Four Nuclear Bombs Fell on Spain After a B-52 Crash—The Cleanup Crew’s Hidden Struggle

On January 17, 1966, a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber carrying four thermonuclear bombs broke apart mid-flight over southern Spain following a collision with a KC-135 refueling tanker above the village of Palomares. Three bombs plummeted onto Spanish soil while the fourth plunged into the Mediterranean Sea.

The B-52G, designated Tea 16, launched from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina to participate in Operation Chrome Dome, which kept nuclear armed bombers airborne as a strategic alert. After completing two aerial refuelings and circling Turkey, the bomber approached the KC-135 for a third in-flight refueling when tragedy struck.

According to Air & Space Forces, the B-52 was traveling too quickly during the refueling attempt, causing the KC-135’s refueling boom to strike the B-52’s left wing structure. This collision severed the wing, leading to the release of all four nuclear weapons. Three bombs landed near Palomares: one on a beach, another in a tomato field, and a third beside a local cemetery.

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In two of these landings, the conventional explosives detonated, scattering plutonium over the area. U.S. Air Force teams promptly arrived to decontaminate the site and manage hazardous radioactive material.

Cleanup Efforts Included Over 1,600 Air Force Members

A subset of cleanup personnel, known as the “High 26”, was identified due to their probable increased exposure to radiation from plutonium contamination. An Air Force review of contamination data concluded that radiation exposure was generally low.

However, a 2016 report by The New York Times titled “Decades Later, Sickness Among Airmen After a Hydrogen Bomb Accident” revealed a starkly different experience for many lower-ranking personnel sent to assist. These included support staff such as a cook, a grocery clerk, and a trombonist, Frank B. Thompson, who was assigned to survey contaminated fields without proper protective gear or clothing changes.

Thompson reflected that at 22 years old, he was sent to locate radioactive bombs in the fields with no warnings about radiation or plutonium.

“There was no talk about radiation or plutonium or anything else,” Thompson shared. “They told us it was safe, and we were dumb enough, I guess, to believe them.”

By 2016, Thompson suffered cancers affecting his liver, lung, and kidney. The New York Times noted that he and other veterans pressed for acknowledgment of their illnesses as consequences of their cleanup roles. The Air Force, meanwhile, asserted that contamination was minimal and personnel were sufficiently protected.

Further revelations from declassified papers indicated that radiation levels around the damaged bombs exceeded some monitoring tools’ capacities, and that much of the cleanup was performed while wearing only basic cotton uniforms.

Navy Search for the Lost Bomb Lasted 11 Weeks

While ground teams managed the contamination on land, the final bomb remained missing beneath the Mediterranean.

The U.S. Navy dispatched over 30 vessels and the deep-sea submersible Alvin to comb the seafloor. After 11 weeks of searching, the USS Petrel located and retrieved the fourth Mk 28 bomb just before 8 a.m. on April 7, 1966.

The submerged bomb spent nearly three months in saltwater, with damage including a severed tail section and multiple dents on its nose. Crucially, its safety mechanism remained engaged, and Spanish officials inspected it as photographers documented the recovery aboard the ship.

Legacy of Palomares Shaped Nuclear Accident Response

The Palomares incident took place during Operation Chrome Dome, a Strategic Air Command initiative to keep nuclear-armed bombers airborne for 24-hour missions. At times, up to a dozen bombers carried live nuclear weapons simultaneously.

Two years later, a similar disaster happened near Thule Air Base in Greenland when a B-52 caught fire, forcing crew evacuation before the plane crashed on sea ice. Conventional explosives in its nuclear bombs detonated, spreading radioactive debris.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory noted that their response in Greenland was heavily influenced by protocols developed after Palomares. Specifically, they created a portable radiation detector called FIDLER (Field Instrument for Detection of Low Energy Radiation) to expedite surveys of contaminated sites during emergencies.

Scientists Nate Benedict and Joe Tinney utilized FIDLER in Greenland to chart contamination zones, aiding in cleanup planning.

Following the Thule crash on January 21, 1968, Operation Chrome Dome was terminated the next day. From then on, according to Air & Space Forces, nuclear alert duties shifted to ground-based readiness rather than continuous airborne patrols.

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