Tybee Island bomb goes off in '58

On February 5, 1958, a B-47 carrying a nuclear bomb collided with an F-86, and jettisoned its payload (after receiving permission to do so). In 1966, Assistant Secretary of Defense W.J. Howard testified before Congress that the Tybee Island bomb was a "complete weapon, a bomb with a nuclear capsule," and one of two weapons lost up to that time that contained a plutonium trigger.

The chances of it going off when jettisoned were very low, but 'very low' does not equal 'ASB'. So, suppose that the bomb had gone off. Its said to have been deadly to everyone within 250 miles, which would take a pretty nasty bite out of Georgia, and the sight of the mushroom cloud would have seriously panicked those far enough away to survive.

So, what effect would this have on the timeline of history? How would the Cold War be different?

If something like the Cuban Missile Crisis still happened, how would it had been handled?
 
The United States government would be caught with its pants down. Having reassured the public that nuclear testing was safe they would have been crucified in the press for killing rich white people with cancer. The Nuclear Disarmament movement would grow overnight, and the United States government would have had its post-Watergate standing within years. CMC is butterflied out of existence as Khrushchev is given what he wants, namely nuclear parity (at 0). With conventional arms the main focus the United States is at a big disadvantage, and Khrushchev more comfortable. Quite possibly US strategic planners agree to a Helsinki-like deal, and with the Khrushchev thaw staying in place the USSR becomes much nicer. Also, a lot fewer cases of lung cancer on Navajo reservations where uranium was mined for weapons.
 
The United States government would be caught with its pants down. Having reassured the public that nuclear testing was safe they would have been crucified in the press for killing rich white people with cancer. The Nuclear Disarmament movement would grow overnight, and the United States government would have had its post-Watergate standing within years. CMC is butterflied out of existence as Khrushchev is given what he wants, namely nuclear parity (at 0). With conventional arms the main focus the United States is at a big disadvantage, and Khrushchev more comfortable. Quite possibly US strategic planners agree to a Helsinki-like deal, and with the Khrushchev thaw staying in place the USSR becomes much nicer. Also, a lot fewer cases of lung cancer on Navajo reservations where uranium was mined for weapons.

The "killing rich white people with cancer" would be false. The coast of Georogia was not built up in the 50's like it is today. The population of the island was probably only 1000 or so. (Closest population data I could find to 58 is 600 or so people in 1947) Today there are only 3000 or so that live there. You've got 15 miles from Tybee to Savannah, so Savannah may get off relatively easy, depending upon the direction of the wind. There would be lots of poor whites and blacks that will get sick.

If you are looking for an accident that could cause damage and be much more dramatic, you need the H-bomb that was accidentally dropped on Florence South Carolina later that same year that had it's high explosive actually go off. That nuke could have actually gone off.

Torqumada
 
It wouldn't have a 250 mile explosive (or even fallout) radius. The prevailing winds would most likely (though I could be wrong) have carried the fallout out to sea.
Using the map here ( http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/gmap/hydesim.html ), a pressure wave of 1 PSI or greater, using the 3.8 Megaton yield of the heaviest Mark 15 bomb (according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_15_nuclear_bomb ), wouldn't even reach Savannah. The blast wave wouldn't damage King's Bay (If it was operational then), FLETC Glynco (Ditto), Hunter AAF, or Parris Island. (It would close down the port of Savannah, damage the old Fort Pulaski (Ironic, since the forst was rendered obsolete as a protective facility by the Civil War and rifled guns) and cause damage on parts of Hilton Head.)

However, it would definitely have a bad environmental impact, and result in a greater fear of nuclear weapons...
 

burmafrd

Banned
Even the early PAL devices back then would ensure no fission event which means no mushroom cloud since you need that to get a fussion event.

The most you would possibly get is HE going off which will spread over a relatively small area the fissionable material.

Anything else is ASB.
 
Pretty sure they had enough spies in the US to tell them what happened, just not as many as the people screaming 'Red Menace!' thought.
But think about the conversation:
"Premier Kruschev, our spies report that the Americans have detonated a hydrogen bomb in Georgia."
"Good God, launch the counter-strike!"
Several minutes pass
"Wait, which Georgia?"
"The American state, Comrade Secretary."
"Shit."
 
Its 58'. Russians might have half a dozen experimental R-7s that take half a day to prep for launch. And their bomber forces are... not very potent. They could hurt West Europe or UK, but barely lay more than a dozen or two nukes on entire North American continent.

Any nuclear war pre '64. or '66. USA wins and its more of a one sided tragedy than a war.
 
And its not like USSR had any means of knowing detonation occurred, its '58 ffs.

Not so. The seismographic evidence would be unmistakable. A 3.8 megaton bomb is a 6.0-6.5 magnitude earthquake if all the energy is coupled to motion of the earth. Assuming 1% of the energy is coupled, then 4.0 magnitude earthquake. That will be detected, and given the region it takes place in, noticed.
 
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