America’s nuclear arsenal hasn’t always been perfectly managed. During the Cold War, several incidents involving nuclear weapons occurred, some scattering radioactive debris, others vanishing entirely.
These events were largely secret at the time, only revealed years later through declassified documents. The military dubbed them “Broken Arrow” incidents, accidents involving loss, theft, or accidental detonation of nuclear weapons.
Some of these bombs now sit where no one can retrieve them, reminders of how close the world came to catastrophe. Each incident has its own story and unanswered questions.
What “Broken Arrow” Means
“Broken Arrow” refers to accidents involving nuclear weapons that don’t trigger war but can pose hazards. This includes loss, accidental release, or unintended detonation.
The Pentagon lists dozens of such incidents from 1950 to the 1980s. While many ended with safe recovery, a few weapons disappeared permanently.
Understanding this term sets the stage for the most notable lost weapons that sank into oceans or vanished over land.
Why Losses Happened
Cold War operations were risky. Planes carrying nuclear weapons often faced mechanical failure or human error.
Urgency to save crews sometimes meant jettisoning bombs, sending them into deep water, or remote terrain.
These lost weapons weren’t hypothetical; they were the byproduct of a strategy that kept nukes constantly in motion.
Notable Lost and Near-Miss Nuclear Incidents
During the Cold War, several U.S. nuclear weapons were either lost or nearly lost in accidents. Some ended up in the ocean, buried in silt, or partially recovered, highlighting just how close the world came to disaster.
1950 First Lost Nuclear Bomb
A U.S. bomber jettisoned a Mark 4 bomb over the Pacific during a training mission. Though it lacked a plutonium core, it still contained nuclear materials and has never been recovered. Repeated searches over decades have failed to locate it.
Tybee Island Bomb (1958)
During a nighttime mission near Georgia, a bomber dropped a Mark 15 thermonuclear bomb to land safely. Debate continues over whether it contained its nuclear capsule, and searches failed to recover it. Its exact location remains unknown beneath tidal flats and silt.
USS Ticonderoga Incident (1965)
An A‑4 Skyhawk carrying a one‑megaton nuclear bomb rolled off the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. Neither plane, pilot, nor weapon was recovered. The bomb sank into deep water, likely never to be found.
USS Scorpion Submarine (1968)
The attack submarine Scorpion sank in the Atlantic with nuclear torpedoes on board. The wreck was located decades later, but the warheads remain unrecovered, deep underwater.
Near‑Misses That Didn’t Get Lost
Not all Broken Arrows ended in lost bombs. The 1961 Goldsboro crash dropped thermonuclear bombs, one mostly recovered, the other buried. In 1966, near Palomares, Spain, four bombs were released mid-air; all but small fragments were recovered. These incidents show how narrowly disasters were avoided.
