Finding a Nuclear bomb

[HalcyonDaze]

The Koreans would have to find a super silent sub that we could not detect, let alone find a sub with a range that could get close to our coasts. As said above, the MK IV would be heavily damaged by corrosion beyond any use to them. Secondly the point is moot because I'm sure there is now monitoring on the suspected site so that nobody runs off with it.

There's also the issue that a Mark 4 bomb weighed about 10,000 pounds - a little difficult to fit on a "small" submarine. Given that it was essentially a mass-production version of the WWII Mark 3, which was an air-droppable version of the original Trinity bomb set off in New Mexico, I also think the NKs probably have an equivalent device of their own without rummaging around in Canadian waters. I doubt it's anything but a historical curiosity today; when I was stating it could have been an issue would have been circa 1950 when it was a new design. The only valuable component of an old bomb would be the actual fissile material, and in this case it's not present.

There were a few instances of parties trying to grab nukes or nuclear weapon delivery systems for intelligence purposes during the Cold War; the idea was to figure out what the other guy had and what it could do. The most famous (or infamous) was the US attempt to salvage a Soviet missile sub in the Pacific in 1974. Depending on which version of the story you get, they may or may not have recovered nuclear torpedoes or missiles. I suspect the whole story on that one will be classified for quite a while longer.

 

[wedivebc]

Anyone has seen this diver ? Did he became fluorescent ?

The diver who found the piece of the bomb off BC coast is a friend of mine. He was fluorescent before he found the A bomb

Some reports state the core was actually lead filled but others say the bomb was disarmed. Either way the Navy is currently working hard at finding the rest of it.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Anyone has seen this diver ? Did he became fluorescent ?

He's still posting on Facebook on the Underwater Outlaw page

 

[CT-Rich]

This is a pretty interesting documentary on the plane crash the left the bomb off BC. Their version indicates the bomb had a lead core, but was otherwise functional. Apparently they were war gaming an attack on San 2 miles up it would be falling at more than 200 mph, possibly closer to 300. Since nukes of that time were designed as air burst devices, I imagine after impact then immerersion in sea water for a half century, most of the classified usefulness would be gone.

I originally posted the video link to the things found underwater thread.

 

[ScubaDadThree]

I didn't see this as a dup. Just goes to show you never know what you will find on a dive.


Georgia: Amateur Divers Find Long-Lost Nuclear Warhead World News Daily Report

I don't know about other countries policies, but if a US nuke was lost, Navy Divers would recover it as soon as they could find it so the story is bogus.

 

[KevinNM]

Can't recover what you can't find.

 

[nadwidny]

Canadian Navy went up and took a look with an ROV this past week. Turns out it wasn't a bomb of any sort after all.