In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores one of the most unsettling moments in Cold War history… a true story involving a B-52 Stratofortress, thermonuclear weapons, and a chain of mechanical failures that came far closer to catastrophe than the public was ever told.
The episode traces the 1961 Goldsboro nuclear near-miss, unpacking how a routine airborne nuclear alert mission (Operation Chrome Dome) spiraled into a mid-air breakup, the unintended release of Mark 39 hydrogen bombs, and a series of failed safety mechanisms that tested the limits of nuclear safeguards.
Along the way, Gordy examines the engineering flaws, classified recovery efforts, declassified Air Force findings, and the broader pattern of “Broken Arrow” nuclear accidents, revealing how global safety sometimes rested on razor-thin margins rather than airtight systems.
This episode blends military history, nuclear safety, Cold War strategy, aviation failure analysis, and classified intelligence history — offering a tense, fact-driven look at how close the world came to learning a very different version of history.
#historyfacts #coldwarhistory #nuclearhistory #militaryhistory #didyouknowfacts #funfacts #learnonyoutube #ushistory #aviationhistory
Music thanks to Zapsplat.
SOURCES
• Schlosser, E. (2013). Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety. Penguin Press. • United States Air Force. (1961). Aircraft Accident Report: B-52 Crash Near Goldsboro, North Carolina. Declassified accident investigation materials. • Sandia National Laboratories. (1969). History of the Mark 39 Weapon System and Safety Mechanisms. • Hansen, C. (2013). The 1961 Goldsboro Nuclear Accident Revisited. National Security Archive, George Washington University. • National Security Archive. (2013). Newly Declassified Files Show U.S. Came Close to Nuclear Detonation in 1961. • ReVelle, J. (2013). Oral History Interview on the Goldsboro Recovery Operation. • United States Department of Defense. (1981). Broken Arrow: Summary of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents. • North Carolina Office of Archives and History. Goldsboro Nuclear Accident Historical Marker Documentation. • U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency. Operation Chrome Dome and Airborne Nuclear Alert History.