Bent Spear: We know better

[havoc]

Some definitions

Bent Spear refers to incidents involving nuclear weapons, warheads, components or vehicles transporting nuclear material that are of significant interest but are not categorized as Pinnacle – Nucflash or Pinnacle – Broken Arrow. Bent Spear incidents include violations or breaches of handling and security regulations.

An example of a Bent Spear incident occurred on the August 2007 flight of a B-52 bomber from Minot AFB to Barksdale AFB which mistakenly carried six cruise missiles with live nuclear warheads.[4]

Broken ArrowEdit

Broken Arrow refers to an accidental event that involves nuclear weapons, warheads or components that does not create a risk of nuclear war. These include:

• Accidental or unexplained nuclear explosion
• Non-nuclear detonation or burning of a nuclear weapon
• Radioactive contamination
• Loss in transit of nuclear asset with or without its carrying vehicle
• Jettisoning of a nuclear weapon or nuclear component
• Public hazard, actual or implied

Broken Arrow incidentsEdit

Main article: List of military nuclear accidentsThe US Department of Defense has officially recognized at least 32 "Broken Arrow" incidents from 1950 to 1980.[5] Examples of these events include:

• 1950 British Columbia B-36 crash
• 1956 B-47 disappearance
• 1958 Mars Bluff B-47 nuclear weapon loss incident
• 1958 Tybee Island mid-air collision
• 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash
• 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash
• 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash
• 1964 Bunker Hill AFB runway accident
• 1965 Philippine Sea A-4 incident
• 1966 Palomares B-52 crash[6]
• 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash
• 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion, Arkansas