Palomares 1966: Four Bombs, a Sea Search, and the Rise of Safer Nuclear Protocols
In 1966 a U.S. Air Force B-52 collided with a KC-135 over Palomares, Spain, spilling three thermonuclear bombs on land and one into the Mediterranean; plutonium contamination sparked an 80-day cleanup by about 1,600 airmen and a naval search that recovered the missing bomb after 11 weeks. The episode raised questions about radiation exposure among cleanup crews and led to safer procedures and planning that influenced responses to future nuclear incidents, including the 1968 Thule crash.