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The missing A-bomb
By Tom Segev
Tags: atom bomb, israel news

It happened a little more than 50 years ago, and to this day retired U.S. Air Force Col. Howard Richardson has not tired of persuading people that he did the right thing when he dropped an atom bomb into the Florida sea, where it lies on the bottom to this very day.

It all began with a training flight, shortly after midnight on February 5, 1958. Richardson, then a young major, took off in a B-47 bomber to practice a long-distance flight to communist Eastern Europe. Those were the days of the Cold War, and the exercise was supposed to take place under conditions approximating a real-world scenario, in World War III, and so a real nuclear bomb was loaded onto the plane, albeit without its detonators.

Richardson and his co-pilot took off from their Florida base, circled over North Carolina and Georgia, and suddenly felt a strong blow to their plane. For a moment they thought it was a UFO, but it turned out to be another training aircraft. Their plane began to plummet. They considered using their ejection seats, but Richardson managed to stabilize the aircraft and began heading back to base. He planned an emergency landing, but there was still a danger that the aircraft would crash and explode. His commanders at the base ordered him to ditch the nuclear bomb he was carrying. And so Richardson opened the hatches - and dropped the bomb into the sea, not far from Savannah. The plane landed safely.
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The authorities later tried to retrieve the bomb, but were unable to locate it. Over the years, private marine archaeologists have also searched for it, but to no avail. The mystery surrounding its disappearance gave rise to many stories: Some believe a terrorist organization managed to get its hands on the bomb.

Richardson was decorated and promoted to colonel. Now 87 years old, he is still very proud that he succeeded in landing his plane safely. However, he complained to a BBC reporter this week, instead of praising his presence of mind, everyone just keeps asking him over and over again about that A-bomb.
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