WI: 1961 B-52 crash results in detonation

So, apparently in 1961 there was a close-call with one of the bombs in a B-52 which crashed in North Carolina almost detonating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash
https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/sep/20/goldsboro-revisited-declassified-document

Now, let's assume two scenarios:

A) The fission component detonates --> a few KT?
B) The fusion component also detonates --> 3-4 MT?

Not an awful lot of people around Goldboro, so immediate casualties would not be huge, even if B was to happen. But what happens in the US after that in terms of how the public view nukes?
 

SsgtC

Banned
From the Wikipedia article:

However, Michael H. Maggelet and James C. Oskins, authors of Broken Arrow: The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents, dispute this claim, citing a declassified report. They point out that the arm-ready switch was in the safe position, the high-voltage battery was not activated (which would preclude the charging of the firing circuit and neutron generator necessary for detonation), and the Rotary Safing Switch was destroyed, preventing energisation of the X-Unit (which controlled the firing capacitors). The tritium reservoir used for fusion boosting was also full and had not been injected into the weapon primary. This would have resulted in a significantly reduced primary yield and would not have ignited the weapon's fusion secondary stage.[18][19]
Detonation was not close to happening. Multiple fail-safes were still engaged. To get even a low yield blast, all of them would have had to fail/be disengaged. Even then, assuming they all failed, it would have been a low yield fission burst as the tritium would not have been injected into the core to trigger a fusion blast.
 
From the Wikipedia article:


Detonation was not close to happening. Multiple fail-safes were still engaged. To get even a low yield blast, all of them would have had to fail/be disengaged. Even then, assuming they all failed, it would have been a low yield fission burst as the tritium would not have been injected into the core to trigger a fusion blast.
Yeah, accidentally or intentionally detonating a nuclear bomb is actually pretty difficult
 

SsgtC

Banned
Yeah, accidentally or intentionally detonating a nuclear bomb is actually pretty difficult
Exactly. "Accidental detonation" is the closest thing to impossible that there is in the world. Even intentional detonation is ridiculously difficult. There are multiple redundant fail-safes that need to be deactivated/bypassed just to arm the damn thing. Then actually detonating it requires that even more safeties be disengaged. And some of those will not deactivate unless the weapon has met multiple performance and safety thresholds
 
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I'm more interested in the effects of the weapons the Air Force 'lost' more recently. That is they continue to be moved about, further drifting out of the guarded AF base & engendering more time and panic getting them tracked down. Or worse the TV cameras running as local law enforcement or the FBI wave folks away from from them as the USAF cluelessly turns on the morning news...
 
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