Losing a Hydrogen Bomb on This Day in History

 

This day in history: A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb was lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, on this day in 1958, never to be recovered.

The Tybee Island mid-air collision was an incident on February 5, 1958, in which the United States Air Force lost a 7,600-pound Mark 15 nuclear bomb in the waters off Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia, United States. During a night practice exercise, an F-86 fighter plane collided with the B-47 bomber carrying the large weapon.

To protect the aircrew from a possible detonation in the event of a crash, the bomb was jettisoned. Following several unsuccessful searches, the bomb was presumed lost somewhere in Wassaw Sound off the shores of Tybee Island.

Some sources describe the bomb as a functional nuclear weapon, but others describe it as disabled. If it has a plutonium nuclear core installed, it is a fully functional weapon. If it has a dummy core installed, it is incapable of producing a nuclear explosion but could still produce a conventional explosion. Twelve feet in length, the Mark 15 bomb weighs 7,600 pounds, bears the serial number 47782, and contains 400 pounds of conventional high explosives and highly enriched uranium.

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The New York City "Mad Bomber" on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The New York City "Mad Bomber", George P. Metesky, was arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and charged with planting more than 30 bombs on this day in 1957.

George Peter Metesky (November 2, 1903 – May 23, 1994), better known as the Mad Bomber, was an American electrician and mechanic who terrorized New York City for 16 years in the 1940s and 1950s with explosives that he planted in theaters, terminals, libraries and offices. Bombs were left in phone booths, storage lockers and restrooms in public buildings, including Grand Central Terminal, Pennsylvania Station, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Public Library, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the RCA Building, and in the New York City Subway. Metesky also bombed movie theaters, where he cut into seat upholstery and slipped his explosive devices inside.

Angry and resentful about events surrounding a workplace injury suffered years earlier, Metesky planted at least 33 bombs, of which 22 exploded, injuring 15 people. The hunt for the bomber enlisted an early use of offender profiling. He was apprehended based on clues given in letters he wrote to a newspaper. He was found legally insane and committed to a state mental hospital.

According to History & Headlines the top 10 most famous/infamous bombers are:

10. Richard Colvin Reid “The Shoe Bomber”

9. Edward Teller “The Father of the Hydrogen Bomb”

8. J. Robert Oppenheimer “The Father of The Atomic Bomb” 

7. William Boeing (whose planes dropped more bombs than anyone else’s, ever, anywhere)

6. Alfred Nobel (the man that invented dynamite)

5. Tsarnaev Brothers (Boston Marathon bombers)

4. George P. Metesky (see above)

3. Timothy Mcveigh (Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing)

2. Guy Fawkes (Gun Powder plot)

1. Ted Kaczynski (Unabomber)

Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon