Nuclear Bomb Still Missing Off Georgia Coast Since 1958 Military Mishap
Off Georgia’s coast, a massive 7,600-pound nuclear device sits hidden beneath ocean silt. A B-47 bomber dropped it near Tybee Island during a 1958 incident. The crew had no choice…
TYBEE ISLAND, GA – SEPTEMBER 3: A couple watches the waves crash against the beach from chairs September 3, 2008 in Tybee Island, Georgia. Hurricane Hanna poses a potential threat to the tiny resort island, jutting out from the Georgia coast into the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
Off Georgia's coast, a massive 7,600-pound nuclear device sits hidden beneath ocean silt. A B-47 bomber dropped it near Tybee Island during a 1958 incident. The crew had no choice but to release it after their aircraft collided with an F-86 Fighter Jet mid-flight.
Search teams searched the waters for two months without success. The weapon now rests deep under sea sediment. Officials won't try to get it back — they think digging it up could be worse than leaving it there.
No one knows for sure how dangerous the bomb is now. The pilot's logs say it lacked its nuclear trigger. But things got muddy when W.J. Howard, who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense, called it a "complete" weapon.
The bomb's presence still poses an environmental safety concern in the area, even though detonation is unlikely.
To this date, the United States is still missing 6 nuclear bombs.
