Whoops

[Noah930]

OK, this is in no way meant to be PARFY, but how the h-e-double hockey sticks do you accidentally fire a missile? Especially into your centuries-long arch enemy?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/india-accidentally-fires-missile-pakistan-145529624.html

Tue, March 15, 2022, 1:36 AM
India-Pakistan border at Wagah
Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons
India says it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan on Wednesday, blaming the incident on a "technical malfunction" during routine maintenance.

Delhi said it was "deeply regrettable" and expressed relief no one was killed.

Pakistan's military said a "high-speed flying object" had crashed near the eastern city of Mian Channu and its flight path had endangered passenger flights.

Both countries have nuclear weapons.

In a statement, India's defence ministry said: "On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry."

Islamabad warned Delhi to "be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence" and to avoid a repeat. The object had been launched from Sirsa in Haryana state, it said.

Pakistan's air force said the missile travelled at Mach 3 - three times the speed of sound - at an altitude of 12,000m (40,000ft) and flew 124km (77 miles) in Pakistani airspace before crashing.

"The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace, as well as human life and property on the ground," said Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday.

On Friday, Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had summoned India's chargé d'affaires to complain about the incident.

Pakistan also urged India to share the findings of its investigation into what happened.

[masraum]

I'm going to say that someone was doing a Bollywood style dance and accidentally bumped the button.

[matthewb0051]

I've shot laser guided munitions in the past when I was a forward observer. At least for those it is a painful process and frankly you can get as much done in a quicker fashion with just regular HE artillery rounds. The checks and re-checks are many layers deep to ensure you don't pooch it up. Not to mention the cost of firing just one round.

My point is that as much BS that you have to check off to fire serious weaponry I'd say this is either down to gross negligence or some idiot did it intentionally.

[GH85Carrera]

Noah, "centuries old enemy" is a bit of hyperbole.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India

Yea, it was a different century, and even a different millennium, but it was just 75 years ago Great Brittan split India into two countries.

[MRM]

Things like this happen, even to us, but there's always a long chain of failure involved. The most remarkable was the bear that climbed a fence around a military installation in northern Minnesota and almost started WW3. My understanding is that the only reason we didn't launch was that some officer in the chain of command broke protocol and shut it down, simply on the common sense observation that nothing happening at the time seemed consistent with a full nuclear launch, and shut it down while he sought outside confirmation.

https://www.military.com/off-duty/how-one-black-bear-almost-set-off-world-war-iii-during-cold-war.html

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by MRM

Things like this happen, even to us, but there's always a long chain of failure involved. The most remarkable was the bear that climbed a fence around a military installation in northern Minnesota and almost started WW3. My understanding is that the only reason we didn't launch was that some officer in the chain of command broke protocol and shut it down, simply on the common sense observation that nothing happening at the time seemed consistent with a full nuclear launch, and shut it down while he sought outside confirmation.

https://www.military.com/off-duty/how-one-black-bear-almost-set-off-world-war-iii-during-cold-war.html

As an Air Force brat growing up during the Cuban Missile crisis we came within a frog hair of WW3. One of my friend's dad was a B-52 pilot. I heard him (the dad) say his most terrifying moment in his life was sitting at the end of the runway, with nukes on board, all engines running ready to take off, and the orders to stand down came through channels. He was thinking the entire time how he might help end civilization, but he was sure planning on making Russia pay for anything they did. It was many years later that he spoke of it. At the time, I am sure it was classified.

The good news for the world, JFK was the president and that one man made the perfect decisions and ignored his generals.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by matthewb0051

I'd say this is either down to gross negligence or some idiot did it intentionally.

Around here we call it the Swiss Cheese effect. If you don't have good procedures in place all the holes can line up and disaster happens. These clowns are probably to stupid to have proper procedures in place.

[MRM]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Around here we call it the Swiss Cheese effect. If you don't have good procedures in place all the holes can line up and disaster happens. These clowns are probably to stupid to have proper procedures in place.

Before you go throwing too many stones, you do know, don’t you, that the US has had more than 30 nuclear incidents, and that the US alone LOST 6 nuclear devices that have never been recovered? That’s right, just from the US there are six lost nukes out there. Who knows how many the Soviets lost.

[GH85Carrera]

March 11, 1958, a U.S. Air Force Boeing B-47E-LM Stratojet from Hunter Air Force Base operated by the 375th Bombardment Squadron of the 308th Bombardment Wing near Savannah, Georgia, took off at approximately 4:34 PM and was scheduled to fly to the United Kingdom and then to North Africa as part of Operation Snow Flurry. The aircraft was carrying nuclear weapons on board in the event of war with the Soviet Union breaking out.
Air Force Captain Bruce Kulka, who was the navigator and bombardier, was summoned to the bomb bay area after the captain of the aircraft, Captain Earl Koehler, had encountered a fault light in the cockpit indicating that the bomb harness locking pin did not engage. As Kulka reached around the bomb to pull himself up, he mistakenly grabbed the emergency release pin. The Mark 6 nuclear bomb dropped to the bomb bay doors of the B-47 and the weight forced the doors open, sending the bomb 15,000 ft down to the ground below.
Two sisters, six-year-old Helen and nine-year-old Frances Gregg, along with their nine-year-old cousin Ella Davies, were playing 200 yards from a playhouse in the woods that had been built for them by their father Walter Gregg, who had served as a paratrooper during World War II. The playhouse was struck by the bomb. Its conventional high explosives detonated, destroying the playhouse, and leaving a crater about 70 feet wide and 35 feet deep. Fortunately, the fissile nuclear core was stored elsewhere on the aircraft.
All three girls were injured by the explosion, as were Walter, his wife Effie and son Walter Jr. and several nearby buildings were damaged. The United States Air Force was sued by the family of the victims, who received $54,000, equivalent to almost $500,000 in todays money - but a tough way to make a few bucks...

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by MRM

Before you go throwing too many stones, you do know, don’t you, that the US has had more than 30 nuclear incidents, and that the US alone LOST 6 nuclear devices that have never been recovered? That’s right, just from the US there are six lost nukes out there. Who knows how many the Soviets lost.

It's amazing that there weren't more incidents given "Chrome Dome" and the 24/7 airborne coverage for more than a few years. We sure did crash a bunch of B-47s though!

I have a signed photo from a now retired colleague that had to climb atop an accidentally dropped H-bomb in Arkansas decades ago to get a temperature reading as the first step in making it safe to transport. That was his first "call out", training or otherwise.

While there's not an "AEC man" in the bomb bay with the keys to the box with the fissile capsules anymore - to this day the military doesn't actually own any nuclear warheads/bombs. They borrow then from our benevolent Department of Energy, yes, the one that Governor Perry couldn't name but wanted to get rid of and that Mr Trump sent oil company executives into in Feb 2017 thinking that was where they kept the oil.

I did use control vulnerability assessment of our assets - how to steal and set off our weapons (kinda sensitive), and even we weren't invited to fully understand how the military ensures no unintended launches of ICBMs (once they're lit and leave the ground, there's no going back). They take that stuff pretty seriously.

We've actually helped out some other countries, not just allies, improve their nuclear safety protocol and equipment. Sort of like giving your kid a supply of condoms...

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by MRM

Before you go throwing too many stones, you do know, don’t you, that the US has had more than 30 nuclear incidents, and that the US alone LOST 6 nuclear devices that have never been recovered? That’s right, just from the US there are six lost nukes out there. Who knows how many the Soviets lost.

It's called the Swiss Cheese effect. Procedures Son, procedures.

[doug_porsche]

Probability too old of a reference for many of you.

I just keep imaging a Bob Newhart one sided phone conversation on this.

[Superman]

I've had accidental missile firings too, but that was years ago. Lately, failure to file is the more common problem.

[GH85Carrera]

https://allthatsinteresting.com/boise-city-bombing-raid

Bose City, Oklahoma was bombed in WW2. The only town in the USA bombed by airplanes during WWW2.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by MRM

Things like this happen, even to us, but there's always a long chain of failure involved. The most remarkable was the bear that climbed a fence around a military installation in northern Minnesota and almost started WW3. My understanding is that the only reason we didn't launch was that some officer in the chain of command broke protocol and shut it down, simply on the common sense observation that nothing happening at the time seemed consistent with a full nuclear launch, and shut it down while he sought outside confirmation.

https://www.military.com/off-duty/how-one-black-bear-almost-set-off-world-war-iii-during-cold-war.html

"As highly as we like to think of our military leadership, the launch code for World War III was “00000000” for 15 years."

[Arizona_928]

reuters.com/article/amp/idUSL1617718320071016

[turn9]

Palomares.

https://www.forces.net/news/day-us-accidentally-nuked-spain

[Por_sha911]

there it is

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

https://allthatsinteresting.com/boise-city-bombing-raid

Bose City, Oklahoma was bombed in WW2. The only town in the USA bombed by airplanes during WWW2.

The only enemy bombing of the continental US in WWII was a mystery until the sandbags were used to connect some dots.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/fu-go

https://www.history.com/news/attack-of-japans-killer-wwii-balloons-70-years-ago

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The Mark 6 nuclear bomb dropped to the bomb bay doors of the B-47 and the weight forced the doors open, sending the bomb 15,000 ft down to the ground below.
Two sisters, six-year-old Helen and nine-year-old Frances Gregg, along with their nine-year-old cousin Ella Davies, were playing 200 yards from a playhouse in the woods that had been built for them by their father Walter Gregg, who had served as a paratrooper during World War II. The playhouse was struck by the bomb. Its conventional high explosives detonated, destroying the playhouse, and leaving a crater about 70 feet wide and 35 feet deep.

Do you know where the impact occurred? Only clues: the flight originated near Savannah, it was headed to the UK, and there are pine trees in the photo. I grew up in SC and I vaguely remember hearing something about something like this happening near Florence, SC.

EDIT supplied by DuckDuckGo: https://www.hngn.com/articles/238230/20211005/air-force-bomber-accidentally-dropped-atomic-bomb-south-carolina-home.htm

They left the crater and now it's a tourist attraction.