Re:A Burning B-52 Nearly Caused A Nuclear Catastrophe
by jdsully on Sunday September 22, 2019 @02:02PM
(#21042827)
They literally put a bag of ball bearings into the hollow interior of an enriched uranium sphere (to prevent its accidental implosion which would set off the bomb). Even scarier they didn't really know if this would actually work, but it was better than doing nothing.
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Re:A Burning B-52 Nearly Caused A Nuclear Catastrophe
by tolien on Sunday September 22, 2019 @02:51PM
(#21043125)
The Atomic Weapons Establishment was doing Minimum Viable Product before it was cool to build MVPs!
More seriously, most of the reason they cobbled this together was because the US suddenly cut off access to research after WW2 (because of the McMahon Act [2]) and the UK had to look as if they were an independent member of the Big (nuclear) Boy's Club. Between this and the Windscale fire [1], that could've led to absolute disaster.
Re:A Burning B-52 Nearly Caused A Nuclear Catastrophe
by dash2 on Sunday September 22, 2019 @02:57PM
(#21043166)
"At least one accident, dated 1960, was reported in the press when the plastic bung was removed and 133,000 steel ball bearings exited onto the aircraft hangar floor, leaving the bomb armed and vulnerable." Wow. Real Dr Strangelove stuff.