1950 Rivière-du-Loup B-50 nuclear weapon loss incident
Appearance
![]() Three B-50A bombers in formation; similar to the B-50 that dropped the bomb at Rivière-du-Loup | |
Incident | |
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Date | November 10, 1950 |
Site | Rivière-du-Loup, approx 300 mi (480 km; 260 nmi) northeast of Montreal, Quebec, Canada 47°56′6″N 69°25′15″W / 47.93500°N 69.42083°W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Boeing B-50 Superfortress |
Operator | United States Air Force |
Flight origin | Goose AFB |
Destination | Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (diverted to Loring AFB) |
Passengers | 0 |
Crew | 0 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 0 |
Missing | 0 |
Survivors | 0 |
The 1950 Rivière-du-Loup B-50 nuclear weapon loss incident refers to loss of a nuclear weapon near Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada, during the fall of 1950. The bomb was released due to engine troubles, and then was destroyed in a non-nuclear detonation before it hit the ground.
Background
Returning one of several US
radioactive uranium (U-238) used in the weapon's tamper. The plutonium core ("pit"), which is the key component for a nuclear reaction and detonation, was not installed in the bomb at the time. The absence of the core probably was because of its high cost and relative scarcity at the time.[2]: 93 [3]
Standard US Air Force protocol prohibited any aircraft carrying a nuclear device to land with the device if the aircraft was experiencing engine problems — it had to be jettisoned. Per standard protocol, the plutonium trigger was always removed prior to flight and shipped separately to prevent accidental nuclear activation.
At the time of the incident, the aircraft was returning from Goose AFB to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base. The troubled aircraft successfully diverted to Loring Air Force Base in Maine.[2]
The incident was immediately
nuclear incident.[2]
: 94–95
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-7710-6491-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-1926936864.
- .