrie42]

I had no idea you were rambling at all until that warning sound made me look at the video and see you thought you were rambling. Bro is that's rambling you've set a high bar for yourself and I think I can speak for many people when I say we appreciate it and love it. Cheers from California. If you're ever around Sacramento I have a croissant for you. (I'm a baker) :)

[@Locust5uc01]

this comment gave me a stroke

[@bucket_of_testicles4418]

This comment gave me a stroke

[@sambretoothmcgoon3020]

I actually love these videos I like how you go on little tangents no need to cut yourself off

[@fastnbulbouss]

Almost ten years later, they also "dropped" a bomb in Spain...on the 17th of January 1966. In Palomares. On Jan. 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber and a refueling plane crashed into each other during a refueling operation near the southern Spanish village of Palomares, killing seven of 11 crew members but no one on the ground. ... It's been called the worst radiation accident in U.S. history

[@AdamOoi85]

10:10 RIP cow. Go raise hell and return as Hell Bovine

[@commerce-usa]

It is amazing that mankind hasn't ended itself yet. It seems like we go out of our way to make it so. Really interesting video. You have a new subscriber.

[@b3j8]

The way things are going we can still do that. Wouldn't surprise me a bit.

[@bbbbbbb51]

I mean if they really wanted to go out of their way to make it so, they would've had the core in the bomb.

[@TheCaptainSplatter]

Well with climate change we are well on our to that. But it's more ending civilization than ending mankind.

[@Top_Weeb]

I give it another couple decades.

[@GnosticAtheist]

To be fair it wasn't armed. I doubt they transport armed nukes in planes that can crash or, apparently, just drop em. In addition to that the possibility of insurrection or disgruntled pilots probably means they have protocols in place. I doubt armed nukes are ever active above friendly soil.

[@GvIn2it]

Enjoyed the WHOLE video.

[@starcetus]

I like how this is the 3rd broken arrow event I heard of. Apparently this happened a lot more than I thought it did

[@teeffw2776]

The only surprising thing about this channel is that it started just a few months ago and yet it's top-quality. It's so bizarre. Genuinely one of the best channels out there.

[@dhs8533]

This story is absolutely true. I have 4 different Nuclear Defense certifications from the Defense Nuclear Weapons School located at Kirtland AFB. I have seen this weapon as close to me as this phone is right now and this incident is one of the 36 case studies we went through during my Command & Staff Radiological Course.

[@tieember9596]

Meaning this one case has 36 case studies or 36 incidents...

[@maskcollector6949]

And that’s only within public and secret access lol.

[@spacejaga]

Nice work

[@patrickmoran687]

My boss was the pilot of one of the planes in that group that day. The bomb is dropped by parachute. He could see the vehicles on the ground closing in on the area where the bomb was headed.

[@FoundAndExplained]

Love the 3d in this video mate!

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Thank you, Nick!

[@guiii0696]

@@cosmozabhilash2590 yoda

[@wetpizzaslices5917]

Same mate

[@matt262]

This is my favourite aviation channel now.

[@StaleDoritoCrumb]

hi

[@matt262]

@@StaleDoritoCrumb Hello

[@Plaguereaper]

Fantastic, thank you.

[@charlesphillips1468]

Hence the line from Broken Arrow (1996): Giles Prentice: "I don’t know what’s scarier, losing nuclear weapons, or that it happens so often there’s actually a term for it."

[@IMDunn-oy9cd]

RIP Cow.

[@razor1uk610]

When 21 tons of bomb lands pratically on a cow... Rest In Paste

[@AdamosDad]

Sometimes functionality brings a sort of beauty, this is one of those times, the Convair B-36 is a thing of beauty to an old aircraft enthusiast.

[@Reddsoldier]

I always think it looks like a glimpse into an alternative reality where jet engines never reached true practicality so prop driven monsters remained the harbingers of tactical air power.

[@AdamosDad]

@@Reddsoldier From todays perspective it does look very steam punk, it would need a little patina though.

[@jodycwilliams]

Fantastic video.

[@victory7999]

Bombardier: bombs away! Pilot: yeah that... wait... WHAT!? Cow: *chuckles, I'm in danger

[@Anonymouse_Art_INC]

Man, I bet the Soviets has some CRAZY nuclear accidents with their planes. It would be pretty sweet to hear about some of them

[@killman369547]

Yeah. But we probably never will because the russian government is far less open about that than the US government is.

[@0AuntJemima0]

I love your format and all the nitty gritty details. Anyone who’s complaining about long form content shouldn’t be watching long form content lol.

[@bbbbbbb51]

"long form content"? It's a 13 minute video lmao

[@slowturtle8890]

There is a B-36 on display at Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. It's just an enormous plane. Every bit the match of a B-52 in.size.

[@callenclarke371]

So, first of all, the content is excellent. Informative, to the point, thorough and accurate. But the humor just makes it better. Dry! Very Dry! Love that lie meter! Well done!

[@DavidALovingMPF102]

Today, as a resident of Rio Rancho, just outside of Albuquerque, we expect the unusual here. I think there are more threats from Chinese and Russian spies here than the fear of nukes falling out of bombers. From the state where the world's first nuke was detonated, thanks. Come out here for balloon fiesta in October. Great video, well edited.

[@golfinguy423]

As an Albuquerque resident I agree!

[@joeg5414]

I live up in Durango CO. Go down to Albuquerque quite a bit. Farmington more.

[@iamtheoffenderofall]

Come to New Mexico for Balloon Fiesta.... Stay cause your vehicle was stolen, LOL.

[@DavidALovingMPF102]

@@iamtheoffenderofall A lot of truth to that.

[@shadowflash705]

@@worldoftancraft yeah, the biggest threat is the spies stealing bovine secrets of the moo county. Not to mention that before US pressed the rewind button on Cold War the biggest threat was DPRK *before they even decided to make nukes* - a country that never participated in any war since well... Korean war. Aka 2nd in the top 100 most harmless countries, right after Vatican. And what was their reason to acquire nuclear weapons? US invasion plans. And it worked. Setting a nice example for small countries which want to be independent - get them nukes.

[@steveblankenship5474]

I was in Albuquerque in 1957 as a 3 year old and my father was in the Air Force and worked on B-36 planes. He passed away in 2015 and I never heard about this until a couple of years ago, my father had to have been involved in this.

[@chrishouse7522]

Interesting. A family friend who was a was a bomber pilot during WWII and flew "the hump" (the Himalayas) actually piloted the B-36 among others. He had some great stories and was awarded at least one medal for for some in-flight quick thinking retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He also piloted the plane that photographed the nuclear detonation at Enewetak atoll.

[@jetcitysinatra7300]

You are good. Keep up the cool videos. The history of these planes is also cool.

[@mentalcupcakes8142]

I actually remember learning about this on a show called Mysteries At The Museum a few years ago

[@NoahSpurrier]

Bombs-away! Dr. Strangelove is certainly one of the best movies ever.

[@bobjoatmon1993]

Taste differ. I watched it once and avoided it every other time it showed. Inaccurate, too many stereotypes and biases, implausible plot. Hollywood drivel and only the star actors name power carried the movie. PS - and I'm not a bleeding heart, I was and remain a firm believer that strength deters aggression and the reason we've NOT had any serious eats is the nuclear deterrent of the USA.

[@4skintim962]

I like it. Good movie

[@tyrannosaurusimperator]

Dr. Strangelove is the worst movie I've ever seen. 90% of the dialogue is unintelligible and the rest isn't very funny.

[@NoahSpurrier]

@@bobjoatmon1993 it’s a cinematic masterpiece!! You do realize it was a comedy, right? Inaccuracies, stereotypes, biases, and implausibility are not flaws in a comedy. Slim Pickens and George C. Scott gave some of their best performances in their careers in this movie. Loved Slim Pickens in this movie.

[@foamfpsguy6316]

9:56 : when the blasting cap on your bomb makes a bigger explosion than most conventional bombs:

[@Livewyr7]

Dunno how it took so long to find you, but I'm glad I did. Fun vids! (Subbed)

[@angela-gilbert]

The reason I love watching you, Paper Skies. Because you have a good sense of humor. Don't change the way you pronounce the word "bomb".

[@elijah4666]

I just realized that this is a new channel :( that means that i can't binge a load of videos. great work

[@MoatenGat]

You are one of the best short documentary producers on KZbin, perfect mix of humor and facts.

[@timonraccoon]

A B36 crashed in the city talked in this video. I live in El Paso TX and I guess there was a blizzard somehow in my city and we’ll the B36 that took of fort bliss couldn’t see so they ended up crashing into the Franklin mountains. You can still see some of the remains in the mountains

[@sebdoesstuff6776]

You scared me sooo much with your emergency message thing that popped up lmaooo 😵‍💫🤣

[@herbertkeithmiller]

6:58 I enjoyed learning about the political machinations and the capabilities of the B-36 bomber

[@60103FlyingScotsman]

One Incident you might like to Cover (Also involving a B-36) in 1950 a B-36 crashed on a mountainside in British columbia, the crew before had jettisoned a Mark 4 Nuclear bomb into the Pacific near to the Canadian Coast before bailing out over Princess Royal Island this incident was the first involving the (at the time brand new) B-36 and the first known Broken Arrow

[@Mikael5732]

Your timing is fine. Like the video.

[@richardtibbetts574]

I knew about this story for a long time. I heard it from my dad, who worked in a SAC decoding room in Roswell NM.

[@ZGryphon]

I remember reading about a similar accident that involved two fully assembled weapons being lost from a B-52 that broke up in flight over North Carolina sometime in the '60s--I think probably in James Mahaffey's book _Atomic Accidents._ At least one of the weapons was found to have been accidentally armed when it left the aircraft, and got something like three-quarters of the way through its firing sequence before it hit the ground. (IIRC, the Air Force later dismissed fears that it nearly went off by pointing out that the fusion initiator had failed, so even if the last arming mechanism had fired, the result would "only" have been the primary fission explosion. Very reassuring, I'm sure you'll agree.)

[@ZGryphon]

@Dave Doherty No--a dirty bomb is a conventional explosive intended to scatter radioactive contaminants. This would still have been a nuclear explosion, just a lot less powerful than the weapon's designed maximum yield. Kilotons rather than megatons.

[@ZGryphon]

@Dave Doherty Some would be vaporized by the primary fission explosion (and depending on the bomb's design, some of it could fission itself, adding to the yield), but you're right, a lot of it would probably end up as radioactive fallout. It depend on the design of the weapon, and I'm not sure offhand what model the ones involved in this accident were. The distinction I was making in my first reply is that the term "dirty bomb" specifically refers to a conventional explosive, the principal purpose of which is not to do damage with the explosion, but to scatter radioactive debris--whereas an H-bomb whose secondary failed to go off would cause a lot of fallout, but it's still a nuclear bomb. It would still do most of its harm to the immediate area with the explosion itself.

[@rakisuzuki-burke4148]

@Dave Doherty The second stage of a hydrogen bomb is the hydrogen.

[@rtod4]

There's an official roadside marker commemorating the nuking of Goldsboro NC

[@zackgeorgly5099]

Part from 9:09 is damn hilariously put out. The happy yet relaxed background music, Lt. Carp's AMUSEMENT, clips and animations and all that made me chuckle and watch it several times.

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Thank you, Zack! I'm glad you enjoy it. :)

[@standard-carrier-wo-chan]

That casual "bombs away" just sent me to the moon xD

[@thorzap1374]

As someone who lives in Albuquerque, let me tell you, nothing of note would have been lost