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In August of 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first successful Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). It was capable of delivering a heavy nuclear warhead to a target six thousand miles away, in under half an hour. The West was left scrambling for a solution. From what U.S. Intelligence could gather, the Soviets were quickly pulling ahead in developing missile technology. Projections showed that by the 1960s, the Soviets would likely have enough missiles to launch a preemptive nuclear attack. America needed a way fill this perceived ‘missile gap’.

Operation Chrome Dome would be the solution. Between 1960 and 1968, B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons were kept airborne around the clock, day in and day out. Chrome Dome would send a powerful message to the Soviet Union that America was ready to respond, and help keep the scales of nuclear power balanced. Flying to points along the Soviet border, Chrome Dome missions would be as long as 24-hours each, pushing flight crews and B-52 aircraft to their limit. It was an extraordinary feat of logistics, requiring the support of aerial refueling aircraft, and a large number of ground base support personnel. The program would also come at a cost.

There were 5 major accidents involving B-52 aircraft flying Operation Chrome Dome missions. The first came early into the program, when in 1961, two nuclear bombs fell back to earth near Goldsboro, North Carolina. Information declassified in 2013 suggests that one of the bombs came very close to detonating. The next incident occurred just a few months later near Yuba City, California when another two nukes were lost in a crash. There would be yet another incident 1964 in Savage Mountain, Maryland. In all of these incidents, 6 nuclear bombs crashed back to earth and were eventually recovered without much in the way of consequences. Neither their conventional nor nuclear explosives detonated.

But another two incidents would put the program into an entirely different light. In 1966, four nukes came crashing back to earth over Palomares, Spain. This time, two of them detonated their conventional explosives, leaving five square kilometers of Spanish countryside contaminated with radioactive plutonium. It was the worst nuclear accident of its time. Although Chrome Dome was scaled down as a result, there would be yet another accident in Thule, Greenland in 1968. Four nuclear bombs detonated their conventional explosives, spreading contamination over a large area. This final incident put an immediate end to all Operation Chrome Dome Missions.

During the course of the eight-year long ambitious cold-war operation, America accidentally dropped 14 nuclear bombs. But Operation Chrome Dome also helped maintain the delicate balance of power between America and the Soviet Union, and the program might have prevented nuclear war.

#OperationChromeDome #ColdWar #B52